Webupon

The internet, while a great place, is also filled with some annoyances. Usually I can get by these annoyances, and I try to ignore them as much as possible.  But this one pet peeve of mine always seems to occur everywhere I go: in games, on chatrooms, and even on forums.  This special annoyance of mine is 1337 speak.

Whether it be someone’s username or just their general speaking, it always seems to pop up somewhere.  1337 speakers are easy to find, since they usually speak using numbers instead of letters. 

Examples of 1337 Speak:

In the numerical system, certain numbers look similar to letters in the alphabet.  Now, certain internet users seem to take advantage of this and put this similar number in place of the letter.  Here are some examples:

3 = E

4 = A

5 = S

1 = I or l

7 = T

0 = O

Those are just a few examples of the possibilities of 1337 speak.  Here are some examples of them used in action:

The = 7h3

Hello = h3110

Cool = c001

The list just goes on and on and on….The longer it gets the more saddening it is.

Possibilities of why they do it:

I have brainstormed a few ideas of why people deem it necessary to speak so ridiculously; here is what I have come up with:

1.  Jokes: One possibility (and what I believe is most common) is that people seem to think that they are somehow humorous for doing so.  For some reason, they think they will make other people laugh for saying h3110 instead of hello.  Honestly, I fial to see how that is funny.

2. Others do it!:  The 1337 speak is like a virus: once one or two people begin using it others follow after them.  Then there are five people, ten people, fifteen people, and then before you know it fifty random internet users around you are using it. 

3. Young: Usually the people who use 1337 speak are of a younger age with less maturity (probably under 13).  They do not really know any better than to use this, since they are too young to truly realize how annoying this is.  Don’t get me wrong, not all young people are like this, but it is probably more common among them.

4.  Usernames Taken: Perhaps some people use it in their usernames because the names with only letters are taken.  While this is understandable, I still find it slightly annoying.

How do we stop it?

Stopping 1337 speak is not likely to happen anytime soon.  All you can do to stop it is to NOT USE IT.  As I said, it can spread like a virus, so the less you do it the less possibility of other people catching on.

Stop 1337 speak, use proper grammar.