pseudo

	This is the JargonFile ^(V4.00) entry for pseudo - Next: pseudoprime, Prev: prowler
:pseudo: /soodoh/ /n./ [Usenet: truncation of pseudonym] 1. An electronic-mail or Usenet persona adopted by a human for amusement value or as a means of avoiding negative repercussions of ones net.behavior; a nom de Usenet, often associated with forged postings designed to conceal message origins. Perhaps the best-known and funniest hoax of this type is B1FF. See also tentacle. 2. Notionally, a flamage-generating AI program simulating a Usenet user. Many flamers have been accused of actually being such entities, despite the fact that no AI program of the required sophistication yet exists. However, in 1989 there was a famous series of forged postings that used a phrase-frequency-based travesty generator to simulate the styles of several well-known flamers; it was based on large samples of their back postings (compare Dissociated Press). A significant number of people were fooled by the forgeries, and the debate over their authenticity was settled only when the perpetrator came forward to publicly admit the hoax.
* (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)*