bixen pl.n.
Users of BIX (the BIX Information eXchange, formerly the Byte
Information eXchange). Parallels other plurals like boxen, VAXen, oxen.
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bixie /bik'see/ n.
Variant emoticons used on BIX
(the BIX Information eXchange). The most common (smiley) bixie is <@_@>, representing two
cartoon eyes and a mouth. These were originally invented in an SF
fanzine called APA-L and imported to BIX by one of the earliest
users.
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black art n.
[common] A collection of arcane, unpublished, and (by
implication) mostly ad-hoc techniques developed for a particular
application or systems area (compare black magic). VLSI design and compiler
code optimization were (in their beginnings) considered classic
examples of black art; as theory developed they became deep magic, and once standard
textbooks had been written, became merely heavy wizardry. The huge
proliferation of formal and informal channels for spreading
around new computer-related technologies during the last twenty
years has made both the term `black art' and what it describes
less common than formerly. See also voodoo programming.