Geek Code: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Letters and symbols used by geeks to describe themselves}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2016}}

[[File:BloqueCódigo degeek, código geekAA (1330560000)2012.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Geek code example, which opens by stating that the user is a Geek of Technical Writing (GTW) who usually wears jeans and a t-shirt (d-@), is of average height and above-average weight (s:+), and is aged between 25 and 29 (a-).]]

The '''Geek Code''', developed in 1993, is a series of letters and symbols used by self-described "[[geek]]s" to inform fellow geeks about their [[personality psychology|personality]], appearance, interests, skills, and opinions. The idea is that everything that makes a geek [[individual]] can be [[Code|encode]]d in a compact format which only other geeks can read. This is deemed to be [[Algorithmic efficiency|efficient]] in some sufficiently geeky manner.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/culturesofcomput00susa |url-access=registration |pages=10–20 |title=The cultures of computing |publisher=Wiley |author=Susan Leigh Star |author-link=Susan Leigh Star |year=1995|isbn=9780631192824 }}</ref>

It was once common practice to use a geek code as one's email or Usenet signature, but the last official version of the code was produced in 1996, and it has now largely fallen out of use.<ref name="wapo">{{cite news |last1=Romenesko |first1=James |title=The Code of the Geeks |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/05/17/the-code-of-the-geeks/764cb760-d6f4-4ba2-860c-e1d1bcc69919/?noredirect=on |access-date=14 November 2018 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=17 May 1996}}</ref><ref name="geekcode"/>

A number of similar codes were developed for other subcultures, such as a Goth Code for the [[Goth subculture]], and the [[Natural Bears Classification System]] for gay men.

==History==

The Geek Code was invented by Robert A. Hayden in 1993 and was defined at geekcode.com.<ref name="geekcode">{{Cite web |url=http://www.geekcode.com/ |title=The Geek Code |access-date=April 9, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228200740/http://www.geekcode.com/ |archive-date=February 28, 2009 |url-status=bot: unknowndead }}</ref> It was inspired by [[The Natural Bears Classification System|a similar code]] for the [[Bear (gay culture)|bear]] subculture - which in turn was inspired by the [[Yerkes spectral classification scheme|Yerkes spectral classification]] system for describing stars.<ref name="jargon"/><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/08/online_gay_culture_and_soc_motss_how_a_usenet_group_anticipated_how_we_use.2.html|title=The First Gay Space on the Internet|journal=Slate |date=August 20, 2014 |publisher=[[Slate.com]] |last1=Auerbach |first1=David }}</ref><ref>Unlike the Geek Code, the Yerkes system uses classes, subclasses and peculiarities for categorization. These systems differ in their [[orthogonality]]: the Geek Code is very [[Orthogonal (computing)|orthogonal in the computer science sense]] (where variables may be [[Projection (linear algebra)|projected]] onto [[basis vectors]]), where the Yerkes system is very [[Orthogonality#Taxonomy|orthogonal in the taxonomic sense]] (representing mutually exclusive [[class (computer science)|classes]]).</ref>

After a number of updates, the last revision of the code was v3.12, in 1996.<ref>

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==Format==

Geek codes can be written in two formats;<ref name="geekcode"/> either as a simple string:<br>

<nowiki>{{sxhl|GED/J d-- s:++>: a-- C++(++++) ULU++ P+ L++ E---- W+(-) N+++ o+ K+++ w--- O- M+ V-- PS++>$ PE++>$ Y++ PGP++ t- 5+++ X++ R+++>$ tv+ b+ DI+++ D+++ G+++++ e++ h r-- y++**</nowiki> |zeek}}

...or as a "Geek Code Block", a parody of the output produced by the encryption program [[Pretty Good Privacy|PGP]]:<br>

<nowiki>{{sxhl|-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----

Version: 3.1

GED/J d-- s:++>: a-- C++(++++) ULU++ P+ L++ E---- W+(-) N+++ o+ K+++ w---

O- M+ V-- PS++>$ PE++>$ Y++ PGP++ t- 5+++ X++ R+++>$ tv+ b+ DI+++ D+++

G+++++ e++ h r-- y++**

------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------</nowiki>|pem}}

Note that this latter format has a line specifying the version of Geek Code being used.

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==See also==

*[[Leet Speak]]

*[[New SpeakNewspeak]]

*[[The Natural Bears Classification System]]

*[[Signature block]]