h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: An Explanation of 1337 Speak - A772346
Author: Thrid - U196982

I know that there are more than a few entries on 1337 speak, but most of them are just translation tables. Rather than go that route I wrote this entry to more fully explain what 1337 is and how it got there. I only hope that my writing can do justice to the net-culture icon that 1337 has grown to be. Thank you for reading about it!

Hi Thrid,

This is really good - I've not come across this linguistic phenomenom before!


Otto

j0 Thrid!

fascin4ting stuff!

I knew some people wrote weirdly in chat rooms but this is in a whole new class, as far as i'm concerned.

I like the style and content is definitely factual and informative (well, you wouldn't have made this up!).

1 or 2 typos or grammatical oddities, but I'm sure you and the sub-ed will clear them up without trouble.

ta for a great read, good luck in PR,

seeya
spiff

ps You might consider adapting the title for the uninitiated (like me! I thought this was going to be a bizarre commentary on spoken English in the 14th C. Especially with the 'no foreign languages' debate going on, )

perhaps one of those 'phrase' titles including something that better describes the content. If nothing else, this may elicit a greater reaction in PR.

just a thought

d00d... I was just writing up on 1337 and j00 b34t m3 2 it!

I even had a whole 'alphabet' ready for the purpose. actually, contrary to what was in your article, the entire 'alphabet' has been formulated for 1337.

I also wasn't aware of the existence of other 1337 entries in there...

Anyhoo, if you'd like, I can give that to you, of course, without compulsion and only if you see it fit to include in the article.

j00 R teh r0><0r!!!

Nifty, I wasn't aware that anybody had really written up and agreed upon alphabet. Yeah, I'd be very appricative of anything you could send me!

As far as the other 1337 entries go, there weren't any in the edited guide, but there are a few in the unedited.

And thanks for all the nice feedback, I appriciate it!

Egad, Spiff, I hadn't even considered that 1337 would be mistaken for a date! Thanks for bringing that to my attention. Perhapes I should subsitute l33t for 1337? I've always been horrible coming up with titles, any suggestions?

But 1337 IS the way it's written! It's like a compromise.

d0n'+ d0 i+, i+'5 j0r d35+iN'/!!!

Well for now I've changed it to l33t, it might not be the most common way to write it, but I don't want those that aren't familiar with 1337 to be scared off by thinking this is about 14th century language. :P

A = @ 4 F\ \7 (-I
B = /², /3 þ ß
C = ç © € ¢ (
D = |) [) cI Þ Ð
E = è ³ 3
F = £ ƒ /~
G = [, 6 [¬
H = []-[] |-| /-/ H (|-|)
I = î ï ! |
J = ¿
K = |< )< /<
L = |_ L (_ /_
M = (V) [V] N\ /\/\ |V| []\/[]
N = []\[] (\) /|/ /\/ /V
O = [][] Ø ()
P = []D (D /*
Q = ¶ p */ *(
R = /², /2
S = $ s 5 §
T = † + -|-
U = |_| (_| L/ (_)
V = \/ |/ (/
W = (/\) []/\[] [/\] (/\)
X = ><
Y = ¥ `/
Z = 2 7_

Thanks for the list, The Frog (or can I just call you Frog?), there's a number of combinations in there that I hadn't ever seen before, and I think that's the real fun in writing l33t, being creative with it and testing the bounds of the coherent. Even more fun is coming up with your own unique style of 1337 and for that reason I've decided to leave the entry without a complete list, that way people who are just learning about it can be as creative and unique as they want to be.

I really like this. I was vaguely aware of 1337 speak before, but it makes more sense now thanks to this entry. I have a few points to make though.

In the first sentence, you say that 1337 is pronounced 'leet'. Surely that should be elite, as you indicate below. Also in the first paragraph, you say it can't be handwrited, or truly spoken. Perhaps you could say how it can be used (i.e. typed)

You mention that it is more common in online gaming. I gather it is more in first person shooters than other sorts of game, as that's the sort of game where abbrevations are needed, as stopping to type can lead to being shot. If that's true, perhaps you could say that.

Perhaps also you could give a sense of the timescale involved in the history section. It is impossible to put a precise date on something like this, but a rough idea would be useful.

Also, you talk about periods and exclamation points, rather than full stops and exclamation marks, the british english equivalents, that are favoured in the edited guide.

Apart from those points, I think this is a good entry, and is destined to be part of the edited guide. k>

That should be at the end.

Actually it is pronounced 'leet', I assume this is because when people get started in it they don't know that it was derived from elite, so the pronounciation just got stuck that way over time.

I'll have to dig around a bit and see if I can try to narrow down a date or two, perhapes the release of multiplayer Doom or something.

Thanks for bring the full stop/exclaimation mark to my attention, lol, I didn't know about that.

That's so awesome that you think this entry is worthy of the edited guide! Thanks so much! I'll get to these changes right away.

I think I got everything, added in a bit of history of online gaming, plus a few random tweaks. Let me know if anything else looks out of place!

It looks better now. There are a few small problems. In the section on the dawn of the internet, nessisary should be neccesary. Also, weather should be whether in the last bit of the grammar section.

I can't see any other problems at the moment, but I've only had a fairly brief look.

Alright, changes made. I've always been a horrible speller. :P

I've noticed thrid, that you use smileys at the end of your post, such as :P. You can use them by all means, but at h2g2 we have graphics that you can use instead of text based smileys. For example (smiley), with the round brackets replaced by the pointed brackes (these <&gt, gives you the basic happy smiley (i.e. ), and instead of the :P, you could have (tongueout), with these round brackets replaced by pointed ones, to get .

The full list of these is on the smiley page:<./>Smiley</.>, and if you click on someone's smiley, you get taken to that smiley on the smiley page, with the code(s), need to get that smiley. Usually there is a simple code, for example a : and a ) together get you the basic smiley.

Anyway, have fun with them .

/-\|-|, |<-1337! 1'\/£ |\|0+ |_|§£|) 1+ 1|\| |<VV1+£ §0^^£ +1^^£...
+|-|/-\|\||< |_| |=0|>, +|-|£ +|>,1|> |)0VV|\| ^^£^^0|>,¥ |_/-\|\|£...

Translation: Ah, K-leet! I've not used it for quite some time...Thank you for the trip down memory lane.

Note:In Seattle Washington, it is called K-leet, not just Leet.

BTW, if any of you play Unreal Tournament (the BEST first person shooter ever made) online, you'll find that a great majority of players trash talk in |<-|_33+.

"nessisary should be neccesary. "

No it shouldn't!

haven't read the re-write yet, sorry...

spiff