1. communications (SNR, "s/n ratio", "s:n ratio") "Signal"
refers to useful information conveyed by some communications
medium, and "noise" to anything else on that medium. The
ratio of these is usually expressed logarithmically, in
2.
networking The term is often applied to
Usenetnewsgroups though figures are never given. Here it is quite
common to have more noise (inappropriate postings which
contribute nothing) than signal (relevant, useful or
when it becomes too much effort to try to find interesting
articles among all the crud. Posting "noise" is probably the
(1996-01-29)