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)