interjection

• acronym for "hope this helps". Used mainly in computer-based conversation (instant messaging, email, text messaging, etc.)

  by WalterGR, Sacramento, CA, USA, Aug 11 2009.

• acronym for "I am a lawyer". Used mainly in computer-based conversation (instant messaging, email, text messaging, etc.)

  by WalterGR, Sacramento, CA, USA, Aug 11 2009.

• acronym for "I Don't Believe You."

  by WalterGR, Sacramento, CA, USA, Aug 11 2009.

• acronym for "I don't give a fuck."

  by WalterGR, Sacramento, CA, USA, Aug 11 2009.

• acronym for "I don't know". Used mainly in computer-based conversation (instant messaging, email, text messaging, etc.)

  idk what you mean?

  by Ri R., WI, USA, Mar 15 2002.

• acronym for "I love you."

  by WalterGR, Sacramento, CA, USA, Aug 11 2009.

• To make use of an internet Instant Messenger or Messaging Service, such as MSN Instant Messenger or AOL Instant Messenger, by sending a message.

  If Mike comes online, tell him to IM me.

  by Jared M., Seattle, WA, USA, Jan 20 2002.

• acronym for "in my humble opinion". Used mainly in computer-based conversation (instant messaging, email, text messaging, etc.)

  You'd be better off without her IMHO.

  by David B., Aug 19 2008.

• acronym for "in my, not so humble opinion". Used mainly in computer-based conversation (instant messaging, email, text messaging, etc.)

  by WalterGR, Sacramento, CA, USA, Aug 11 2009.

• acronym for "in my opinion". Used mainly in computer-based conversation (instant messaging, email, text messaging, etc.)

  Obama has better leadership skills IMO.

  by David B., Aug 19 2008.

noun

• If you put an infinite number of monkeys at typewriters, given an infinite amount of time, eventually one will bash out the script for Hamlet.
  
  It may be referred to semi-seriously when justifying a brute force method; the implication is that, with enough resources thrown at it, any technical challenge becomes trivial.

  by The Jargon File, Aug 14 2009.

notes

• In mid-2002, researchers at Plymouth Univesity in England actually put a working computer in a cage with six crested macaques. The monkeys proceeded to bash the machine with a rock, urinate on it, and type the letter S a lot (later, the letters A, J, L, and M also crept in). The results were published in a limited-edition book, Notes Towards The Complete Works of Shakespeare. A researcher reported:
  
  "They were quite interested in the screen, and they saw that when they typed a letter, something happened. There was a level of intention there."

  by The Jargon File, Aug 14 2009.

origin

• This theorem has been traced to the mathematiciamn Émile Borel in 1913, and was first popularized by the astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington. It became part of the idiom of techies via the classic SF short story "Inflexible Logic" by Russell Maloney, and many younger hackers know it through a reference in Douglas Adams's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".
  
  On 1 April 2000 the usage acquired its own Internet standard, RFC2795 - Infinite Monkey Protocol Suite.

  by The Jargon File, Aug 14 2009.

• acronym for "in other words". Used mainly in computer-based conversation (instant messaging, email, text messaging, etc.)

  by WalterGR, Sacramento, CA, USA, Aug 11 2009.

• In real life

  by Tensore @., Feb 04 2005.

noun

• a short amount of time.

  by WalterGR, Sacramento, CA, USA, Aug 14 2009.

noun

• Keep It Simple, Stupid. A maxim often invoked when discussing design to fend off feature creep and control development complexity.

  by The Jargon File, Aug 14 2009.

noun

• A clever programming trick intended to solve a particular nasty case in an expedient, if not clear, manner. Often used to repair bugs. Often involves ad-hockery.

  by The Jargon File, Aug 14 2009.

verb

• To insert a kluge into a program.

  I've kluged this routine to get around that weird bug, but there's probably a better way.

  by The Jargon File, Aug 14 2009.

origin

• Nowadays this term is often encountered in the variant spelling "kludge."
  
  In 1947, the New York Folklore Quarterly reported a classic shaggy-dog story "Murgatroyd the Kluge Maker" then current in the Armed Forces, in which a "kluge" was a complex and puzzling artifact with a trivial function. Other sources report that "kluge" was common Navy slang in the WWII era for any piece of electronics that worked well on shore but consistently failed at sea.

  by The Jargon File, Aug 14 2009.