fnord misstree fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord. fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord. fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord. fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord. fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord. fnord! 001116 ... kronoman David Koresh and the ghost of Adolf Hitler are plotting to overthrow the earth by commandeering Evangelion Unit 00... But they're running Windows. I'll break into their cheeze box and stop their plan... Then they'll learn to use Linux. fnord. 001119 ... Miner fnord?.... is that like short for feynord (i think thats how you spell them)... only thing i know bout them anymore is the spoken name, not sure how to spell it, not sure about the details, their pretty poo really. 010609 ... Alexander Beetle Now what? I haven't got time for you anymore. 010611 ... Grievance FNORD: 1. A word used in electronic mail and news messages to tag utterances as surrealist mind-play or humour, especially in connection with Discordianism and elaborate conspiracy theories. "I heard that David Koresh is sharing an apartment in Argentina with Hitler. (Fnord.)" "Where can I fnord get the Principia Discordia from?" 2. A metasyntactic variable, commonly used by hackers with ties to Discordianism or the Church of the SubGenius. The word "fnord" was invented in the "Illuminatus!" trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. [Jargon File] fnord n. [from the "Illuminatus Trilogy"] 1. A word used in email and news postings to tag utterances as surrealist mind-play or humor, esp. in connection with Discordianism and elaborate conspiracy theories. "I heard that David Koresh is sharing an apartment in Argentina with Hitler. (Fnord.)" "Where can I fnord get the Principia Discordia from?" 2. A metasyntactic variable, commonly used by hackers with ties to Discordianism or the Church of the SubGenius metasyntactic variable Strictly, a variable used in metasyntax, but often used for any name used in examples and understood to stand for whatever thing is under discussion, or any random member of a class of things under discussion. The word foo is the canonical example. To avoid confusion, hackers never (well, hardly ever) use "foo" or other words like it as permanent names for anything. In filenames, a common convention is that any filename beginning with a metasyntactic-variable name is a scratch file that may be deleted at any time. To some extent, the list of one's preferred metasyntactic variables is a cultural signature. They occur both in series (used for related groups of variables or objects) and as singletons. Here are a few common signatures: foo, bar, baz, quux, quuux, quuuux...: MIT/Stanford usage, now found everywhere. At MIT (but not at Stanford), baz dropped out of use for a while in the 1970s and '80s. A common recent mutation of this sequence inserts qux before quux. bazola, ztesch: Stanford (from mid-'70s on). foo, bar, thud, grunt: This series was popular at CMU. Other CMU-associated variables include ack, barf, foo, and gorp. foo, bar, fum: This series is reported to be common at Xerox PARC. fred, barney: See the entry for fred. These tend to be Britishisms. toto, titi, tata, tutu: Standard series of metasyntactic variables among francophones. corge, grault, flarp: Popular at Rutgers University and among GOSMACS hackers. zxc, spqr, wombat: Cambridge University (England). shme: Berkeley, GeoWorks, Ingres. Pronounced /shme/ with a short /e/. foo, bar, zot: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland. blarg, wibble: New Zealand Of all these, only "foo" and "bar" are universal (and baz nearly so). The compounds foobar and "foobaz" also enjoy very wide currency. Some jargon terms are also used as metasyntactic names; barf and mumble, for example. See also Commonwealth Hackish for discussion of numerous metasyntactic variables found in Great Britain and the Commonwealth. [Jargon File] metasyntax Syntax used to describe syntax. The best known example is BNF and its variants such as EBNF. A metasyntactic variable is a variable used in metasyntax syn·tax Pronunciation Key (sntks) n. The study of the rules whereby words or other elements of sentence structure are combined to form grammatical sentences. A publication, such as a book, that presents such rules. The pattern of formation of sentences or phrases in a language. Such a pattern in a particular sentence or discourse. Computer Science. The rules governing the formation of statements in a programming language. A systematic, orderly arrangement. Backus-Naur Form (BNF) (BNF, originally "Backus Normal Form") A formal metasyntax used to express context-free grammars. Backus Normal Form was renamed Backus-Naur Form at the suggestion of Donald Knuth. BNF is one of the most commonly used metasyntactic notations for specifying the syntax of programming languages, command sets, and the like. It is widely used for language descriptions but seldom documented anywhere (how do you document a metasyntax?), so that it must usually be learned by osmosis (but see RFC 2234). Consider this BNF for a US postal address: ::= ::= | "." ::= [] | ::= [] ::= "," This translates into English as: "A postal-address consists of a name-part, followed by a street-address part, followed by a zip-code part. A personal-part consists of either a first name or an initial followed by a dot. A name-part consists of either: a personal-part followed by a last name followed by an optional "jr-part" (Jr., Sr., or dynastic number) and end-of-line, or a