Whack-a-mole

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The Jargon File Parts of this article are based on the Jargon File, v. 4.4.7, a public domain document of hacker jargon.

whack-a-mole: n.

[from the carnival game which involves quickly and repeatedly hitting the heads of mechanical moles with a mallet as they pop up from their holes.]

1. The practice of repeatedly causing spammers' throwaway accounts and drop boxes to be terminated.
2. After sense 1 became established in the mid-1990s the term passed into more generalized use, and now is commonly found in such combinations as whack-a-mole windows; the obnoxious pop-up advertisement windows spawned in flocks when you surf to sites like Angelfire or Lycos.

Sources

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