Camping is the act of, once connected to some types of server

Server (computing)

In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...

, remaining connected (if not active) on that server. The purpose of this type of camping is usually malicious. For example, if a public FTP

File Transfer Protocol

File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...

 server allows only 5 users to be connected at any given time, a group of five people camping on this server denies access to all others attempting to download or upload from the server. Many commercial servers have protections against such activity, including the ability to detect and ban idle users after predetermined amounts of time.

This is not to be confused with camping in computer games

Camping (computer gaming)

In video gaming, camping is a tactic in which a player will obtain a strategic position anywhere on the map and wait for characters to arrive and be killed, or waiting for useful objects to appear in an area rather than actively seeking them out....

.