user

1. person Someone doing "real work" with the computer, using

it as a means rather than an end. Someone who pays to use a

computer. A programmer who will believe anything you tell

him. One who asks silly questions without thinking for two

seconds or looking in the documentation. Someone who uses a

program, however skillfully, without getting into the

internals of the program. One who reports bugs instead of

just fixing them. See also luser, real user.

Users are looked down on by hackers to some extent because

they don't understand the full ramifications of the system in

all its glory. The term is relative: a skilled hacker may be

a user with respect to some program he himself does not hack.

A LISP hacker might be one who maintains LISP or one who uses

LISP (but with the skill of a hacker). A LISP user is one who

uses LISP, whether skillfully or not. Thus there is some

overlap between the two terms; the subtle distinctions must be

resolved by context.

2. jargon Any person, organisation, process, device,

program, protocol, or system which uses a service provided

by others.

The term "client" (as in "client-server" systems) is

rather more specific, usually implying two processes

communicating via some protocol.

[Jargon File]

(1996-04-28)