ELF, among other meaningless communication barriers

[Condobloke]

Post in thread 'On-Line Web Based AntiVirus Scanners, List of'

May 17, 2026

For the uninitiated, the over and over use of ELF as if it were a common everyday term is very confusing.

Please remember this is Linux.org ...a forum open to thousands of newcomers who are highly unaware.

ELF stands for Executable and Linkable Format, which is a standard file format for executables, object code, shared libraries, and core dumps on Unix-like operating systems, including Linux. In the context of malware, ELF files can be analyzed to understand the structure and behavior of malicious software targeting these systems.

I hope this helps those who are having trouble...

• Condobloke

• 

Based on the use of stuff like ELF etc in posts.... which may only be known by the poster and a few others with experience/knowledge of that particular 'thing'

This rule may be a welcome addition. Which form it may be introduced in is up for grabs, but the gist is this:

"" When posting, please use proper grammar. Refrain from 'text-message' style substitutions of words like 'u' for 'you', and 'ur' for 'your'. This is a multi-national forum, and some of our non-english speaking members must use translation software which is confused by abbreviations. Most of our volunteer members are very busy helping as many people as they can, and a post that is hard to read will often be overlooked.....blah blah ""

yes it came from "that other place" .....but in many instances it is necessary.....in some form which makes sense at Linux.org

An observation on the part of those who have to go look up via DDG etc, what is actually being talked about before I/we can read/understand his/their post/s

 

[CaffeineAddict]

of those who have to go look up via DDG etc

You broke your own rule

---

But you're right, some forums do have in their guidelines set to avoid using abbreviations.
And I agree with you many people won't bother to search for meaning but will simply skip parts of reply they don't understand.

 

[Condobloke]

Yes ! ...I did break my own rule !!....that was clumsy of me !! LOL

 

[gvisoc]

LOL

Don't worry, we all do.

 

[Condobloke]

many people won't bother to search for meaning but will simply skip parts of reply they don't understand.

Which in far too many cases may well be the entire thread.

Is there a solution? Can the 'Similar Threads' shown below be tweaked in such a way to show info strictly pertaining to the topic above ? or better still set in motion an automatic search pertaining to the topic above?

 

[PuppyHome]

Is there a solution? Can the 'Similar Threads' shown below be tweaked in such a way to show info strictly pertaining to the topic above ?

Sounds like a tall order.

Even if such a feature could be realized one has to factor in the nature of the average poster asking a question. As fast as a result possible after asking their question.
Most folks post a question on a forum (sometimes minutes after signing up) without having read anything concerning their question ON the forum prior to posting.

The expectations are quite often unrealistic. Even if there would be similar topics and the poster would be pointed toward those chances are slim to none they'd read that first. If taking notice at all.

 

[beanburrito]

Post in thread 'On-Line Web Based AntiVirus Scanners, List of'

May 17, 2026

For the uninitiated, the over and over use of ELF as if it were a common everyday term is very confusing.

Please remember this is Linux.org ...a forum open to thousands of newcomers who are highly unaware.

ELF stands for Executable and Linkable Format, which is a standard file format for executables, object code, shared libraries, and core dumps on Unix-like operating systems, including Linux. In the context of malware, ELF files can be analyzed to understand the structure and behavior of malicious software targeting these systems.

I hope this helps those who are having trouble...

• Condobloke

• 

Based on the use of stuff like ELF etc in posts.... which may only be known by the poster and a few others with experience/knowledge of that particular 'thing'

ELF 101 is basic Linux knowledge. We're here to learn. When posting about online antiviruses I wanted to include basic info on ELF files users may upload to sites and which ones include details such as strings and further examination of the files. I was aiming at helping the user choose a particular site vs. something basic like Jotti. Some sites don't support ELF files.

The Linux user has a right to know what types of files exist on their system! Some people only want to "punch the monkey" with GUIs and that's fine, but If we start drawing lines in the sand over what basic knowledge can or can't be discussed, where does it end?

If you don't like my posts, flag them with sad or angry and move on, or ignore them/me completely. Have a beautiful day!

