In Internet slang, a luser (sometimes expanded to local user; also luzer or luzzer) is a painfully annoying, stupid, or irritating computer user. Internet slang, Internet language, Netspeak, Chatspeak, Leetspeak, Chat Room Shorthand, Computer Language, Users in a Computing context refers to one who uses a computer system ^[1] It is a portmanteau of "loser" and "user" and is usually pronounced as "loser". ^[2] The word luser is often synonymous with lamer. Lamer is a Jargon or Slang name originally applied in cracker and Phreaker culture to someone who didn't really understand what he or she In hackish, the word luser takes on a broader meaning, referring to any normal user (in other words not a guru), especially one who is also a loser. As described by Eric S Raymond, hackish is a Sociolect of the English language used by members of Hacker culture. Users in a Computing context refers to one who uses a computer system Words and phrases are pejorative if they imply disapproval or contempt This term can also signify the user as a layman, as opposed to power user or administrator; for example, end luser. The term " layman " originated from the use of the term Laity, but over the centuries changed definition to mean a person who is a non-expert in a given field of The end-user is a p concept in Software engineering, referring to an Abstraction of the group of persons who will ultimately operate a piece of software This term is very popular with technical support staff who have to deal with lusers as part of their job, often metaphorically employing a LART (Luser Attitude Readjustment Tool, or "clue-by-four").

The Jargon File states that word was coined around 1975 at MIT. The Jargon File is a Glossary of hacker Slang. The original Jargon File was a collection of hacker slang from technical cultures such as the MIT AI Under ITS, when a user first walked up to a terminal at MIT and typed control-Z to get the computer's attention, it printed out some status information, including how many people were already using the computer; it might print "14 users", for example. ITS, the Incompatible Timesharing System (named in comparison with the Compatible Time-Sharing System also in use at MIT was an early revolutionary and influential In Computing, control-Z is a Control character in ASCII code, also known as the substitute ( SUB) character Someone thought it would be a great joke to patch the system to print "14 losers" instead. There ensued a great controversy, as some of the users didn't particularly want to be called losers to their faces every time they used the computer. For a while several hackers struggled covertly, each changing the message behind the backs of the others; any time a user logged into the computer it was even money whether it would say "users" or "losers". Even money describes a wagering Proposition with even Odds - if the bettor loses a Bet, he or she stands to lose the same amount of money that the winner Finally, someone tried the compromise "lusers", and it stuck. Later one of the ITS machines supported "luser" as a request-for-help command. ITS ceased to be used mid-1990, except as a museum piece; the usage lives on, however, and the term "luser" is often seen in program comments and on Usenet. Usenet, a Portmanteau of "user" and "network" is a world-wide distributed Internet discussion system /lusers (which abbreviates "list users") is also a common IRC command to get the number of users connected to a server or network. ^[3]

Notes and references

See also

• alt.sysadmin.recovery
• Any key
• BDU
• BFU
• BOFH
• PEBKAC
• id10t
• Layer 8
• Newbie
• news.admin.net-abuse.email
• RTFM

This article is based in part on the Jargon File, which is in the public domain. Any key refers to a command prompt that will be fulfilled no matter which keyboard button is pressed and is most often seen on early Operating systems that were PEBKAC is an Acronym which stands for "Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair" ID-Ten-T Error (also seen as ID10T and ID107) is a term often used by Tech support operators and computer experts to describe a problem that is due to the Layer 8 is internet jargon which is used to refer to the "user" or "political" layer Newbie (also said as nooby or newby is a slang term for a newcomer to Online gaming or an Internet activity newsadminnet-abuseemail (sometimes abbreviated nanae or nan-a RTFM is an Acronym for the statement " R ead T he F ucking M anual" The Jargon File is a Glossary of hacker Slang. The original Jargon File was a collection of hacker slang from technical cultures such as the MIT AI