The phrase “bastard operator from hell” (BOFH) is a fictional character in IT literature who is rude. BOFH-themed stories illustrate certain thorny relationships between end users and network operators. The BOFH administers a corporate system and expresses himself/herself rudely toward other users in the company who make system requests.
The original BOFH-themed stories were attributed to Simon Travaglia, who posted such stories on Usenet in 1992. Over time, the term has become a part of Internet slang that describes a rude system administrator or any network administrator who displays rudeness toward users for various things. Some of the original articles have been anthologized, and as technology makes its way into the narrative media, the fictional “network boss” and his/her foibles have become a more popular stock character in fictional television and movie projects.
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