personal part followed by a name part (this rule illustrates the use of recursion in BNFs, covering the case of people who use multiple first and middle names and/or initials). A street address consists of an optional apartment specifier, followed by a street number, followed by a street name. A zip-part consists of a town-name, followed by a comma, followed by a state code, followed by a ZIP-code followed by an end-of-line." Note that many things (such as the format of a personal-part, apartment specifier, or ZIP-code) are left unspecified. These lexical details are presumed to be obvious from context or specified somewhere nearby. There are many variants and extensions of BNF, possibly containing some or all of the regexp wild cards such as "*" or "+". EBNF is a common one. In fact the example above isn't the pure form invented for the ALGOL 60 report. "[]" was introduced a few years later in IBM's PL/I definition but is now universally recognised. ABNF is another extension. (1997-11-23) Church of the SubGenius A mutant offshoot of Discordianism launched in 1981 as a spoof of fundamentalist Christianity by the "Reverend" Ivan Stang, a brilliant satirist with a gift for promotion. Popular among hackers as a rich source of bizarre imagery and references such as "Bob" the divine drilling-equipment salesman, the Benevolent Space Xists, and the Stark Fist of Removal. Much SubGenius theory is concerned with the acquisition of the mystical substance or quality of slack. Home (http://sunsite.unc.edu/subgenius/slack.html) Discordianism /dis-kor'di-*n-ism/ The veneration of Eris, also known as Discordia; widely popular among hackers. Discordianism was popularised by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson's novel "Illuminatus!" as a sort of self-subverting Dada-Zen for Westerners - it should on no account be taken seriously but is far more serious than most jokes. Consider, for example, the Fifth Commandment of the Pentabarf, from "Principia Discordia": "A Discordian is Prohibited of Believing What he Reads." Discordianism is usually connected with an elaborate conspiracy theory/joke involving millennia-long warfare between the anarcho-surrealist partisans of Eris and a malevolent, authoritarian secret society called the Illuminati. See Religion, Church of the SubGenius, and ha ha only serious. [Jargon File] 020309 ... Grievance Needless to say, understanding this word is exausting. This is an example of why we should fear the worlds of the geeks and our ignorance. 020309 ... miss23tree very informative, grievance, thank you. :) i would take issue, though, with the thought that discordians and subgenii belong to the world of the geeks... they are are hardly limited to hacker-types, and are in fact quite a friendly bunch of people, wonderful to have at parties as long as the house isn't yours. as for fearing your own ignorance, fear it, embrace it, and destroy it, all at once. only way to get through this cesspool most call life with any semblance of happiness or sanity (and i do say semblance ;). hail eris, praise bob. 020309 ... Grievance I am glad that you were able to find the information informative and useful. *bows* I agree that discordianism and subgenii is not limited to the realm of geeks. (I was commenting on the stasis of fnord, not the schools that I found in the information cycle). Not begets not, so, the positive must also refract light. *bows in respect* 020311 ... book of eris Fnord? Fnord is evaporated herbal tea without the herbs. Fnord is that funny feeling you get when you reach for the Snickers bar and come back holding a slurpee. Fnord is the 43 1/3rd state, next to Wyoming. Fnord is this really, really tall mountain. Fnord is the reason boxes of condoms carry twelve instead of ten. Fnord is the blue stripes in the road that never get painted. Fnord is place where those socks vanish off to in the laundry. Fnord is an arcade game like Pacman without the little dots. Fnord is a little pufflike cloud you see at 5pm. Fnord is the tool the dentist uses on unruly patients. Fnord is the blank paper that cassette labels are printed on. Fnord is where the buses hide at night. Fnord is the empty pages at the end of the book. Fnord is the screw that falls from the car for no reason. Fnord is why Burger King uses paper instead of foam. Fnord is the little green pebble in your shoe. Fnord is the orange print in the yellow pages. Fnord is a pickle without the bumps. Fnord is why ducks eat trees. Fnord is toast without bread. Fnord is a venetian blind without the slats. Fnord is the lint in the navel of the mites that eat the lint in the navel of the mites that eat the lint in Fnord's navel. Fnord is an apostrophe on drugs. Fnord is the bucket where they keep the unused serifs for H*lvetica. Fnord is the gunk that sticks to the inside of your car's fenders. Fnord is the source of all the zero bits in your computer. Fnord is the echo of silence. Fnord is the parsley on the plate of life. Fnord is the sales tax on happiness. Fnord is the preposition at the end of sixpence. Fnord is the feeling in your brain when you hold your breath too long. Fnord is the reason latent homosexuals stay latent. Fnord is the donut hole. Fnord is the whole donut. Fnord is an annoying series of email messages. Fnord is the color only blind people can see. Fnord is the serial number on a box of cereal. Fnord is the Universe with decreasing entropy. Fnord is a naked woman with herpes simplex 428. Fnord is the yin without yang. Fnord is a pyrotumescent retrograde onyx obelisk. Fnord is why lisp has