TOC

TOC is an open protocol for AIM. It supports about as much as AOL's AIM 2.0 client does. For whatever reasons (probably security), America Oncrack didn't want to have an open specification for AIM, so they made a gateway to the one Windows and Mac OS clients use. TOC clients include gaim, TiK, and AOL's very own java client at http://toc.oscar.aol.com/. AOL ditched development of the TOC server, but it is still running and very functional. The protocol the official Windows and Mac OS AIM clients use is called OSCAR.

See also my writeup under TiK, because TOC and TiK's history are closely integrated (TiK/TOC was advertised as AOL's official UNIX port)

TOC is also a common abbreviation for table of contents. There is the "TOC header" on a CD or CD-ROM that tells track location and size information.

TOC stands for 'Theory of constraints', a very practical approach which focuses on dissolving conflicts we humans love to create. It originated from dr. E.M. Goldratt, well known from the book 'The Goal', first published in 1984.
Like Orwell's book, I suspect that the impact of this book will continue to grow in the new economy.

TOC also stands for Tournament of Champions. This is probably the most prestigious high school debate tournament in the country. Entries are accepted in policy debate, Lincoln-Douglas debate, and student congress. To qualify, debaters must attain two bids. One may receive a bid by attending certain "national circuit" tournaments and advancing to specified points. For instance, any team that competes in the quarter-finals of the University of Texas tournament may get a bid. Teams receive nothing for going beyond the specified point. The list of tournaments and bid rounds is updated every year. The actual tournament format varies from year to year, but there are usually seven preliminary rounds and it takes place every year in Lexington, Kentucky and is hosted by the University of Kentucky.