(BOF) (From the saying "Birds of a feather flock together") An

informal discussion group, scheduled on a conference program

or formed ad hoc, to consider a specific issue or subject. It

is not clear where or when this term originated, but it is now

associated with the USENIX conferences for Unix techies

and was already established there by 1984. It was used

earlier than that at DECUS conferences and is reported to

have been common at SHARE meetings as far back as the early

1960s.