NationStates Jolt Archive

Whats with the recent outcry for perfect spelling in this forum? What does it matter if it is spelled how Wbster says it is so long as the idea is still recieved?

Whats with the recent outcry for perfect spelling in this forum? What does it matter if it is spelled how Wbster says it is so long as the idea is still recieved?

I spel just fine :wink:

ai no wat u meen. they're iz know nead 4 parffect speling.

Whats with the recent outcry for perfect spelling in this forum? What does it matter if it is spelled how Wbster says it is so long as the idea is still recieved?

my thoughts exactly. wuts with all you people?

You incorrect spelling bastards! We should have you burnt at the stake!

J/K

You incorrect spelling bastards! We should have you burnt at the stake!

J/K

i see no reasons presented here as to y misspelling is bad

lol

I think people only point it out when someone is making a stupid point, or making an idiot of themselves, mostly.

You incorrect spelling bastards! We should have you burnt at the stake!


Are you saying people who can't spell are witches? :? :wink:

You incorrect spelling bastards! We should have you burnt at the stake!

J/K

i see no reasons presented here as to y misspelling is badTHE SPREAD OF IGNORANCE!

You incorrect spelling bastards! We should have you burnt at the stake!

J/K

i see no reasons presented here as to y misspelling is badTHE SPREAD OF IGNORANCE!


:D :D

People point to spelling things wrong when they are arguing and need something to fuel their (most likely) terrible arguements, especialy when the person/people they are fighting against are winning the arguement

Because, people who can spell don't like people who don't or can't. Its been that way for thousands of years... In recently discovered cave paintings there has been evidence that cavemen killed other cavemen for spelling "og" wrong.

Are you saying people who can't spell are witches? :? :wink:

No.

or, you know, it could just be we prefer shorthand. just a thought

I blame text messages, stupid tabloid papers which embrace ignorance, declining standards in schools, teen culture, reduced interest in reading... God I could go on.

But I won't - to your relief I would imagine.

its not like this sort of thing hasnt happened to the english language before. just look at all the olde english classics like jane eyer or any one of charles dickin's books.

I have somethign like dyslexia, so it;s not my fault.

As a general rule - I only respond to spelling when it's either

a) someone who has used that to b*tch at me before

or

b) when its in response to something along the lines of "I'm smartur than you you ignorent doork"

In which case it's just to funny not to pass up....

-Z-

I have somethign like dyslexia, so it;s not my fault.

Damn, there was me lashing out a society (which can be kind of fun a lot of the time) and then you manage to make me feel real guilty.

Ah well.

Im a near perfect speller, but a less than stellar typist.
generally..I only come down on people who aere trying to add to an intelligent conversation, by saying "I NO! b cuz im a l33t haxorz!"

I hate that crap.

If you are trying to sound intelligent.....please dont type like a third grader.

Whats with the recent outcry for perfect spelling in this forum? What does it matter if it is spelled how Wbster says it is so long as the idea is still recieved?

Depends on whether the writer wishes to be taken seriously or not. When a post is filled with misspellings, it is harder to read, sounds less intelligent, and indicates that the writer doesn't really care about communicating clearly.

An error or two is normal.

Posts filled with typos are usually typed in anger (where letters in several words are missing or transposed). Taking time to proofread and correct would save the writer a lot of unnecessary argument later. :wink:

I don't bash anyone for spelling stupid(sometimes it gets on my nerves ;) )

but I try to talk & type/write as "proper" as I can, unless I am in a hurry(using phone text message/IM) I see no ned 2 tipe impropre englsh :wink:

Im a near perfect speller, but a less than stellar typist.
generally..I only come down on people who aere trying to add to an intelligent conversation, by saying "I NO! b cuz im a l33t haxorz!"

I hate that crap.

If you are trying to sound intelligent.....please dont type like a third grader.

ya, people who do that are very annoying. what i ment by misspelling is the ocational letter added or left out of a word or sometimes substituting a "u" in for a "you", not the deliberate slaughterization of a word

maybe spelling is important....see my computer question...multiplyer was interpreted as multi player not multiplier

in computer speak it is, but otherwise, its still not the most important thing

"I NO! b cuz im a l33t haxorz!"

What the freep does that say? I can handle bad grammar, and odd spellings when I am dealing with people who's native tongue is not english. Then it is pretty clear that they really are trying to communicate (and doing better with english than I would do in their native tongue, I might add.) I can ignore typos. (In fact, typos often amuse me, they have a habit of serving up unintentional but apt remarks.) But this thing you typed?!?!?! You may as well have typed it in chinese ideograms.

