NIL

	This is the JargonFile ^(V4.00) entry for NIL - Next: Ninety-Ninety Rule, Prev: Nightmare File System
:NIL: /nil/ No. Used in reply to a question, particularly one asked using the -P convention. Most hackers assume this derives simply from LISP terminology for false (see also T), but NIL as a negative reply was well-established among radio hams decades before the advent of LISP. The historical connection between early hackerdom and the ham radio world was strong enough that this may have been an influence.
* (text is auto-included via JargonExtension by mutante using jargon with VERSION 4.0.0, 24 JUL 1996* - JargonFile by Eric S. Raymond is in the public domain)*