Droid definition

Droid





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2 definitions found

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  droid n. [from `android', SF terminology for a humanoid robot of
     essentially biological (as opposed to mechanical/electronic)
     construction] A person (esp. a low-level bureaucrat or service-business
     employee) exhibiting most of the following characteristics: (a) naive
     trust in the wisdom of the parent organization or `the system'; (b) a
     blind-faith propensity to believe obvious nonsense emitted by authority


     figures (or computers!); (c) a rule-governed mentality, one unwilling or
     unable to look beyond the `letter of the law' in exceptional situations;
     (d) a paralyzing fear of official reprimand or worse if Procedures are
     not followed No Matter What; and (e) no interest in doing anything above
     or beyond the call of a very narrowly-interpreted duty, or in particular
     in fixing that which is broken; an "It's not my job, man" attitude.
  
     Typical droid positions include supermarket checkout assistant and
     bank clerk; the syndrome is also endemic in low-level government
     employees. The implication is that the rules and official procedures
     constitute software that the droid is executing; problems arise when the
     software has not been properly debugged. The term `droid mentality' is
     also used to describe the mindset behind this behavior. Compare {suit},
     {marketroid}; see {-oid}.
  
     In England there is equivalent mainstream slang; a `jobsworth' is an
     obstructive, rule-following bureaucrat, often of the uniformed or suited
     variety. Named for the habit of denying a reasonable request by sucking
     his teeth and saying "Oh no, guv, sorry I can't help you: that's more
     than my job's worth".
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  droid
       
           (From "android") The robots of the Star Wars
          universe.  While androids look somewhat human-like, Star Wars'
          droids are typically fashioned in the likeness of their
          creators or in a utilitarian design that stresses function
          over appearance.  Droids are equipped with artificial
          intelligence, though some are naturally created smarter than
          others depending on the function they are designed to serve.
       
          "Droid" is a Lucasfilm Ltd. trademark.
       
          {starwars.com (http://www.starwars.com/databank/droid/)}.
       
          ["A Guide to the Star Wars Universe", Bill Slavicsek, 1994,
          Lucasfilm Ltd.]
       
          [Was George Lucas really the first to use the abbreviation?]
       
          (2003-05-11)
       
       

















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