Bob Code

This is a code for Bobs, which as mentioned in the The Jargon File is a general term for anyone who works in tech support. This mythology is tightly connected to the BOFH (Bastard Operator From Hell):

Basically this is another way for People who work in Technical Support, known from now on as Bob’s for reasons too dull to mention, to be obscure and uniformative in the most helpful manner possible and to demonstrate thier [sic] obvious superiority.

The reasoning for “Bob” as a stand-in for all tech support workers was given in the FAQ, section 1.2.2.4:

1.2.2.4) Why “Bob”?

[Thanks to Andrew Bangs and Rob Mortimer for their historic assistance here]

All tech support personal are called “Bob”. (Female support personnel have an option on “Bobette”, as they feel appropriate). This has nothing to do with “Bob”, the Divine Drilling Equipment Salesman and the Church of the SubGenius. Nor it is “Brother Of BOFH” (although that’s smart sidewise thinking, which is good). The real story of Bob can finally be revealed…

The time: August 1995. The place: Demon Internet, Support Department. A large number of new victims|Wrecruits were due to arrive, and it was observed that there would be much duplication of names. To ease the confusion, it was decided that all support techs would henceforth be known as “Bob”, and identity badges were created labelled “Bob 1” and “Bob 2”. (No, we never got any further).

The reason for “Bob” rather than anything else is due to a luser calling and asking to speak to “Bob”, despite the fact that no “Bob” was currently working for Tech Support. Since we all know “the customer is always right”, there had to be at least one “Bob”, just in case.

Just a little sillyness, but it snowballed. Shift leaders and managers began to refer to their groups of ‘bobs’. Whole ranks of support machines were set up (and still exist in the DNS) as bob1 through bob[lots].

Then came a.t-s.r, and it was filled with Demon support personnel. They all referred to themselves, and to others, as ‘bob’, and after a while it caught on.

Just one of those strange things, I guess…

Though this code isn’t dated, it was first mentioned on alt.tech-support.recovery on March 2, 1997.