? Recombination

(n) 1. A process whereby new combinations of existing alleles are produced. Examples include sexual reproduction, which recombines alleles from two different organisms, and crossover, which recombines alleles from two different chromosomes.

Reference

(n) 1. Information about the source of a quotation (or other data) which can be used to locate the original. See any style book for the information which must be included in a reference. 2. Biblical book, chapter, and verse which supports a statement and therefore shows it to be true. [conn, SciCre, TAE]. 3. Vague phrases such as "A guard at the Smithsonian told me..." or "Before there were animal- rights laws this guy used to drive around the country with an ape and..." which when preceeding some information shows it to be true. [conn, Ted Holden]. 4. A polite way of saying, "I think you're lying", as in the phrase "References, please?", or more pointedly, as, "Do you have a reference for that?" 5. An item wanted but never found. "I'll find it after [ the end of the term | this project is finished | I complete this 64 disk Tower of Hanoi puzzle ]." [conn., SciCre, TAE]

ROPFP

acronym, "Read Other People's (fine?) Posts". Sometimes seen when particularly vacuous or clueless responses to rebuttals are given.

RTFF

acronym, "Read the (fine?) FAQs". Many newcomers to the discussion apparently have the idea that their thoughts and arguments are so new and solid that it is inconceivable that either the argument has been seen before and refuted or that any effective or arguable rebuttal could be forthcoming. A common response to the perceived arrogance of the newcomer is a mass of replies telling him to RTFF. See Flood, The(2).