Unix brain damage
Unix brain damage: n. Something that has to be done to break a
network program (typically a mailer) on a non-Unix system so that it
will interoperate with Unix systems. The hack may qualify as `Unix
brain damage' if the program conforms to published standards and the
Unix program in question does not. Unix brain damage happens
because it is much easier for other (minority) systems to change
their ways to match non-conforming behavior than it is to change all
the hundreds of thousands of Unix systems out there.
An example of Unix brain damage is a kluge in a mail server to
recognize bare line feed (the Unix newline) as an equivalent form to
the Internet standard newline, which is a carriage return followed
by a line feed. Such things can make even a hardened jock weep.
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