The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Derf \Derf\, a. [Icel. djafr.]
Strong; powerful; fierce. [Obs.] -- Derf"ly, adv. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
derf
/derf/
[PLATO]
1. v. The act of exploiting a terminal which someone else has
absentmindedly left logged on, to use that person's account, especially to
post articles intended to make an ass of the victim you're impersonating.
It has been alleged that the term originated as a reversal of the name of
the gentleman who most usually left himself vulnerable to it, who also
happened to be the head of the department that handled PLATO at the
University of Delaware. Compare baggy pantsing.
2. n. The victim of an act of derfing, sense 1. The most typical posting
from a derfed account read ?I am a derf.?.