The PHost equivalent of the Tim Continuum. "PHP" here stands for the "Portable Host Project", not "People Hate Perl" (probably because the Portable Host Project people actually like Perl :-)
The PHP Abyss punishes players for giving away registered copies of their client programs: it will stall their empire, their ships will not move, their factories and mines will not produce.
See here for detail information, and how to avoid invoking the PHP Abyss.