mcquary limit

1 definition found

mcquary limit - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  McQuary limit
  
  
     [from the name of the founder of alt.fan.warlord; see warlording.]
  4
     lines of at most 80 characters each, sometimes still cited on Usenet
     as the maximum acceptable size of a sig block. Before the great
     bandwidth explosion of the early 1990s, long sigs actually cost
  people
     running Usenet servers significant amounts of money. Nowadays social
     pressure against long sigs is intended to avoid waste of human
     attention rather than machine bandwidth. Accordingly, the McQuary
     limit should be considered a rule of thumb rather than a hard limit;
     it's best to avoid sigs that are large, repetitive, and distracting.
     See also warlording.