BoF is an acronym for birds of a feather . This idiom is a shortening of the proverb birds of a feather flock together , meaning that people (birds) of the same kind or interest (of a common feather) enjoy spending time (flocking) together. This proverb is believed to date back as far as Greek and Roman times, but has become commonly used as a cliche since the nineteenth century.

The acronym is predominantly used by computer geeks at gatherings such as industry conferences to describe a meeting in which a topic of specific interest is discussed. Such meetings are refered to as Birds-of-a-Feather Meetings , or simply as BoFs .

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