1 CAPTCHA - Mon 24 Jan 2011

"Thou aren't so beautiful when thou first wakest"

It would seem that some other blog services (such as WordPress) use a different word verification system to Blogger. That is, they still have those crazy (sometimes barely legible) picture words, but to double the joy, they have TWO of them! Oh yes!


Since my previous post about word verification, I've been advised by the man (who always seems to know these things!) that one of the most commonly used word verification systems is CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart). This system generally uses two words, and at times if you're lucky, they can make funny phrases.


Which leads us to Captcha Comics. This hilarious website, has a plethora of user-created comics based around the CAPTCHA words people have encountered. I implore you to check it out! My favourites include Saucy Chapiter and Judicial Sequobo, and I think GozzieHoon will appreciate Lightery Karl.


Let me know your faves by commenting, and don't forget to include a link!

4 Word verification - Wed 22 Dec 2010

I have to say, I LOVE the word verification system on Blogger. The "Verifese" they test you with is like some sort of alien language that only the Mulder-ites can understand (or "want to believe"). 


Look at the example below - "slaporb". If that's not alien, I don't know what is! Who'd have thought that such succinct depth of meaning could be poured into a single word? Of course, as we all know, "slaporb" is a homonym and can, in fact, describe a fat, promiscuous Orc as well as being a round but gelatinous ball that sticks to walls when thrown.

While seeming to be its own distinct alien language, academics have actually found that Verifese has roots in English, and would be the stuff of dreams for the likes of Lewis Carroll and William Shakespeare, were they still above ground.


Lewis Carroll excelled in making up "nonsense" words, and in some circles, is credited with making "literary nonsense" a worldwide phenomenon (think Jabberwocky, or to a lesser extent, The Hunting of the Snark). Was Lewis Carroll, in fact, an alien? It might actually explain a lot ...


Shakespeare is said to have created over 1000 new words that he used in his writing, which quite possibly sounded like nonsense when first penned, but have now become words that you and I use everyday. Enough said here, we all know Shakespeare wasn't your average human.


In my previous post about l33t speak, I wrote about the new words that are being formed everyday online. This idea disturbed some, who recoiled in terror at what seemed to be the near apocalyptic destruction of the the English language. I wonder what the same people think of Lewis Carroll and Shakespeare?


In any case, I shall start a practice of listing some of the Verifese words that I come across while on my blogulous travels. (Yep - blogulous - just call me Louisa Carroll). My favourite for this week being "deadula". Uh huh. That's how you end up when Dracula sucks too much of your blood.


I encourage you, dear readers, to add some of the Verifese you come across when you post comments on my blog. Don't forget to add their meaning so we can all learn something new! 


Who knows? Maybe we can create our own internet meme.

7 A blog of my pwn

No, it’s not a typo. It really says pwn. I actually meant to write it that way. Really!

If you’re a gamer, you probably didn’t think twice about seeing the word pwn. You probably read it as “own” (or maybe even “pown”) and moved on without a second thought.

But for my loyal readers who don’t game (you know who you are - the ones that read my blog for my wit and eloquence ;) ), here’s what I have to say about “Gaming Linguistics”.

If you read my previous post, you already know about Noob (sometimes spelt newb and n00b), so let’s go straight to pwn.

pwn = own. What on Earth does this mean and why would anyone ever use it? 

Urban dictionary (the place you should go to find out what your 16 year old is saying) describes pwn as the “act of dominating an opponent”, which is basically the point of any multiplayer game, is it not? This has become such a common term now that I have heard people (usually a tad younger than myself) use it in regular conversation - generally, when making a joke at the expense of another. In addition, there is a television show that airs on the ABC called “Pure Pwnage” (and yes it’s spelt that way), though I am yet to watch it. 

The development of the internet and the subsequent success of gaming, in particular online multiplayer gaming, has led to a whole sub-set of linguistic terms, known as “leetspeak” - many based on mistyped words, such as teh and pwned; abbreviations, such as FTW and AFK; and the substitution of numbers for letters (e.g. leet is often spelt l33t or sometimes even 1337).

Along with the weird and wonderful abbreviations commonly used in SMSing (one of my personal favourites being “c u l8er!”), has leetspeak changed the English language forever? Or is it simply a part of the internet/gamer subculture? 

Given their use on TV and in social conversation, my money is on the former.

If you’re not up to snuff with the finer details of leetspeak, you can find a fantastic overview of the “language”, including an English to l33t translator here.

I’d love to hear your comments - why not try writing them using some l33t?