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I just looked it up and I still don't quite understand what clacks are supposed to be, other than an inside joke for Terry Pratchett fans. Do people actually u
by metalliqaz 9y ago
I just looked it up and I still don't quite understand what clacks are supposed to be, other than an inside joke for Terry Pratchett fans. Do people actually use clacks for side channel data or is it just a way to keep Terry's name out there?
- Sir_Cmpwn 9y agoThe latter.
- metalliqaz 9y agoAlright then. Hard to tell because there are actual draft RFCs out there.
- adtac 9y agoHey, you're the guy who made sway! Thanks!
- Sir_Cmpwn 9y agoI'm glad you like it :)
- robotmay 9y agoIt's inspired by this quote from Going Postal: "A man is not dead while his name is still spoken." - http://www.gnuterrypratchett.com http://www.gnuterrypratchett.com So no technical purpose, just a fun way of keeping Terry's name alive :) In the books, the clacks is a semaphore tower used to communicate, and it's sort of a telegraph/internet system, to compare it to the real world.
- vertex-four 9y agoSpecifically, the reference is to so-called GNU messages in the clacks system, where GNU is a prefix code meaning “send the message on, do not log, and turn the message around at the end of the line and send it back again”. These messages were used as memorials for deceased clacks workers - the message would never be delivered, and would stay in the system for as long as the clacks stay running. Hence, the worker’s name will be spoken for - hopefully -eternity.