I come from a long history of Usenet newsgroups. At least in my areas when we changed the subject of a thread we usually called it “OT” or “Off-topic”. While I see use of the OT reference here periodically, I see a far higher instance of the use of the term “HIJACK”, usually bracketed to look like html or vB code:
[HIJACK]
Like this
[/HIJACK]
Can anyone tell me if this is a SDMB-specific quirk? Where and how did this tradition start? I can see the imagery; you’re basically “hijacking” a thread and saying something unrelated. But it’s an unusual term and one I would not associate to mean “off topic.”
I first saw the hijack expressed as a coding thing when I first got here, but hadn’t seen it elsewhere.
(Somebody else might like to search more, but I’m done for now.)
Have you read this one: Hands Up, This Thread is Going To Cuba. That one was started on 10/14/99, so the “hijack” term was definitely in popular use before then.
I’ve seen the term “hijack threads” on a rare occasion in USENET, usually in non-computerese, like the example from an evolution group, going back to 4 Sep 1996:
Bryant: Um, because the Pleistocene knew no sugar cane (and hence no soda, candy, etc.) and because there were not yet laws designed to control domestic violence?
Lenny: Sugar receptors only for Pleistocene humans? Jealousy arose because of the lack of human laws?
Bryant: If you don’t understand the basic points I was making, why hijack the thread in the manner you have, Lenny? Why not just ask for clarification?
This is the only board I’ve seen express it as code but I wouldn’t be surprised if the term popped up on other boards that allow tags. Hijack is much more readily understood than OT (you write OT and someone comes along to ask what it means and now you’ve got another hijack).
If you’re on lots of boards 7 of 7, I trust you will introduce the term to the others, since it it is cute and pretty much self-explanatory. A meme, 'twould seem.
If you check with the Jargon File (sorry, I don’t have the bookmark here at the lab, or I’d provide a link), it says that among computer nerds, the usage of pseudo-HTML is fairly common and widespread. The useage of [hijack] and [/hijack] isn’t any more notable than [sarchasm] and [/sarchasm], for instance.
One of my favorites, though, is the combination “Hi, Jack” and “Bye, Jack”, although it doesn’t really fit my style.
I’ve been seeing and using pseudo-HTML coding in mailing lists and newsgroups for years–almost since the beginning of the Web. I also occasionally use C conventions, such as heading a post #include <disclaimer.h>.
It’s kinda cute, if not overdone, and allows me to be a little arrogant in my geekdom.
As for the actual usage of “hijack,” I’ve always seen it used a little differently from “OT.” A hijack takes a thread completely in another direction, while “off topic” posts are off topic without too much disruption.