pseudo

pseudo: /soo'doh/ n.  [Usenet truncation of `pseudonym']
   1. An electronic-mail or {Usenet} persona adopted by a human for
   amusement value or as a means of avoiding negative repercussions of
   one's net.behavior; a `nom de Usenet', often associated with
   forged postings designed to conceal message origins.  Perhaps the
   best-known and funniest hoax of this type is {B1FF}.  See also
   {tentacle}.  2. Notionally, a {flamage}-generating AI program
   simulating a Usenet user.  Many flamers have been accused of
   actually being such entities, despite the fact that no AI program
   of the required sophistication yet exists.  However, in 1989 there
   was a famous series of forged postings that used a
   phrase-frequency-based travesty generator to simulate the styles of
   several well-known flamers; it was based on large samples of their
   back postings (compare {Dissociated Press}).  A significant
   number of people were fooled by the forgeries, and the debate over
   their authenticity was settled only when the perpetrator came
   forward to publicly admit the hoax.