shub-internet

2 definitions found

shub-internet - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  Shub-Internet
  
     /shuhb in't*r-net/ (MUD, from H. P. Lovecraft's evil fictional
     deity "Shub-Niggurath", the Black Goat with a Thousand Young)
     The harsh personification of the Internet, Beast of a
     Thousand Processes, Eater of Characters, Avatar of Line Noise,
     and Imp of Call Waiting; the hideous multi-tendriled entity
     formed of all the manifold connections of the net.  A sect of
     MUDders worships Shub-Internet, sacrificing objects and
     praying for good connections.  To no avail - its purpose is
     malign and evil, and is the cause of all network slowdown.
     Often heard as in "Freela casts a tac nuke at Shub-Internet
     for slowing her down."  (A forged response often follows along
     the lines of: "Shub-Internet gulps down the tac nuke and burps
     happily.")  Also cursed by users of FTP and telnet when
     the system slows down.  The dread name of Shub-Internet is
     seldom spoken aloud, as it is said that repeating it three
     times will cause the being to wake, deep within its lair
     beneath the Pentagon.
  
     [Jargon File]
  
     (1994-11-04)
  

shub-internet - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  Shub-Internet
   /shuhb' in't@r.net/, n.
  
     [MUD: from H. P. Lovecraft's evil fictional deity Shub-Niggurath, the
     Black Goat with a Thousand Young] The harsh personification of the
     Internet: Beast of a Thousand Processes, Eater of Characters, Avatar
     of Line Noise, and Imp of Call Waiting; the hideous multi-tendriled
     entity formed of all the manifold connections of the net. A sect of
     MUDders worships Shub-Internet, sacrificing objects and praying for
     good connections. To no avail -- its purpose is malign and evil, and
     it is the cause of all network slowdown. Often heard as in "Freela
     casts a tac nuke at Shub-Internet for slowing her down." (A forged
     response often follows along the lines of: "Shub-Internet gulps down
     the tac nuke and burps happily.") Also cursed by users of the Web,
  FTP
     and telnet when the network lags. The dread name of Shub-Internet is
     seldom spoken aloud, as it is said that repeating it three times will
     cause the being to wake, deep within its lair beneath the Pentagon.
     Compare Random Number God.
  
     [January 1996: It develops that one of the computer administrators in
     the basement of the Pentagon read this entry and fell over laughing.
     As a result, you too can now poke Shub-Internet by pinging
     shub-internet.ims.disa.mil. Compare kremvax. --ESR]
  
     [April 1999: shub-internet.ims.disa.mil is no more, alas. But
     Shub-Internet lives, and even has a home page. --ESR]