network address

network address n.  (also `net address') As used by
   hackers, means an address on `the' network (see {network,
   the}; this is almost always a {bang path} or {{Internet
   address}}).  Such an address is essential if one wants to be to be
   taken seriously by hackers; in particular, persons or organizations
   that claim to understand, work with, sell to, or recruit from among
   hackers but *don't* display net addresses are quietly presumed
   to be clueless poseurs and mentally flushed (see {flush}, sense
   4).  Hackers often put their net addresses on their business cards
   and wear them prominently in contexts where they expect to meet
   other hackers face-to-face (see also {{science-fiction fandom}}).
   This is mostly functional, but is also a signal that one identifies
   with hackerdom (like lodge pins among Masons or tie-dyed T-shirts
   among Grateful Dead fans).  Net addresses are often used in email
   text as a more concise substitute for personal names; indeed,
   hackers may come to know each other quite well by network names
   without ever learning each others' `legal' monikers.  See also
   {sitename}, {domainist}.