nastygram

Also a "Cease and Desist" or other type of letter that a lawyer will send to someone, threatening a lawsuit. For example, when Slashdot users posted links to Microsoft's bastardized kerberos implementation, Microsoft's lawyers sent a nastygram to CmdrTaco and andover.net. A nastygram threatens litigation, but it is not a guarantee that any suit will be filed. They are used mostly as a scare tactic.

nastygram /nas'tee-gram/ n.

1. A protocol packet or item of email (the latter is also called a letterbomb) that takes advantage of misfeatures or security holes on the target system to do untoward things. 2. Disapproving mail, esp. from a net.god, pursuant to a violation of netiquette or a complaint about failure to correct some mail- or news-transmission problem. Compare shitogram, mailbomb. 3. A status report from an unhappy, and probably picky, customer. "What'd Corporate say in today's nastygram?" 4. [deprecated] An error reply by mail from a daemon; in particular, a bounce message.

--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.