[quote=BackwoodsSquatches] "I NO! b cuz im a l33t haxorz!"

But this thing you typed?!?!?! You may as well have typed it in chinese ideograms.

It's Leet
I can barely read it

I see No, because I'm a leet something or other..

this stuff was invented in chatrooms I think

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/leet.php

Leet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Leet (often l33t, 31337, or 1337) is a cipher, or simply a novelty form of English spelling. It is characterized by the use of non-alphabet characters to stand for letters bearing a superficial resemblance, and by a number of quasi-standard spelling changes such as the substitution of "z" for final "s" and "x" for "ck". It is often used on the Internet by hackers, crackers, script kiddies and gamers. Even lamers are beginning to pick up parts of it. Some hackers do not use l33tspeak due to its association with Internet users whom they dislike.

Certain factions maintain that "true" leetspeak is spelled correctly, with the exceptions described above. They do not consider the use of extreme short forms (such as b, or u) to be leet or leetspeak; instead, they refer to it by such terms as "AOL speak" because they associate such habits with people who chat using MSN Messenger or AOL Instant Messenger. Another habit which is sometimes associated with leetspeak or Internet chatting is capitalizing every other letter (JuSt LiKe ThIs), sometimes called studlycaps. A similar habit involves capitalizing every letter except for vowels (JuST LiKe THiS).


Table of contents [showhide]
1 Overview

2 Examples

3 Phonetic spellings

4 Frequent misspellings

5 Other examples

6 Common letter-to-number or letter-to-symbol translations

7 See also

8 External links




Overview
The term "leet" comes from the word "elite". Leet can be either be pronounced as "leet" (monosyllabic, rhymes with "eat") or by pronouncing the L separate from the rest of the word as "elle eat" (elite). The most probable explanation of its origin is from bulletin board systems in the 1980s and early 1990s where having "elite" status on a BBS allowed a user access to file areas, games, and special chat rooms, often including archives of pirated software, pornography, and text files of dubious quality documenting topics such as how to construct explosives and manufacture illegal drugs. It may also have developed to defeat text filters created by BBS sysops for message boards to discourage the discussion of forbidden topics (such as cracking).
Leet is also known as hakspek or leetspeak, especially when used to shorten messages. This type of Leet may have been developed to decrease bandwidth usage before the bandwidth explosion of the 1990s. It is also regaining popularity in SMS (Short Message Service) mediums, especially among users of Trillian. More recently, leet has re-entered the mainstream thanks to such webcomics as Megatokyo and its character Largo.

Leet is a form of written slang. It is used to create group identity, and to obscure meaning from outsiders, especially newbies (which may be written "n00bs"). It also establishes a hierarchy, as more complex forms of leet are increasingly unreadable to the untrained eye (consider the phrase "PHr3Ku3N7ly H4s|{3d K0o£St330nZ!": it translates to "frequently asked questions". Note the extraneous h in front of asked and the construction "teeonz" as meaning "tions"). Simple forms of leet are making their way into the mainstream, as employees whose companies use email filters resort to creative spellings to prevent swearwords from being censored.

Websites exist that are written entirely in leet. There are also converter programs which amusingly render ordinary English text into leet, at varying levels of complexity.


