a phenomenon caused by cheap computers and network access, chiefly characterized by 16 year olds who think they're going to be all set for a career in the fast paced high paying world of computers because they know how to use AOL, write HTML, and use mIRC. Closely related to but not the same as script kiddies; the main difference is lack of malicious intent. Not necessarily bad; most geeks and hackers pass through this phase or one like it. See also larval mode, the usual transition to hackerdom.