# L33t H4x0rz R00l!! ....Huh? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 25, 2001, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803 "2001-09-25T22:25:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Inky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7feea3/32.png) [@Inky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inky_1)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/1 "2001-09-25T22:25:26Z")
Anybody know what this “L33t” code hackers use is? Is there any history behind it, or is just the web’s version of Pig Latin? What does “Leet” mean anyway? ---
**Author:** ![barking\_frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@barking\_frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barking_frog)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/2 "2001-09-25T22:26:50Z")
Elite. ---
**Author:** ![cykrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f19dbf/32.png) [@cykrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cykrider)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/3 "2001-09-25T22:33:12Z")
Someone’s going to say it adventually anyways: Crackers and scriptkiddies use leet speak. Hackers are the good guys. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/4 "2001-09-25T22:35:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Inky- \* > \*\*Anybody know what this “L33t” code hackers use is? Is there any history behind it, or is just the web’s version of Pig Latin? What does “Leet” mean anyway? \*\* Going to nitpick the jargon. People who speak this way are not Hackers. [Hacker](http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/hacker.html) [Cracker](http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/cracker.html) ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/5 "2001-09-26T12:34:38Z")
WhAt AbOuT AlTeRnAtInG CaPiTaL LeTtErS? hOw DiD tHaT gEt StArTeD aNd WhEn DiD iT sPrEAd To GeOcItIeS WeB PaGe AuThOrS? Another typographic peeve are random letters that are colored differently than the bulk of the body of text, most commonly seen in ads in Wired magazine. WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/6 "2001-09-26T12:43:00Z")
People started putting numbers and special characters in instead of letters to get past the pornography filters the chat modes in games use because they wanted to type dirty words on the computer, and rationalize by saying, “I didn’t say a dirty word! I said $HSc1!!7E.” Also, it looks different, which as we all know, is always better. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/7 "2001-09-26T13:02:05Z")
Actually, I seem to remember seeing l33t-sp34k before online gaming was big–back in '96 or '97 was the earliest. I think it really comes out of the 80’s when more people were being introduced to ascii based communication and were playing around with the limitations (ascii art and all of that). It’s an interesting idea, though. Chicken or egg? ---
**Author:** ![Nyrath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/919ad9/32.png) [@Nyrath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyrath)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/8 "2001-09-26T14:25:45Z")
And now you can translate your ordinary text into hackerspeak by going to the Lamerizer web site! [http://www.elfqrin.com/lamerize.html](http://www.elfqrin.com/lamerize.html) ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/9 "2001-09-26T15:41:06Z")
And what’s really sad is that I had no trouble understanding all that 133+ speak. My yuppie friends and I regularly do so just to annoy each other. But, we have become that which we most hate. ---
**Author:** ![Evnglion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f04885/32.png) [@Evnglion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evnglion)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/10 "2001-09-26T16:31:18Z")
w00t! ---
**Author:** ![ninja\_rydr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8491ac/32.png) [@ninja\_rydr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninja_rydr)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/11 "2001-09-26T17:27:50Z")
For all those that are really 1337 ! [http://leetspeaker.homestead.com/leet.html](http://leetspeaker.homestead.com/leet.html) those that are really 1337 ! ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/12 "2001-09-26T18:56:02Z")
4//|), L357 Y0\_/ 7h1//|\< 7h47 7h3 3//7r3p3//3\_/r14L 5p1r17 |)13|) //17|-| 7|-|3 |)()7-8()//\8, 7h1//|\< 4g41//: [http://www.L337.com](http://www.L337.com) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/13 "2001-09-26T19:30:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cykrider \* > \*\*Someone’s going to say it adventually anyways: > > Crackers and scriptkiddies use leet speak. > > Hackers are the good guys. \*\* Well, until either the hackers or the crackers decide to change the terminology again, which should take a year or less. It’s “Crackers” and “scriptkiddies” now, huh? That’s term #1,175,662 to replace “hacker.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l33t-h4x0rz-r00l-huh/83803/14 "2001-09-26T22:04:16Z")
The term “Hacker” has had the same meaning since, oh, the late sixties or so, before the lamers had even heard of computers. The lamers, however, feel that it’s important to distinguish themselves from all the previous groups of lamers, and thus come up with a new title for themselves every few years.