so many parentheses. Fnord is the the four-leaf clover with a missing leaf. Fnord is double-jointed and has a cubic spline. Fnord never sleeps. Fnord is the "een" in baleen whale. Fnord is neither a particle nor a wave. Fnord is the space in between the pixels on your screen. Fnord is the guy that writes the Infiniti ads. Fnord is the nut in peanut butter and jelly. Fnord is an antebellum flagellum fella. Fnord is a sentient vacuum cleaner. Fnord is the smallest number greater than zero. Fnord lives in the empty space above a decimal point. Fnord is the odd-colored scale on a dragon's back. Fnord is the redundant coin slot on arcade games. Fnord was last seen in Omaha, Nebraska. Fnord is the founding father of the phrase "founding father". Fnord is the last bit of sand you can't get out of your shoe. Fnord is Jesus's speech advisor. Fnord keeps a spare eyebrow in his pocket. Fnord invented the green hubcap. Fnord is why doctors ask you to cough. Fnord is the "ooo" in varooom of race cars. Fnord uses two bathtubs at once. I cannot escape them No matter how I try They wait for me everywhere I cannot pass them by. Driving down the street I see "Jesus Is Lord" And then immediately after I hear the word "FNORD!" Innocuous sayings and parables And on the evening news I hear the word "FNORD!" And suddenly I'm confused I sit alone in my room And I'm feeling rather bored I turn on the tube and guess what I hear the word "FNORD!" "Don't see the fnords and they won't eat you" That's what I've heard the wisemen say But I can't get away from those beasties There's just no fucking way. (probably originated somewhere on alt.discordia) 030925 ... sabbie nothing to see here. go about your business. 030925 ... Paul Sabbie youre the greatest 030925 ... splat "Take the N out of 'Ford'" "There is no N in 'Ford'!" There is now. Muahaha 030926 ... po box 8077 i once ate an entire box of rice crispies stirred into smooth jiffy..i was in jr. high or middle school..no one was home..i was bored..i'd read my stacks of marvel comics way too many times..and allowance day was..too far off (three or four days..)..felt kind of dry throated for a while..still love jiff but not so much the rice crispies.. go upper perk! 030926 ... depressed man Fnord? Fnord is evaporated herbal tea without the herbs. Fnord is that funny feeling you get when you reach for the Snickers bar and come back holding a slurpee. Fnord is the 43 1/3rd state, next to Wyoming. Fnord is this really, really tall mountain. Fnord is the reason boxes of condoms carry twelve instead of ten. Fnord is the blue stripes in the road that never get painted. Fnord is place where those socks vanish off to in the laundry. Fnord is an arcade game like Pacman without the little dots. Fnord is a little pufflike cloud you see at 5pm. Fnord is the tool the dentist uses on unruly patients. Fnord is the blank paper that cassette labels are printed on. Fnord is where the buses hide at night. Fnord is the empty pages at the end of the book. Fnord is the screw that falls from the car for no reason. Fnord is why Burger King uses paper instead of foam. Fnord is the little green pebble in your shoe. Fnord is the orange print in the yellow pages. Fnord is a pickle without the bumps. Fnord is why ducks eat trees. Fnord is toast without bread. Fnord is a venetian blind without the slats. Fnord is the lint in the navel of the mites that eat the lint in the navel of the mites that eat the lint in Fnord's navel. Fnord is an apostrophe on drugs. Fnord is the bucket where they keep the unused serifs for H*lvetica. Fnord is the gunk that sticks to the inside of your car's fenders. Fnord is the source of all the zero bits in your computer. Fnord is the echo of silence. Fnord is the parsley on the plate of life. Fnord is the sales tax on happiness. Fnord is the preposition at the end of sixpence. Fnord is the feeling in your brain when you hold your breath too long. Fnord is the reason latent homosexuals stay latent. Fnord is the donut hole. Fnord is the whole donut. Fnord is an annoying series of email messages. Fnord is the color only blind people can see. Fnord is the serial number on a box of cereal. Fnord is the Universe with decreasing entropy. Fnord is a naked woman with herpes simplex 428. Fnord is the yin without yang. Fnord is a pyrotumescent retrograde onyx obelisk. Fnord is why lisp has so many parentheses. Fnord is the the four-leaf clover with a missing leaf. Fnord is double-jointed and has a cubic spline. Fnord never sleeps. Fnord is the "een" in baleen whale. Fnord is neither a particle nor a wave. Fnord is the space in between the pixels on your screen. Fnord is the guy that writes the Infiniti ads. Fnord is the nut in peanut butter and jelly. Fnord is an antebellum flagellum fella. Fnord is a sentient vacuum cleaner. Fnord is the smallest number greater than zero. Fnord lives in the empty space above a decimal point. Fnord is the odd-colored scale on a dragon's back. Fnord is the redundant coin slot on arcade games. Fnord was last seen in Omaha, Nebraska. Fnord is the founding father of the phrase "founding father". Fnord is the last bit of sand you can't get out of your shoe. Fnord is Jesus's speech advisor. Fnord keeps a spare eyebrow in his pocket. Fnord invented the green hubcap. Fnord is why doctors ask you to cough. Fnord is the "ooo" in varooom of race cars. Fnord uses two bathtubs at once. 040719 ... hsg FNORD is the namebrand gerbil_feed preferred by richard_gere 090628 ... hsg ~ is the hole at the knee in designer_jeans 100514 what's it to you? who go blather from