The substitution of numeric digits or special characters for alphabetic letters; for example, "1337 5p34k" spells "leet speak." A form of geek Pig Latin, leetspeak is used just for fun as well as to conceal real words to fool spam filters and other text scanning systems.
Not the Same as Geekspeak
Coined from "elite speak," leetspeak is not the same as "geekspeak," "nerdspeak" or "AOL speak," which are terms that refer to acronyms, such as IMHO for "in my humble opinion." In true leetspeak, each letter is substituted with the numeric digit that looks most like it, such as a "3" for "E" and a "4" for "A." However, creativity always abounds in the hacker community, which results in "d00d" standing for "dude" to emphasize the "oo" sound.
Leet (written as 31337, 1337, and l33t), or Leetspeak, is a written argot used primarily on the Internet, but becoming increasingly common in many
online video games,[1]
which uses various combinations of alphanumerics to replace proper letters. The term itself is a degenerate form of the word
"elite", and the language it describes resembles a highly specialized form of electronic shorthand. Initially, the word leet was used as an adjective, to
primarily describe the behavior or accomplishments of others in the community. In that usage, Leet generally carries the same
meaning when referring to either the game prowess or, in original usage, hacking expertise of another person. From adjective form its use then expanded to include use as an
expletive in reaction to a demonstration of the former qualities. With the mass proliferation
of Internet use in the 1990s into the 21st century, Leet has since become a part of Internet culture and slang.[2] Leet may also be considered a substitution
cipher, albeit with much variation from user to user.
History
Leet originated within bulletin board systems in the 1980s,[2][3] where having
"elite" status on a BBS allowed a user access to file folders, games, and special
chat rooms, often including archives of pirated software,
pornography, or text files documenting topics such as how to construct explosives and manufacture illegal drugs.[4] One theory is that it was developed to defeat
text filters created by BBS or Internet Relay Chatsystem
operators for message boards to discourage the discussion of forbidden topics, like cracking and hacking.[2] However, creative misspellings and ASCII-art-derived words were also a way to attempt to
indicate one was knowledgeable about the culture of computer users. Once reserved to use by hackers, crackers, and script kiddies, Leet has since
entered the mainstream.[2] It is now also
used to mock newbies, or newcomers, on web sites, or in gaming communities.[5] Some consider emoticons and ASCII art, like smiley faces, to be Leet, while others believe
that Leet consists of only symbolic word encryption. More obscure forms of Leet, involving the use of symbol combinations and
almost no letters or numbers, continue to be used for its original purpose of encrypted communication. It is also sometimes used
as a script language.[6]
Orthography
One of the hallmarks of Leet is its unique approach to orthography, using substitutions
of other characters, letters or otherwise, to represent a letter or letters in a word.[4][7] The symbol chosen is flexible—anything that the reader can make sense of is valid. However,
this practice is not extensively used in regular Leet, more often it is seen in situations where the argot characteristics of the system are required, either to exclude newbies or outsiders in general. Another use
for Leet orthographic substitutions is the creation of paraphrased passwords.[2] By using this method, one can create a relatively secure password which
would still be easily remembered. Limitations imposed by websites on password length (usually no more than 36) and the characters
permitted (usually alphanumeric and underscore) requires less-extensive forms of Leet when used in this application.
