Editing Luser (section)

{{short description|Internet slang}}
{{for|the single-board computer (SBC) from the University of Delft/Netherlands|LART}} 
{{redirect|Lusers|the 2015 adventure comedy film|Lusers (film)}}
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{{mono|1=SVensson's ITS on KLH10<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Welcome to SV!<br /><br />SV ITS.1648. PWORD.2660.<br />TTY 11<br />2. Lusers, Fair Share = 2%<br /><nowiki>*</nowiki>}}
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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]].<ref name="McFedries">{{cite book
| title     = The Complete Idiot's Guide to a Smart Vocabulary
| first     = Paul
| last     = McFedries
| publisher     = Alpha Books
| year     = 2001
| isbn     = 0-02-863997-9
| url     = https://archive.org/details/completeidiotsgu0000mcfe_p6s6
}}p. 214</ref>
The word is a [[Blend word|blend]] of "loser" and "user".<ref name="Jansen">{{cite book
| title     = Netlingo: The Internet Dictionary
| first     = Erin
| last     = Jansen
| publisher     = NetLingo Inc.
| year     = 2002
| isbn     = 0-9706396-7-8
| url     = https://archive.org/details/00book881123420
}}p. 244</ref> Among [[Hacker (programmer subculture)|hackers]], the word ''luser'' takes on a broad meaning, referring to any normal [[user (computing)|user]] (in other words, not a "[[Expert|guru]]"), with the implication the person is also a [[Loser (person)|loser]]. The term is partially interchangeable with the hacker term ''[[lamer]]''. 

The term can also signify a [[layman]] with only [[user (computing)|user]] account [[Privilege (computing)|privileges]], as opposed to a [[power user]] or [[Superuser|administrator]], who has knowledge of, and access to, [[superuser]] accounts; for example, an '''[[End-user (computer science)|end luser]]''' who cannot be trusted with a root account for [[system administration]]. It is popular with technical support staff who have to deal with lusers as part of their job, often metaphorically employing a '''LART''' ('''Luser Attitude Readjustment Tool''', also known as a '''clue-by-four''',<ref>{{cite web |title=clue by four |url=https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/clue-by-four |website=The Free Dictionary}}</ref> '''cluestick''', or '''cluebat'''), meaning turning off the user's access to computer resources and the like.