provocative maintenance

   [common  ironic mutation of preventive maintenance] Actions performed
   upon  a  machine  at regularly scheduled intervals to ensure that the
   system  remains  in  a  usable state. So called because it is all too
   often  performed  by  a  {field  servoid} who doesn't know what he is
   doing;  such  `maintenance'  often  induces  problems,  or  otherwise
   results  in  the  machine's  remaining  in  an  unusable state for an
   indeterminate amount of time. See also {scratch monkey}.

[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {PM}]