Why Use 'pwn'?
TheWizard
Join Date: 2002-12-11 Member: 10553Members, Constellation
Join Date: 2002-12-11 Member: 10553Members, Constellation
<div class="IPBDescription">or why do we tolerate 8 year old players</div> My question:
Why the heck do people use the word "pwn"
Every time I see it I cringe with the thought of some
8 year old player trying to amaze me with his ""elite"" skills.
Actually pwn is the only leet word that I have problems with.
h4x, r0x, "elite", and other similar words dont bother me at all.
I can see where they were derived from and they actually look
somewhat similar to how they are pronounced.
Maybe it is the 'p' Just makes me think that 'pwn' should be pronounced
'Pawn'.
Maybe I am just jaded from this situation:
After following my commanders orders, and defending a position until I am almost dead and parisited.
I decide to distract the alien force away from our forward phase gate. Making a rush towards their
furthest structure I begin to attack a res chamber to get their attention. Sure enough within one minute
several skulks are bearing down on me in an attempt to save the tower.
I kill 1 or 2, then at <30 hp one skulk finally gets a bite out of me. I die. and in about 5 seconds I hear
8yroldl33tkill4: OMG pwned!!!!!!111111
8yroldl33tkill4: Dude I pwn you.
8yroldl33tkill4: you cant even kill a skulk you n00b.
8yroldl33tkill4: hahahahaha
8yroldl33tkill4: ...
8yroldl33tkill4: OMG you idiots you let them kill our hive.
pwn. and 10 year old kids on the microphone. Yes I hate those
Why the heck do people use the word "pwn"
Every time I see it I cringe with the thought of some
8 year old player trying to amaze me with his ""elite"" skills.
Actually pwn is the only leet word that I have problems with.
h4x, r0x, "elite", and other similar words dont bother me at all.
I can see where they were derived from and they actually look
somewhat similar to how they are pronounced.
Maybe it is the 'p' Just makes me think that 'pwn' should be pronounced
'Pawn'.
Maybe I am just jaded from this situation:
After following my commanders orders, and defending a position until I am almost dead and parisited.
I decide to distract the alien force away from our forward phase gate. Making a rush towards their
furthest structure I begin to attack a res chamber to get their attention. Sure enough within one minute
several skulks are bearing down on me in an attempt to save the tower.
I kill 1 or 2, then at <30 hp one skulk finally gets a bite out of me. I die. and in about 5 seconds I hear
8yroldl33tkill4: OMG pwned!!!!!!111111
8yroldl33tkill4: Dude I pwn you.
8yroldl33tkill4: you cant even kill a skulk you n00b.
8yroldl33tkill4: hahahahaha
8yroldl33tkill4: ...
8yroldl33tkill4: OMG you idiots you let them kill our hive.
pwn. and 10 year old kids on the microphone. Yes I hate those
Comments
The bottom line is that 1 3 3 7 or IM text, when overused, is unpleasant to look at. I don't want to see a page-long "essay" in which the "author" replaces every "you" and "before" with "u" and "b4" -- any more than I want to join a server and see someone spamming the chat line with characters I didn't even know my keyboard could make. When it becomes a *replacement* for English, that's a problem.
However, the occasional "color" addition to something you're saying will always have its place. Anyone who says they don't occasionally slip into "street slang" when talking with their friends, just to put emphasis on something, is talking out his bum. (: In the same way, sometimes I'll respond to a jab from a friend with "omg go die IRL kthxbye nubcaeks." The internet has its own culture, and the language of that culture includes some pretty cool slang. I like it.
As for 10-year-olds on the mic... as long as what he's *saying* on the mic is competent, and as long as he's proving himself to be just as good of a player as someone twice his age, I'm totally cool with that. Some of the coolest people I know are 10 years older or younger than I am... and I wouldn't know them if I or they weren't openminded about befriending much older/younger people.
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As you can see, P is nowhere *near* O. But I still say pwn. ^^ Oh, and I, personally, pronounce it "pone." But that's just me.
I admit that I have uttered the occasional w00t in converstations <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->
I dont mind the age of players at all. Though a 10 year old voice screaming through the voicechat that he needs an HMG immediately you n00b comm OMG we lost f4
Can be very very annoying <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->
try it everyone type "l 3 3 t" without spaces into your post. It changes it to elite <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
how odd.
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Hmm, that looks funky....might get me one of those...stupid keyboards designed to slow typing down <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Meh, if someone is singing or saying random stuff over voicecom I just mute them. Most people tend to use it for actual teamwork so I don't really mind.
And don't knock kids too much, I play under a 10 year old commanded frequently and he pwns it up <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
I also think it's amusing that "leet" speak has started to make it's way into general society. I saw an AAPT ad that said "Using AOL? Mind if we LOL?" which was quite classy, but also the massive rise in mobile phone usage and the subsequent SMS messanging system has ment that abreviated leet speak has become quite common. Although I'm yet to see a phone message using "pwn" <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
"U going to mall l8r?" "Sif, I so pwned u!"
