I’ve looked for an explanation on google, can’t find it. I’ve searched GQ, can’t find anything. All I could find out is that apparently it’s called “geek code” because someone using it appeared to make a non sequitur about it once using that term.
For those unfamiliar with that term (in the case I erred in deducing that was the name for this) I’m referring to using combinations of letters and +++ signs in various numbers in signature files. The letters tend to correspond to certain things of interest to the board they’re used on, but I can’t seem to deduce any meaning from it. I’ve seen it on the Diablo2 and Simpsons message boards I frequent and have never gotten a response to my query about it there.
What does it mean, where did it come from, and how do you decode it?
That’s absolutely amazing. How my Google search failed to turn that one up is beyond me. I certainly did do one. Perhaps, and I can’t recall, I might have used Altavista instead. This Google thing is too new for me, but I’ve been using it more often. Anyways, thanks for the link, if I was gonna waste a post at least it came at an off-peak hour.
Basically the letters stand for attributes, and the number of -'s or +'s denote the degree.
Example (taken randomly off some schmuck’s website):
GCS (geek of comp sci)
d- (I wear jeans and a tshirt)
s+:- (Sorta tall, sorta thin)
a23 (23 years old)
C++>$ (Love computers, wish someday I could get money for it)
UL+++ (use Linux exclusively)
P+>++ (I know/like Perl but I don’t use it as often as I’d like)
L+++ (I am a Linux god)
E— (emacs can kiss my ass!)
W++ (Have homepage, surf internet daily)
N++ (Participate regularly in newsgroups)
o— (oracle usenet sucks)
K- (What the hell is Kibo?)
w— (Windows is satan)
O- (Tried OS/2, didn’t like it)
M-- (Macs suck)
V-- (VMS sucks)
PS+++ (Wayyyy liberal. Legalize pot. Banish the gov’t!)
PE ( Don’t trust gov’t or capitalism)
Y+ (I like my privacy, but I’m not a zealot)
PGP++ (I use PGP regularly)
t++ (Star Trek is the best show around)
5+ (I watch Babylon 5 regularly)
X++ (X-Files rocks)
R- (Role playing is such a waste of time)
tv+ (I watch TV regularly)
b++ (I read a new book at least every month)
DI+ (I read Dilbert)
D+ (I play Doom)
G++ (I’m well-versed in Geek Code)
e (HS graduate)
h! (I live with my parents)
r (I date periodically)
y+ (I am a male, and have had Real Live Sex)