The Bastard Operator From Hell (BOFH) is a fictional rogue

computer operator A computer operator is a role in IT which oversees the running of computer systems, ensuring that the machines, and computers are running properly. The job of a computer operator as defined by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics is to ...

created by Simon Travaglia, who takes out his anger on

user Ancient Egyptian roles * User (ancient Egyptian official), an ancient Egyptian nomarch (governor) of the Eighth Dynasty * Useramen, an ancient Egyptian vizier also called "User" Other uses * User (computing), a person (or software) using an ...

s (who are "

luser Before the popularization of the Internet in the 1990s, Internet slang defined a luser (sometimes expanded to local user; also luzer or luzzer) as a painfully annoying, stupid, or irritating computer user.p. 214 The word is a blend of "loser" ...

s" to him) and others who pester him with their computer problems, uses his expertise against his enemies and manipulates his employer. Several other people have written stories about BOFHs, but those by Simon Travaglia are considered canonical. The BOFH stories were originally posted in 1992 to

Usenet Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...

by Travaglia, with some being reprinted in ''

Datamation ''Datamation'' is a computer magazine that was published in print form in the United States between 1957 and 1998,

.'' They were published weekly from 1995 to 1999 in '' Network Week.'' Since 2000 they have been published regularly in ''

The Register ''The Register'' is a British technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee, John Lettice and Ross Alderson. The online newspaper's masthead sublogo is "''Biting the hand that feeds IT''." Their primary focus is information tec ...

'' (UK). Several collections of the stories have been published as books. By extension, the term is also used to refer to any system administrator who displays the qualities of the original. The early accounts of the BOFH took place in a university; later the scenes were set in an office workplace. In 2000 (BOFH 2k), the BOFH and his pimply-faced youth (PFY) assistant moved to a new company.

Other characters

* The PFY (Pimply-Faced Youth, the assistant to the BOFH. Real name is Stephen) Possesses a temperament similar to the BOFH, and often either teams up with or plots against him. * The Boss (often portrayed as having no IT knowledge but believing otherwise; identity changes as successive bosses are sacked, leave, are committed, or have nasty "accidents") *

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the company – The PFY's uncle Brian from 1996 until 2000, when the BOFH and PFY moved to a new company. * The Head of IT, almost as disposable as the Boss. * The

help desk A help desk is a department or person that provides assistance and information usually for electronic or computer problems. In the mid-1990s, research by Iain Middleton of Robert Gordon University studied the value of an organization's help desks ...

operators, referred to as the "Helldesk" and often scolded for giving out the BOFH's personal number. * The Boss's secretary, Sharon. * The security department * George, the cleaner (an invaluable source of information to the BOFH and PFY)

Books

* * * * *

Games

BOFH is a text adventure game written by Howard A. Sherman and published in 2002. It is available via Malinche.

References in other media

The protagonist in

Charles Stross Charles David George "Charlie" Stross (born 18 October 1964) is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy. Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. Between 1994 and 2004, he was also an active writer for the magazine '' ...

's ''

The Laundry Files ''The Laundry Files'' is a series of novels by British writer Charles Stross. They mix the genres of Lovecraftian horror, spy thriller, science fiction, and workplace humour. Their main character for the first five novels is "Bob Howard" (a ps ...

'' series of novels named himself Bob Oliver Francis Howard in reference to the BOFH. As Bob Howard is a self-chosen pseudonym, and Bob is a network manager when not working as a computational demonologist, the name is all too appropriate. In the novella ''Pimpf'', he acquires a pimply-faced young assistant by the name of Peter-Fred Young.

Authorship

Simon Travaglia (born 1964) graduated from the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1985. He worked as the IT infrastructure manager (2004–2008) and computer operator (1985–1992) at the University of Waikato and the infrastructure manager at the

Waikato Innovation Park Innovation Waikato, or Waikato Innovation Park, is New Zealand’s growth hub for Ag-Biotech businesses. It offers commercial tenancies and specialised professional skills support to companies active in the agriculture or biotechnology sectors. I ...

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton ( mi, Kirikiriroa) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's fou ...

(since 2008). Since 1999 he is a freelance writer for ''

''. He lives in

Hautapu Hautapu is a township in the Waipa District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, located just north of Cambridge across State Highway 1. The area was identified as the Hautapu Parish on a militia farm map published in 1864 during ...

, New Zealand."About me"
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References

External links

* * * {{cite newsgroup , title=BASTARD OPERATOR FROM HELL #1 , last=Travaglia , first=Simon , date=9 June 1992 , newsgroup=alt.tasteless , message-id=1992Jun10.091440.8536@waikato.ac.nz , url=https://groups.google.com/group/alt.tasteless/browse_thread/thread/5bdbb59af47bf0b0/f0e09b9e5734272 , access-date=2016-08-22 Computer humor Internet culture Internet slang System administration Fictional characters introduced in 1992 Fictional people in information technology