It's neither. BOFH represents an angry, cathartic, antiheroic response to the social problems of the IT world. Anyone acting that way in the real world deserve

It's neither. BOFH represents an angry, cathartic, antiheroic response to the social problems of the IT world. Anyone acting that way in the real world deserves the prison sentence that would immediately follow... just as anyone who behaved like an action movie star in the real world would go to prison for assault and murder. The primary desired response is quiet sympathy and camaraderie, if appropriate.