What does "Ping" mean?

[maineman]

I see so many people asking to be put on the 'ping list', what does that mean?

I also see that you can be 'pinged' if something you are interested in is posted. Are you notified someway?

Thanks

[Eighth Square]

Thanks for the info.

[Allegra]

You spin me right round baby, right round
Like a record, baby
Right round, round round

[JoeSixPack1]

Exactatactally! :-)

[StAnDeliver]

"Ok, I'll bite...what does **gnip** stand for? And don't be snarky!"

Really pinged off. If it catches on, I want royalties.

[camas]

i think it use to mean "keep this post active". what it really means ????.

[mewzilla]

LOL. I thought a gnip was a wee gnaw....

[KarinG1]

Heh heh. Thanks Paleo, now I understand.

[InterceptPoint]

Pay no attention to any of the previous posts. These guys are just pulling your leg.

Here is the official explanation for the meaning of PING: It stands for Private Investigator Newsworthy Goings-On. Here is their magazine. In England this group is known as PINGO but here in The States we use the correct reference which is and always will be PING. So when you see the words PING in an FR posting all it means is that you should go and check out the latest PI news. It's that simple.

[imintrouble]

LOL Sunday Morning Sillies!!!

Did anyone mention "ping" being the sound of watermelon seeds hitting the car door on a lazy afternoon sitting
around having a contest which involves spitting projectiles?

I am soooooooooo glad I am only a semi newbie now! :o)

[BunnySlippers]

[BIGLOOK]

You're just short of the 4th.....so wishing you a Happy Independence Day, Allegra!

No snark....no smerk.....

[HawaiianGecko]

Mike Muuss wrote PING in 1983 for 4.2a BSD UNIX, and says "from my point of view PING is not an acronym standing for Packet InterNet Grouper, it's a sonar analogy." 

He continues: "I named it after the sound that a sonar makes, inspired by the whole principle of echo-location. In college I'd done a lot of modeling of sonar and radar systems, so the "Cyberspace" analogy seemed very apt. It's exactly the same paradigm applied to a new problem domain: ping uses timed IP/ICMP ECHO_REQUEST and ECHO_REPLY packets to probe the "distance" to the target machine. "

"If I'd known then that it would be my most famous accomplishment in life, I might have worked on it another day or two and added some more options."

Dave Mills offered this expansion of the name (Backronymn) to Packet InterNet Grouper (later called Groper and even Gopher)

 

 

[MineralMan]

Thanks for the ping, eh?

[Allegra]

You're just short of the 4th.....so wishing you a Happy Independence Day, Allegra!

Thanks! We all hope the fireworks are kept to a minimum. Happy Fourth back atcha!

To celebrate, I think I'll post a vanity thread asking what "Bump" means.

[Lazamataz]

Ping some more smack in your vein, Junkie.

Oooooh. Made ya mad, did I? :^)

I'll make sure to ping you any time I think you might have an interest in a topic.

I expect that might be about 75 times a day! heh heh heh heh

[posterchild]

Packet InterNet Grouper
mmmmm Grouper

[Lazamataz]

PING!

[HairOfTheDog]

Dude... you're cussing yourself out.

[processing please hold]

Good heavens, who spammed the keyword? I have been prematurely blinded, and someone's going to pay for it.