snark
[Lewis Carroll, via the Michigan Terminal System] n. 1. A
system failure. When a user's process bombed, the operator would
get the message "Help, Help, Snark in MTS!" 2. More generally,
any kind of unexplained or threatening event on a computer
(especially if it might be a boojum). Often used to refer to an
event or a log file entry that might indicate an attempted security
violation. See
snivitz. 3. UUCP name of
snark.thyrsus.com, home site of the Jargon File 2.*.* versions
(i.e., this lexicon).
