While a clever interpretation, that's not what copypasta means. It's literally a permutation of the phrase 'copy and paste'; popularized on 4chan, as a term for posts that would be repeatedly copy/pasted.
There's something special about it when applied to code though. Spaghetti code that's been copy/pasted is, in particular, quite worthy of being called "copypasta".
I have never seen the term being used in programming (for code) this way to refer to spaghetti code. Unless your definition caught on, using it that way would just confuse people, because copypasta already means something else.
I concur that this is an interpretation I encountered, that is bad copy/paste of possibly good code (often from stackoverflow) that results in spaghetti/pasta code, due to pasted code not being reformatted/refactored to fit surrounding code.
To be clear: specifically when copy-pasting, just particularly when the code is already spaghetti. (Because who commits just one sin?) The copy/pasting is the critical element.
Actually the previous assertion predates 4chan. Anecdotally I recall using "copypasta" in the late 90's when working with code that had obviously been copied from another source and turned into a a spaghetti code mess. I don't doubt that it has taken on many other meanings, but I know for a fact that it means what naikrovek is not alone with that definition.
Yes. My exposure to the term is from slashdot and IRC in the late 1990s.
Can't believe I got downvoted for having more time on the internet than some others here, learning during that time, then making a statement based on what I learned.
