July 11, 2010
Eternal September is a Usenet slang expression for the period beginning September 1993. The expression encapsulates the belief that an endless influx of new users since that date has continuously degraded standards of discourse and behavior on Usenet and the wider Internet. Usenet originated among universities where every year in September, a large number of new students acquired access to Usenet, and it took some time for them to acclimate themselves to the network’s standards of conduct and ‘netiquette.’ After a month or so, these new users would typically learn to comport themselves according to its conventions. September thus heralded the peak influx of disruptive newcomers to the network.
In 1993, America Online began offering Usenet access to its tens of thousands, and later millions, of users, and the massive inundation of new users was called, ‘…the September that never ended.’
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June 28, 2010
Wolf ticket (or woof ticket) is a slang term meaning a verbal threat, criticism, or insult used to intimidate an opponent. The term originates from ‘woofing,’ meaning aimless talk, an onomatopoeic reference to the sound of dogs barking. The term is usually used as a part of the phrase ‘to sell wolf tickets,’ meaning to bluff or threaten someone in a boastful way, or ‘to buy wolf tickets,’ meaning to call the bluff or accept the implied challenge.
Professor Emeritus Herbert L. Foster noted in the first edition of his book ‘Ribbin’, Jivin’, and Playin’ the Dozens: The Unrecognized Dilemma of Inner City Schools’ that his students, in New York City Public School 613, about 1964, started using the expression ‘woof’ or ‘wolf’ ticket interchangeably. Since he was teaching graphic arts, his students, at first, printed wolf tickets. As Foster became more astute about his students’ street culture, he created the woof ticket that was used on the street and discussed further in his book.
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