1337

[Physics Guy]

Right now, and possibly not for long, this forum's pages have the sacred number 1337. I paid my respects to the occasion by looking at that august oldest page.

The oldest topic has only three posts, and the only currently still extant poster is Shades, which is only appropriate.

The second-oldest topic, however, was started by Jersey Girl. Her OP is worth reading just for its style. Those were the days, it seems.

[huckelberry]

Physics Guy, the board has had ups and downs and more than a couple of posters which are missed.

Could you help with explanation of the significance of this number ? We have a new member deeply concerned with numbers but I think he is going outside of traditional ideas. I have some vague memory that one three and seven have been seen as special. Is there something special about this particular combination?

[drumdude]

1337 is the most popular word in “leet-speak.” Very popular on the early internet among nerds. Leet speak uses numbers to obfuscate slang words like “elite.” So an elite hacker might use the spelling “1337 h4xx0r”

[Physics Guy]

Back when fonts were all blocky, numerals looked kind of like letters, at least if you squinted right. 8 could be B, 9 could be a lowercase G, 4 could be a sloppy A, 5 could be S. O could be O (okay that one still works). Stretching it a bit more, 1 could be a lowercase L, a 7 could kind of be a T, and a 3 could be like a kid’s backwards E.

So 1337 spelled “leet”, which as a further layer of in-group humor was a deliberately illiterate version of “elite”. Maybe, what, 20 years ago, this was cool kid stuff, for certain values of cool. They’d talk about “owning” opponents, whether that meant beating them in a video game or infecting their desktop with a virus, but they’d deliberately misspell “own” as “pwn” just because that was the kind of typo you might make while frantically pounding keys in a game chat line.

Alas, I was never that cool.

[huckelberry]

Physics Guy, thanks for the explanation. Way way outside of my realm of experience.

[malkie]

Back when fonts were all blocky, numerals looked kind of like letters, at least if you squinted right. 8 could be B, 9 could be a lowercase G, 4 could be a sloppy A, 5 could be S. O could be O (okay that one still works). Stretching it a bit more, 1 could be a lowercase L, a 7 could kind of be a T, and a 3 could be like a kid’s backwards E.

So 1337 spelled “leet”, which as a further layer of in-group humor was a deliberately illiterate version of “elite”. Maybe, what, 20 years ago, this was cool kid stuff, for certain values of cool. They’d talk about “owning” opponents, whether that meant beating them in a video game or infecting their desktop with a virus, but they’d deliberately misspell “own” as “pwn” just because that was the kind of typo you might make while frantically pounding keys in a game chat line.

Alas, I was never that cool.

Ahhh, but all my base are belong to you!

[High Spy]

Sometimes using a 3 in place of an E makes for a unique search term i.e. ST3M

B0ND, but not CUD. ?? bbnc

There’s a word tuple as a new spin on DBNP.

or for DBNP

or for GBNG

or for BBNC

[Fence Sitter]

suxorz 4u to get pwnd by my alt twink newb over 9000 xs.

Really sad that I know what all that means.

My sons (& now grandsons) and I have been playing online mmorpgs together since the first one came out in early 1990s.

I still play WOW whenever a new expansion comes out.

[Res Ipsa]

suxorz 4u to get pwnd by my alt twink newb over 9000 xs.

Really sad that I know what all that means.

My sons (& now grandsons) and I have been playing online mmorpgs together since the first one came out in early 1990s.

I still play WOW whenever a new expansion comes out.

I am awed by your mastery of l33t speak.

[Bret Ripley]

3l173 5p34k 7r4n5l470r: http://www.robertecker.com/hp/research/ ... hp?lang=en