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andrewduckerThis was originally written to explain to someone why gaming/message board slang looks like someone sneezed on their keyboard:
Sometimes people on online forums and games make a spelling mistake. Sometimes that spelling mistake happens a lot. When it does, it's sometimes adopted as an amusing alternative. Many subcultures create their own versions of language - hence slang constantly changing. If you know the slang then you're clearly part of the group, if you don't then you
aren't.
In addition, lots of online forums and games have swearing protection, to stop people typing rude words to each other. It has therefore become commonplace to replace letters in any rude words with other letters, numbers or punctuation. This has then been extended to other words, purely because it recreates the above sensation of group identity and being "in".
Hence "l33t 5p34k" or "Elite speak" which can go even further, so that Elite -> leet -> l33t -> 1337.
Any letters not easily replaceable by numbers can be replaced by collections of punctuation like so: \/\/ 1 l< 1 P 3 [) 1 4 = Wikipedia.
There's also intentional ridiculous over-complication of words, so that "owned" becomes "ownzored", "winner" becomes "winzor", etc. And exclamation marks can be interspersed with 1s and even the word "one", for comic effect!!!111!!one!one!!
Wikipedia has a good page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet which gives the example:
“Bob rocks” is weaker than “Bob r0xx0rz” (note spelling), which is weaker than “Bob is t3h r0xx0rz” (note grammar), which is even weaker than "OMFG D00d Bob is t3h UBER 1337 R0XX0RZ LOL".
Sometimes people on online forums and games make a spelling mistake. Sometimes that spelling mistake happens a lot. When it does, it's sometimes adopted as an amusing alternative. Many subcultures create their own versions of language - hence slang constantly changing. If you know the slang then you're clearly part of the group, if you don't then you
aren't.
In addition, lots of online forums and games have swearing protection, to stop people typing rude words to each other. It has therefore become commonplace to replace letters in any rude words with other letters, numbers or punctuation. This has then been extended to other words, purely because it recreates the above sensation of group identity and being "in".
Hence "l33t 5p34k" or "Elite speak" which can go even further, so that Elite -> leet -> l33t -> 1337.
Any letters not easily replaceable by numbers can be replaced by collections of punctuation like so: \/\/ 1 l< 1 P 3 [) 1 4 = Wikipedia.
There's also intentional ridiculous over-complication of words, so that "owned" becomes "ownzored", "winner" becomes "winzor", etc. And exclamation marks can be interspersed with 1s and even the word "one", for comic effect!!!111!!one!one!!
Wikipedia has a good page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet which gives the example:
“Bob rocks” is weaker than “Bob r0xx0rz” (note spelling), which is weaker than “Bob is t3h r0xx0rz” (note grammar), which is even weaker than "OMFG D00d Bob is t3h UBER 1337 R0XX0RZ LOL".
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no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 07:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-22 08:10 pm (UTC)((Slap me...For my conscience, and typing fingers, slap me....))
no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 11:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-23 01:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-22 02:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-22 08:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-22 08:25 am (UTC)I've seen you play counterstrike, j00 couldn't pwnz0r me on the pwningest day of j00r life with an electrified pwnz0ring machine.
You probably don't even know that in the latest update, the run speed with the pistol is now the same as with the knife (and, because I know you're not pr0 enough to get this, therefore you nolonger need to risk pulling a knife, and thus making a noise, giving away your position - pulling a pistol is silent)! THAT is how much of a n00b you are andrewducker.
;)
no subject
Date: 2007-02-22 08:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-22 08:14 pm (UTC)It's not about where it started, it's about where it is now. and I'm behind j00 with a knif0r.
(*AHEM* actually, as you point out, l337 is all about belonging to a certain culture or slang. What we're really enacting here is more of a clash between, say mods and rockers. Different language, different culture, but still radically different from the norm.)
:)
no subject
Date: 2007-02-22 11:34 pm (UTC)