from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
Birds Of a Feather
(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.
(1994-10-11)