Dissociated Press n.
[play on `Associated Press'; perhaps
inspired by a reference in the 1950 Bugs Bunny cartoon
"What's Up, Doc?"] An algorithm for transforming any text
into potentially humorous garbage even more efficiently than by
passing it through a marketroid. The algorithm starts by
printing any N consecutive words (or letters) in the text.
Then at every step it searches for any random occurrence in the
original text of the last N words (or letters) already
printed and then prints the next word or letter. EMACS has a
handy command for this. Here is a short example of word-based
Dissociated Press applied to an earlier version of this Jargon
File:
wart: n. A small, crocky feature that sticks out of
an array (C has no checks for this). This is relatively
benign and easy to spot if the phrase is bent so as to be
not worth paying attention to the medium in question.
Here is a short example of letter-based Dissociated Press applied
to the same source:
window sysIWYG: n. A bit was named aften /bee't*/ prefer
to use the other guy's re, especially in every cast a
chuckle on neithout getting into useful informash speech
makes removing a featuring a move or usage actual
abstractionsidered interj. Indeed spectace logic or problem!
A hackish idle pastime is to apply letter-based Dissociated Press
to a random body of text and vgrep the output in hopes of finding
an interesting new word. (In the preceding example, `window
sysIWYG' and `informash' show some promise.) Iterated applications
of Dissociated Press usually yield better results. Similar
techniques called `travesty generators' have been employed with
considerable satirical effect to the utterances of Usenet flamers;
see pseudo.
[play on `Associated Press'; perhaps
inspired by a reference in the 1950 Bugs Bunny cartoon
"What's Up, Doc?"] An algorithm for transforming any text
into potentially humorous garbage even more efficiently than by
passing it through a marketroid. The algorithm starts by
printing any N consecutive words (or letters) in the text.
Then at every step it searches for any random occurrence in the
original text of the last N words (or letters) already
printed and then prints the next word or letter. EMACS has a
handy command for this. Here is a short example of word-based
Dissociated Press applied to an earlier version of this Jargon
File:
wart: n. A small, crocky feature that sticks out of
an array (C has no checks for this). This is relatively
benign and easy to spot if the phrase is bent so as to be
not worth paying attention to the medium in question.
Here is a short example of letter-based Dissociated Press applied
to the same source:
window sysIWYG: n. A bit was named aften /bee't*/ prefer
to use the other guy's re, especially in every cast a
chuckle on neithout getting into useful informash speech
makes removing a featuring a move or usage actual
abstractionsidered interj. Indeed spectace logic or problem!
A hackish idle pastime is to apply letter-based Dissociated Press
to a random body of text and vgrep the output in hopes of finding
an interesting new word. (In the preceding example, `window
sysIWYG' and `informash' show some promise.) Iterated applications
of Dissociated Press usually yield better results. Similar
techniques called `travesty generators' have been employed with
considerable satirical effect to the utterances of Usenet flamers;
see pseudo.
Related:
- HAKMEM /hak'mem/ n.
MIT AI Memo 239 (February 1972).
A legendary collection of neat mathematical and... - dispress vt.
[contraction of `Dissociated Press' due to
eight-character MS-DOS filenames] To apply the Dissociated Press
algorithm to a block of text.
The resultant output is also referred to as a 'dispression'... - pseudo /soo'doh/ n.
[Usenet: truncation of `pseudonym']
1.
An electronic-mail or Usenet persona adopted by a human... - bug n.
An unwanted and unintended property of a program or
piece of hardware,
esp. one that causes it to malfunction. Antonym... - pseudo: /soo'doh/ [USENET: truncation of `pseudonym'] n.
1. An electronic-mail or {USENET} persona adopted... - DP: /D-P/ n. 1. Data Processing. Listed here because,
according to hackers, use of the term marks one immediately... - foo /foo/
1. interj. Term of disgust. 2. [very
common] Used very generally as a sample name for absolutely
anything,
esp. programs and files (esp. scratch files). 3. First... - dahmum /dah'mum/ n.
[Usenet] The material of which
protracted flame wars,
especially those about operating systems, is composed... - banana problem: n. [from the story of the little girl who said "I
know how to spell `banana',
but I don't know when to stop"]. Not knowing where...
