Alt.fan.warlord
Encyclopedia
alt.fan.warlord is a Usenet
newsgroup
dedicated to the dissection and flaming of signature files
(sigs) used in other Usenet groups. The newsgroup was best-known during the early and mid-1990s, and can no longer be considered active. In its time, it was a notable "underground" Internet phenomenon.
For the most part, alt.fan.warlord targeted sigs that violated a principle of Usenet netiquette
known as the McQuary limit — i.e., the rule that a sig should be less than 80 columns wide (preferably 72 or less), and no longer than four lines. This limit kept Usenet messages reasonably short, conserving bandwidth
, and ensured that an 80-column terminal
— the most common display
type — could display the sig properly without text wrapping to the following lines. The McQuary limit, sometimes referred to as the "McQ limit" and often misspelled "McQuarry," was named after George F. McQuary, a frequent contributor to alt.fan.warlord.
Signatures in violation of the McQ limit sometimes stretched to hundreds of lines in length, including things such as ASCII art
work or long collections of favorite quotations — but no relevant information. In extreme cases, a signature could be several times as long as the post to which it was attached.
A Usenet user with the handle
"Death Star, War Lord of the West" became infamous among certain circles in the Usenet community for possessing such a sig. The process of mocking this signature became known as "warlording." This usage was later extended to the dissection and mockery of any excessive signature block. The newsgroup alt.fan.warlord was established as a forum for warlording, and its regulars continued to mock or flame any Usenet sigs they found ugly or impractical.
Although warlording was sometimes little more than flaming, regulars of the group considered a "good warlording" to be one which contained sardonic humor or vicious wit. Common targets of mockery were BUAGs (Big Ugly ASCII
Graphics) and BUAFs (Big Ugly ASCII Fonts) prevalent in newbie
sigs. The BUAGs most often ridiculed on alt.fan.warlord included: ASCII images of Bart Simpson
, stick figures on bicycles, immense swords, and, in the case of Australia
n Usenet denizens, maps of Australia (often with the city of Perth
marked with an asterisk
).
One should note that the Jargon File's description of "Warlord" (sic) as a "B1FF
-like newbie
" is inaccurate in light of his postings viewable in the Google Groups archives.
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
newsgroup
Newsgroup
A usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users in different locations. The term may be confusing to some, because it is usually a discussion group. Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on...
dedicated to the dissection and flaming of signature files
Signature block
A signature block is a block of text automatically appended at the bottom of an e-mail message, Usenet article, or forum post. This has the effect of "signing off" the message and in a reply message of indicating that no more response follows...
(sigs) used in other Usenet groups. The newsgroup was best-known during the early and mid-1990s, and can no longer be considered active. In its time, it was a notable "underground" Internet phenomenon.
For the most part, alt.fan.warlord targeted sigs that violated a principle of Usenet netiquette
Netiquette
Netiquette is a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging from Usenet and mailing lists to blogs and forums. These rules were described in IETF RFC 1855. However, like many Internet phenomena, the concept and its application remain in a state of flux, and vary...
known as the McQuary limit — i.e., the rule that a sig should be less than 80 columns wide (preferably 72 or less), and no longer than four lines. This limit kept Usenet messages reasonably short, conserving bandwidth
Bandwidth (computing)
In computer networking and computer science, bandwidth, network bandwidth, data bandwidth, or digital bandwidth is a measure of available or consumed data communication resources expressed in bits/second or multiples of it .Note that in textbooks on wireless communications, modem data transmission,...
, and ensured that an 80-column terminal
Computer terminal
A computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that is used for entering data into, and displaying data from, a computer or a computing system...
— the most common display
Display device
A display device is an output device for presentation of information in visual or tactile form...
type — could display the sig properly without text wrapping to the following lines. The McQuary limit, sometimes referred to as the "McQ limit" and often misspelled "McQuarry," was named after George F. McQuary, a frequent contributor to alt.fan.warlord.
Signatures in violation of the McQ limit sometimes stretched to hundreds of lines in length, including things such as ASCII art
ASCII art
ASCII art is a graphic design technique that uses computers for presentation and consists of pictures pieced together from the 95 printable characters defined by the ASCII Standard from 1963 and ASCII compliant character sets with proprietary extended characters...
work or long collections of favorite quotations — but no relevant information. In extreme cases, a signature could be several times as long as the post to which it was attached.
A Usenet user with the handle
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Death Star, War Lord of the West" became infamous among certain circles in the Usenet community for possessing such a sig. The process of mocking this signature became known as "warlording." This usage was later extended to the dissection and mockery of any excessive signature block. The newsgroup alt.fan.warlord was established as a forum for warlording, and its regulars continued to mock or flame any Usenet sigs they found ugly or impractical.
Although warlording was sometimes little more than flaming, regulars of the group considered a "good warlording" to be one which contained sardonic humor or vicious wit. Common targets of mockery were BUAGs (Big Ugly ASCII
ASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
Graphics) and BUAFs (Big Ugly ASCII Fonts) prevalent in newbie
Newbie
Newbie or noob is a slang term for a novice or newcomer, or somebody inexperienced in any profession or activity. Contemporary use can particularly refer to a beginner or new user of computers, often concerning Internet activity, such as online gaming or Linux use...
sigs. The BUAGs most often ridiculed on alt.fan.warlord included: ASCII images of Bart Simpson
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, stick figures on bicycles, immense swords, and, in the case of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Usenet denizens, maps of Australia (often with the city of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
marked with an asterisk
Asterisk
An asterisk is a typographical symbol or glyph. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often pronounce it as star...
).
One should note that the Jargon File's description of "Warlord" (sic) as a "B1FF
B1ff
B1ff is type of internet slang that was created in the early days of the Internet by groups who felt they were being watched by government officials or corporations. This was a major step towards full 1337 ; however, they originally had different purposes...
-like newbie
Newbie
Newbie or noob is a slang term for a novice or newcomer, or somebody inexperienced in any profession or activity. Contemporary use can particularly refer to a beginner or new user of computers, often concerning Internet activity, such as online gaming or Linux use...
" is inaccurate in light of his postings viewable in the Google Groups archives.
Entries in the Jargon File
Other external links
- [news:alt.fan.warlord alt.fan.warlord]
- alt.fan.warlord web page
- RFC 1855, an IETF standards documentInternet standardIn computer network engineering, an Internet Standard is a normative specification of a technology or methodology applicable to the Internet. Internet Standards are created and published by the Internet Engineering Task Force .-Overview:...
from October 1995 which explicitly mentions the four-line limit with regard to emailEmailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
(Section 2.1.1 on page 5)