As soon as I said it was like "WTH!.....l337 sp34k!"
So... to remedy the situation, I skipped class and went to play NS.
oMg h4X!
ive seen pwn spelled qu0wn which makes no sense, but it is kinda fun to do.
well, and sometimes i get so bored in history that i start taking n0735 l13k 7h15.
I'm not afraid to say w00t, r0x0r, or pween in public, as long as it's with friends. But LOL is pushing it.
sometimes, on servers, if I see someone camping in the marine base constantly yelling for weapons I do the classic:
KarriN: C0mm4nd03!!!11 HMG n0w! n0w!
KarriN: 0mG c0Mm4nd0e!!1 yuo c4n't 3v3n giv3 out gUnz0r!!!11 n00b!!!
KarriN: TuRr3ntz!!!! m0er Tur3ntZ!!!!!11
Sometimes this backfires, though, with people not understanding that it's sarcasm I'm going after. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
sometimes, on servers, if I see someone camping in the marine base constantly yelling for weapons I do the classic:
KarriN: C0mm4nd03!!!11 HMG n0w! n0w!
KarriN: 0mG c0Mm4nd0e!!1 yuo c4n't 3v3n giv3 out gUnz0r!!!11 n00b!!!
KarriN: TuRr3ntz!!!! m0er Tur3ntZ!!!!!11
Sometimes this backfires, though, with people not understanding that it's sarcasm I'm going after. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
[lol] ROFL /m3 gettin :scared: <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo--> [/lol]
Then their opinion is void, anyway. =)
It's pronounced "pooned" and it basically means owning someone but 10 times worse.
I <i>still</i> cant figure out why the forum admins have a filter on "1-3-3-7"...
It's pronounced "pooned" and it basically means owning someone but 10 times worse.
I <i>still</i> cant figure out why the forum admins have a filter on "1-3-3-7"... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Seen ur replies on most threads...
... Do u actually read more then the topic?
The big break for "pwn" was when Fargo of PlanetQuake used it in his daily terms years ago. He pushed really hard for people to accept "pwn" as a valid word, pronounced "pween." Ever since then, the usage of pwn has skyrocketed and is now a common word in the Quake descendent's vocabulary. Just thought you'd like to get a history lesson in t3h age of forgetfulness. ;)
Likewise, I believe l33t5p34k was also made mainstream by PlanetQuake years ago, on Dear Mynx. This was then followed up a year later with the creation of JeffK, and the rest is history. PQ revolutionized a lot of gaming subculture (admittedly they may not have created it, but they sure made it accessible), and the PQ of today pales in comparison of the PQ of yesteryear.
Why the heck do people use the word "pwn" <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Because they can't spell, and typing mispelled words is what makes you c0re.
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A O E U I D H T N S -
; Q J K X B M W V Z<!--c2--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--ec2-->
As you can see, P is nowhere *near* O. But I still say pwn. ^^ Oh, and I, personally, pronounce it "pone." But that's just me.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Dude.. that must be a **** to use WASD <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Pwn, I feel adds fun to the word.
I pronounce it like "Pown" owned but with a P sound at the beginning.
'Leetspeak' originated via a combination of secure passwording systems, and 300bps text chat. 'u had 2 tlk like ths' as a courtesy to the other people in the live chat.. if everyone spoke in complete sentences, the conversation would actually start lagging, and people would fall behind, reply to outdated lines of text, etc. Another term was born of that, but I can't recall it at the moment.
Shortened typing was revived in the FPS and RTS realms where every second you weren't in control of your avatar(s) was a second that you were at a severe disadvantage. One reason it's continued today. Hopefully the addition of voice-chat will aid in wiping it away, though fixtures like 'lol' will continue forever as they've been cemented into being by brainless 13-year-old AOL chatters.
Secure-password typing (what is seen as 'leetspeak' most widely) was pulled more to mainstream by the media boom on 'hackers', portraying them as 'cool'. They got to be trendy, so the brainless nubs ended up latching onto an old stylistic idiom to try and make themselves look 'leet'. The majority of those who could be considered hackers, and not simply trend-**** wannabes, for the majority rolled their eyes and went on with their lives, using proper english to converse normally.
In other words, it's a nigh-forgotten teeny-bopper trend that's worked its way into society somehow, and wedged itself in place much like subcutaneous fungus.
Is it named after the composer?
If so, why?
btw I've noticed some people can type leet speak
almost as fast as English, that's just sad.
It's pronounced "pooned" and it basically means owning someone but 10 times worse.
I <i>still</i> cant figure out why the forum admins have a filter on "1-3-3-7"... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I have never heard it being pronounced like that, only "pone", not "poon".