Examples
"warez" for software (typically bootlegged software)
"pr0n" for pornography
"sploitz" (short for exploits) known vulnerabilities in computer software
"skript kiddie" - a derogatory term used by computer professionals to denote young teenagers who download pre-made automated exploit scripts and who possess little actual understanding of how computer software works internally.
"0wned" - completely dominated (in a game); hacked into (of a computer), in the past tense, this is "0wnz0r3d". This word may also be used as a non-leet, conversational slang term. This term is sometimes spelled pwn or pwnz0r3d, and the origin of this variation is said to have derived from a typo (although this explanation is probably apocryphal): a user-created Warcraft level included a message sent to all players in the event of a player's defeat: (player name) has been owned. However, because P and O are side-by-side in the QWERTY layout, the message is said to have been (player name) has been pwned, and when the level was released, pwned entered the l33tsp33k vocabulary.
"CC" or "carding" for credit card fraud of one form or another
"eggable" for Unix shell accounts (where one can install and run Eggdrop, an IRC bot)
"r00t" for adminstrator privileges (from the Unix administrator account root)
"m4d sk1llz" for hacking talent of one sort or another and also being possessed of great ability in terms of computer games, Webmastering, or flaming. Also used for other talents, in "m4d [talent] sk1llz"; "m4d" itself is often used for emphasis (such as in "m4d fragging.")
"phreaking" for hacking telephone systems and other non-internet equipment
"w1k1", "w1|<1" or "\^/!|{!" for "wiki"
"n00b" for someone who acts experienced in an area despite little knowledge of that area, also occasionally "pr013", short for "proletariat". (Various other adjectives abound, these being the most civil of them.) Also "pe0n".
"w00t", "w007", or "\^/007" or the smiley "\o/" is a common interjection, analogous to "Yeah!" or "Yippee!" It originated as a variant of the interjection "whew."
"haxor", "#4><0|2" for "hacker" -- where the symbols are used to draw rough approximations to letters: >< is an "x", |2 is an "r"
Note that the construction "-xor" or any variation thereof can mean not only "-ker" but also "zor" (which is how a majority of English speakers would say it). In the phrase "r0x0rz my b0x0rz", which means the object of the phrase (usually a game, program, exploit, etc.) is of high quality, "x0rz" in the word "r0x0rz" is almost ignored (pronounced "ks" so that the whole word is "rocks") while the "x0rz" on "b0x0rz" is pronounced "kszors". It is important to note that while "b0x0rz" appears to be leet for "boxers", it is actually from a common leet expression "r0x0r j00r b0x0rz", "b0x0rz" meaning "computers" (sometimes referred to as boxes). "r0x0rz" is generally pronounced as "roks-ors", which is how it is spelled; however, a very small minority pronounce it "rockers", following the usage in "hax0rz". It should be noted that although the spelling of leet is fairly standardized, pronunciation differs widely, as does the actual alphabet used. Much depends on which forum, newsgroup, or chat room the leet is being spoken in.

Phonetic spellings
"d00d" for "dude"
"joo" for "you", also written as "j00" or "_|00"
"ph" for "f", as in "phear" for "fear" (as in "ph34r my l33t skillz")
b4k4^2 or |34|<4^2 for "baka Ni." Baka is the Japanese word for "idiots" or "stupidity", while Ni is the Japanese word for "two", so it is meant to be read as "Baka raised to the second power" or "baka squared" (meaning quite stupid) (see Baka-Ni t-shirt). The term is used by the character Ruri in the anime series Martian Successor Nadesico, but subsequently popularized by MegaTokyo.
Note that in true leet, the following are considered improper.

"kewl" or "ku" or "ql" for "cool"
"r" for "are", "u" for "you", "c" for "see" (giving the common "see you")
"2" for "to" or "too", "4" for "for" (but note "4" can also represent an "A")
"8" for "-ate", as "l8r" for "later"
"ne" for "any"

Frequent misspellings
Frequent typos are also absorbed into leet, such as
"yuo" for "you"
"teh" for "the" (also sometimes used as an intensifier: "He is teh lame")
"pwn" for "own" (to defeat badly, as in a game: "You got pwned") For instance: _|00 607 |*\^/|\|3|) ---in other words you got owned, and were the subject of major "ownage". The term "0\/\/nze|>" has similar meaning, refeering to the process of getting " owned ".
"smrt" for "smart"

Other examples
"WHeRE @Re J00" for "where are you"

"wH4+'S uR nAME" for "what is your name"

"/\/\¡|<£'§ 7££+ §|<¡77§ þ|/\||/| _|¤¤" -- an example of especially obfuscated leet, this translates to "Mike's leet skills own you".
Leet also draws elements from Engrish, such as "b4k4" (baka), a Japanese term for "fool". Lately, leet draws more and more from Japanese slang, due to the increasing fascination of leet-speakers with it.

Another common feature of leet is over-exclamation, where a sentence is postfixed with far too many exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!! In some cases, because the exclamation symbol (!) resides on the same key as the number 1, over-exclamation can be accidentally typed with extraneous digits, owing to the excitement of the typist: d00d th1s r0x0rz!!!!!11 Some users have adopted this and include it deliberately. A growing phenomenon is deliberately typing the word "one": pwnz0r3d!!!!!11oneoneone. Interestingly, letter-to-number translations do not often occur within these "oneoneone" blocks.


