Does leet speak reduce your WoW playing enjoyment? Do caps lock and abbreviations set your teeth on edge? If so, Xkhan agrees with you and attributes it possibly to age. His list of pet peeves incites an interesting forum thread discussing in-game annoyances along with the etymological origins of some leet speak.

For example, did you know that GG stands for Good Game? While it is currently used sarcastically, for years it has been spammed at the end of FPS games as a show of good sportsmanship. Ah, playing CTF in Tribes II with the Hammer or something-or-other mod equaled hours of pure gaming pleasure. But I digress...

We've discussed pet peeves before and whether or not we are killing our language with leetspeak. Many mature players would prefer not to play with children who are incapable of forming grammatically correct sentences or playing their character properly. But do we get more upset with these annoyances the older we get?

I think it is more of the attitude that we bring to playing the game than it is how many years we have been alive. Sure, those of us who write in complete sentences would prefer if everyone did -- but anyone with a 7th grade education (or earlier) has a good enough grasp of grammar to do that. I am definitely on the high end of the WoW playing age scale. I don't want to give out numbers because I find them very hard to admit, but let's just say that Petula Clark's Downtown was my favorite song when I was in Kindergarten. At my age, I have to say that I don't get upset when I get sent a tell containing "ur" or when I see the guild name Less QQ more Pew Pew. I tend not to group with the "ne1" crowd because I usually find they aren't as skilled or as fun to play with as the players who type out "anyone" -- but I don't wish them bodily harm like some of the forum posters seem to. In fact, I do find it amusing to read particularly egregiously leet sentences out loud.

But I must admit that my blood pressure rises when people say "rouge" instead of "rogue".

Rogue is such a great word for a historically fun class and it rhymes with "vogue". Rouge is a cosmetic and is pronounced "rooszh". It's a blush that you put on your cheeks to add color to your face and define your cheekbones. It can't backstab you and you don't really want it taking up a spot on your raid. Rouge is French for "red". Rogue is a melee DPSer who can open your lockboxes for you. The picture above is actually of powdered blush while rouge is usually a cream, but no one is going to get upset that I called blush "rouge", because they are essentially the same thing. A rogue is a vicious killer, even in gnome form. Rouge: in your makeup kit, usually pink, red or peach. Rogue: in ur group, controlling ur crowds.

I feel better now after venting. And I really don't think this pet peeve is related to age. Do you have a pet peeve? Is intolerance for lazy spelling and nonexistent grammar related to age? Have you ever applied a rogue to your cheekbone?

Tags: leet, leet speak, LeetSpeak, pet peeves, PetPeeves, pew pew, PewPew, qq, rogue, rouge, wow

Filed under: WoW Social Conventions, Humor