L33T Speek

[DarthFerret]

Ok, now I just wanted to see what everyone here thinks of this new fangled thing out there called L33t speak. I really have no idea where this all came about (although EverQuest and Halo come to mind...I have never played either) but I personally think it is a bunch of garbage. It is similar to the Starbucks thing that small = tall, medium = large, and large = vente. Why can we not just use the words that we were taught in English class? Why can't I just type "Be Quiet" instead of "STFU"? Why can't I just say, "man that was funny" instead of being forced into this "lol" type stuff? (Btw, if you have an imagination, does "lol" look kinda like a TIE Intercepter from Star Wars?)

Any comments on this topic are welcome, as well as any lingo that you know and what the definition is. At least then I can reason with some people I know and at least know what they are sayin back to me!

 

[Nightstalkers]

Vente = 20 and the starsmucks "large" sized cups are 20 oz.

1337 speak came about in the early days of the internet when people began using numbers and other symbols to designate letters in words, and even at times entire words (example: @ = at) in order to chat in a semi coded manner. The automated scripts (referred to as "bots") would be given a few words to look for and sort the posts on forums for these little chats that had the certain words.

So basically it's like this:

DarthFerret: Lets blow up the school tomorrow!

The bot would flag that and it would be reported to a moderator for the word "blow" or the phraise "blow up."

1337 Speak:

D4r7hF3rr37: |375 b|0w up 7h3 5ch00| 70m0rr0w!

The bot wouldn't respond to this only if it's keyed into the word "up" or the conflageration of letters, numbers, and symbols displayed therein.

That is "1337 speak"

What you are complaining about is what I lovingly refer to as "AOheller." Basically in the early days of text messaging through cellphones and other instant messanging devices people found that they were either too lazy to type out the full sentances or just didn't have the time to do so. So... people began using acronyms of the more repeated phraises... STFU, FU, IMHO, WTFC, MTG, etc. to name a few.

Getting people to use these instead of typing out the entire sentance is about like asking a gradeschooler to perform a casimir effect calculation upon two interstellar bodies when inside of a very large vat of water.

 

[Oversoul]

d@R+hf3rRiT u h4d b3++3r z00n l3rn 2 r3sp3kt t3h 1337 0r elz 50 stfu n00b lol brb gg

j00 h4v bn 0wn3d!!!!!!!!111

 

[Arix]

j00 h4v bn 0wn3d!!!!!!!!111

rofl rofl lol its pwn'd j00 n00b!!!11!11!1!were did j00 com from ,go bak 2 ur homeplant u n00b!!111!111!!! lol

 

[DarthFerret]

Oh Lord! (rolls eyes)

 

[Nightstalkers]

You see what happens when you ask?

 

[Mooseman]

rofl rofl lol its pwn'd j00 n00b!!!11!11!1!were did j00 com from ,go bak 2 ur homeplant u n00b!!111!111!!! lol

Someone want to translate this for those of us who are cell phone, AOheller or L33T illiterate?

 

[DarthFerret]

That was kinda what I was hoping for MooseMan

 

[Oversoul]

rofl rofl lol its pwn'd j00 n00b!!!11!11!1!were did j00 com from ,go bak 2 ur homeplant u n00b!!111!111!!! lol

Translation: I am rolling on the floor and laughing out loud. I am rolling on the floor and laughing out loud. I am laughing out loud. It is "pwn'd," newb. Where did you come from? Go back to your home planet, you newb.

Note: Expressions such as "lol" and "rofl" are used to emote. They are not meant to be taken literally. In order to be as annoying as one possibly can, it is generally acceptable to repeat such abbreviations. In any case, "lol," "rofl," "rotfl," "lmao," "rotflmao," etc. are all used as an indication that one finds humor in something. Even a small amount of humor might unleash a torrent of such abbreviations. Also, "pwn'd" is a corruption of "owned" which is in turn a corruption of "owned."

 

[DarthFerret]

Actually, I got taught (not by choice) about why it is P'wnd instead of o'wnd. Here is the reason. In a lot of your bots, cursing is of course not allowed..to that end some people started using the word ph#ck. Then the whole Owned thing came along, then they put it together "Ph#ck#ng O'wned. Now it is shortened to P'wnd. But that is about the ONLY thing I know so far other than what has been posted here.

 

[Arix]

There's a lot of theories on how "owned" became "pwned". That's just one of them. The most commonly known theory is that on a standard QWERTY keyboard, the 'p' is right next to the 'o', so it began as a simple typo. There's a whole Wikipedia article about the term, there's some more stuff there.

 

[Zigathon]

I've taken to calling it "typowned." Although, you'll hear me say it instead of type it.

 

[Spiderman]

I wouldn't take Wikipedia too seriously, as since it depends on submissions from people, inaccuracies are inevitable.

Basically in the early days of text messaging through cellphones and other instant messanging devices people found that they were either too lazy to type out the full sentances or just didn't have the time to do so. So... people began using acronyms of the more repeated phraises... STFU, FU, IMHO, WTFC, MTG, etc. to name a few.

I think it's not just the case of the "early days". I just read recently that some cell phones currently have a limit on the number of text characters you can send (like 160), so abbreviating stuff just makes sense to get the most "words" in.

 

[Oversoul]

I wouldn't take Wikipedia too seriously, as since it depends on submissions from people, inaccuracies are inevitable.

In defense of Wikipedia, their system works surprisingly well for a lot of things. Where I've found them to be slightly less reliable is with topics that are inextricably connected to the internet. So in the case of "pwn" I tend to agree with you. I'd look for a different source.

Note that on their discussion page for "pwn," a user explains that it is one of those terms where the origin can be narrowed down to a number of likely candidates, but simply cannot be pinpointed.

I recommend anyone who uses Wikipedia examine the discussion pages and tags for articles, especially ones that seem questionable (it doesn't always shed light on the subject, but it's usually worth checking out).

 

[Spiderman]

I think anything can be suspect. I recently read an article in the paper about how a guy sued for slander? something or other because someone posted his name in connection with the JFK assassination when he had nothing to do with it. The guy who posted it was found and said he did it as "a joke".

 

[Zigathon]

What a strange little word though. No one is certain how to pronounce it or where it came from.

"Typowned by a word, yo!"

 

[BigBlue]

d00d, I always thought it was "pawned", meaning took care of a weak chess piece... so, you can see what an 1d10t I am...

Another IT acronym.... pebcak... "problem exists between chair and Keyboard" You say that after they figure out "ID10T" pronounced "eye-Dee-ten-Tee"... One I'm always victim of is rtfm.... "read the f'n manual"...

It took me forever to figure out imho - "In my Humble Opinion"

 

[Apollo]

I feel the need to point out that "lol" looks like a TIE fighter, not a TIE Interceptor.

 

[Mooseman]

I feel the need to point out that "lol" looks like a TIE fighter, not a TIE Interceptor.

Spoken like at true SW geek....... hehe

(I thought the same thing....... )

 

[Zigathon]

Heh, I never noticed that before.