Common letter-to-number or letter-to-symbol translations
(subject to a great deal of individual variation):

A 4 or /\ or @ G 9 or 6 M //. or ^^ or |v| or |\/| or /\/\ or (u) S 5 or $ Y Y or '/ or `/ or \-/ or j

B 6 or |3 or 8 or |> H # or |-| or ]~[ or }{ N // or ^/ or |\| or /\/ T 7 or + or -|- Z 2 or z

C [ or ¢ or < or ( I 1 or ! or | O 0 or () U (_) or |_| or v

D |) or o| J ,| or _| P |* or |o or |> or |" V \/ or <

E 3 or & K |< or |{ Q 9 or (,) W \/\/ or '// or \^/ or (n)

F |= L 1 or | or |_ R |2 or 2 X ><


Note: The word "I" will sometimes be replaced with the word "eye" (3j3.)

Bad spelling is a sign of intellectual laziness.

Bad spelling is a sign of intellectual laziness.

And some people assume that all immigrants are uneducated because they speak poor english with bad accents....


I am far more interested in the content of a persons argument than the perfection of their grammar. There are some people who write perfect prose that has zero worth. I don't see that as a sign of intellectual superiority.

-Z-

Actually, it has been a well known theory for years that incredibly creative peoples spelling and grammar usually suck.

I agree that content out weighs spelling & grammar.. to a point. There are times when some thing is so horrible it's unreadable. However, on the most part.. definitely will take content over spelling & grammar any day.

Yaah Eye Theenk wee should oll spell foeneticlee aneewaeys.

Yaah Eye Theenk wee should oll spell foeneticlee aneewaeys.

thats tanking it a bit far, dont u think?

Yaah Eye Theenk wee should oll spell foeneticlee aneewaeys.

thats tanking it a bit far, dont u think?

Not @ oll. Eenglish will deejeneraete to this aneewaeys

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/leet.php

Fascinating.

Quoting the short form, but thanks for the paste. So, (silly question coming) why do these people post in this manner on boards where it is not commonly used? Do they intend to spam the board, or do they actually think someone is going to go learn this (tedious and contorted) language just to decypher what they wrote? Or?

(Curiosity corner) How many of these 'leetists' are actually involved in learning regularly? And is there any evidence that they do well in school? It seems like it would take a fair amount of effort to learn this, so I would assume that while it sounds idiotic to me, it actually requires a reasonably adept mind to master.

Yaah Eye Theenk wee should oll spell foeneticlee aneewaeys.

thats tanking it a bit far, dont u think?

Not @ oll. Eenglish will deejeneraete to this aneewaeys
Canterbury Tales. English came from that. Standardised spelling does help increase literacy. When we spell phonetically, we add our regional accents, making it more difficult to communicate across 'dialects'.

Fascinating.

(silly question coming) why do these people post in this manner on boards where it is not commonly used?

I really don't know.. It seems like a club.. Leet being short for elite

If you know the code you are cool?

Yaah Eye Theenk wee should oll spell foeneticlee aneewaeys.

thats tanking it a bit far, dont u think?

Not @ oll. Eenglish will deejeneraete to this aneewaeys
Canterbury Tales. English came from that. Standardised spelling does help increase literacy. When we spell phonetically, we add our regional accents, making it more difficult to communicate across 'dialects'.

Actually, I had always heard it the other way around.. that literacy helped with spelling. That if you read a lot, your spelling and grammar do improve.

Actually, I had always heard it the other way around.. that literacy helped with spelling. That if you read a lot, your spelling and grammar do improve.

They do. However, it is much easier to read a lot if you don't have to decypher every word every time. If words are consistent from one book to another, and from one usage within a book to the next (Canterbury Tales being a good example, where the same word is often presented differently) you don't have to stop and work out what it says. Not having to constantly decode the writing increases comprehension, which increases literacy, which improves spelling, grammar, and communications skills, which increase the ability for your readers to comprehend, etc.

Im a near perfect speller, but a less than stellar typist.
generally..I only come down on people who aere trying to add to an intelligent conversation, by saying "I NO! b cuz im a l33t haxorz!"

I hate that crap.

If you are trying to sound intelligent.....please dont type like a third grader.

I think you mean, "3y3 |\|0!!!!111oneoneshiFTone!!1111!! ß kuz 3y3 4m t3h 1337 hax0rz!!!!!!!!1111oneoneoenoenoenwon1111!!!!!111!" :lol:

I don't mind it when people, for example, type in lower case, but I do mind when people have such bad grammar (mostly grammar, we can usually figure out what was intended when there's a mispelling) that they become incoherent.

Proper spelling is a sign of non-ignorance towards the English language.

http://www.skytowerpoet.net/pics/100_15.gif

The Deadlines of Tuesday Heights (http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=skytowerpoet)