 

[Brian Alex]

"

of those who have to go look up via DDG etc

You broke your own rule "

Honestly, I had to look that up via DDG".

 

[PuppyHome]

Some people only want to "punch the monkey" with GUIs and that's fine, but If we start drawing lines in the sand over what basic knowledge can or can't be discussed, where does it end?

No one is drawing any lines anywhere.

All @Condobloke said was it could be confusing for readers to be confronted with terminology they have never heard of after clicking a post concerning online antivirus scans. That's it.

I wanted to include basic info on ELF files

That in itself is a great idea and worthy of a topic of it's own. By all means do so.
That way any user could decide to watch said topic or not. It's way less confusing.

If you don't like my posts, flag them with sad or angry and move on, or ignore them/me completely. Have a beautiful day!

No one is telling you what you can or cannot post so there is no need o get defensive.

 

[Smilax]

At the end of my career I had a supervisor who hated acronyms. A younger guy too, he was brilliant and knew his stuff, easy to work for and get along with, but made it plain up front he didn't like them. He was also an Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certified mechanic, and I wondered if that had anything to do with it. No question, it made my job easier.

 

[dos2unix]

There's an old joke that says.. the reason the American won the Asian Pacific theatre in WWII
was because we could use acronyms. The American/European alphabet only has 26 characters.
The Chinese/Japanese alphabet has hundreds of characters, each character is an entire word,
No acronyms. So messages took much longer to type.. It's probably urban legend, but it is funny.

Another similar Joke.. why are Catholic girls better spellers than non Catholics.. easy the cheerleaders
at one school simply say "Gimme a W", "gimme a E", "gimme an S", "gmmme a T", whats that spell?

The cheerleaders at Our Lady of Immaculate Reception, have a little longer cheer.

I guess that means we can't use GNU or BSD or DNS or DHCP.. (where does it end?) WINE, GIMP, BASH...
I have a headache, I think I'll go lie down.

 

[Rocketing-warp9]

Even Linux/Unix itself!

 

[AlphaObeisance]

Oh lordy. I owe acronyms credit as to my google fu degree.

 

[beanburrito]

That in itself is a great idea and worthy of a topic of it's own. By all means do so.
That way any user could decide to watch said topic or not. It's way less confusing.

Indeed, thanks. Well, I wasn't trying to be confusing, mainly informing the user on which sites ELF files are supported for scanning/analysis. It takes all of a few seconds to search for ELF Linux or whatever.

 

[beanburrito]

The Chinese/Japanese alphabet has hundreds of characters, each character is an entire word

I've been pondering attempting to learn either Mandarin or Cantonese but I can't decide which.

 

[Condobloke]

Sounds like a tall order.

The expectations are quite often unrealistic.

Now that makes for an interesting topic !.... where the mountain meets the hurricane? (or some such other quaint saying) LOL

 

[Condobloke]

ELF 101 is basic Linux knowledge.

Really ? not in my world it hasn't.
13 Years in Linux Mint here...exposed to all sorts of 'stuff' via Linux.org

looking at 'similar threads' below this topic shows me nothing 'similar'

Go figure.

 

[beanburrito]

Really ? not in my world it hasn't.
13 Years in Linux Mint here...exposed to all sorts of 'stuff' via Linux.org

If you don't know something, it's not my fault. 13 years is enough to have picked up a large Linux/Unix book(s) and read about the filesystem. Plenty of that information is online, but with 13 years, you should know that.

looking at 'similar threads' below this topic shows me nothing 'similar'

And some people only fill their carts with sugary treats at grocery stores. Go figure.

That'll teach me for pointing out (what should be) the obvious. Bad burrito... BAD! nomnomnom

I guess general knowledge about the filesystem is restricted to wizards only:

 

[Condobloke]

It would appear I touched a nerve or three. ^^

Congrats to me. Occasionally the place needs a shake up.

On the more serious side, personal attacks, are to be deplored. They are not a feature of this site. Never have been, and never will.

 

[beanburrito]

personal attacks, are to be deplored

Nice try, rather than reply to what I just posted. No attacks coming from me, mate. Peace