[Unix] On systems that support finger, the
.plan file in a user's home directory is displayed
when the user is fingered. This feature was originally intended to be used
to keep potential fingerers apprised of one's location and near-future
plans, but has been turned almost universally to humorous and
self-expressive purposes (like a sig block). See
also Hacking X for Y.
A recent innovation in plan files has been the introduction of
“scrolling plan files” which are one-dimensional animations
made using only the printable ASCII character set, carriage return and line
feed, avoiding terminal specific escape sequences, since the
finger command will (for security reasons; see
letterbomb) not pass the escape character.
Scrolling .plan files have become art forms in miniature, and some
sites have started competitions to find who can create the longest running,
funniest, and most original animations. Various animation characters
include:
and a compiler (ASP) is available on
Usenet for producing them. See also
twirling baton.
