为什么黑客普遍喜欢在网络上使用看似乱码的文字作为名字?

Leet[1] 是欧美网络文化的一部分,本质上就是用其他形状相似的符号替代英文字母,比如:

A : 4
S : 5
K : |<

Z : 2
H : |-|
I : 1
U : µ


另外也常用 X 替代 K,Z 来替代 S,比如 wares 写为 warez,hacker 写为 h4x3r。类似于中文火星文,它发源于早期的 BBS,维基百科说得很清楚:
Leet originated within bulletin board systems (BBS) in the 1980s,[1][2] where having "elite" status on a BBS allowed a user access to file folders, games, and special chat rooms. One theory is that it was developed to defeat text filters created by BBS or Internet Relay Chat system operators for message boards to discourage the discussion of forbidden topics, like cracking and hacking.[1] Creative misspellings and ASCII-art-derived words were also a way to attempt to indicate one was knowledgeable about the culture of computer users. Once the reserve of hackers, crackers, and script kiddies, leet has since entered the mainstream.[1] It is now also used to mock newbies, or newcomers, on web sites, or in gaming communities.[3] Some consider emoticons and ASCII art, like smiley faces, to be leet, while others maintain that leet consists of only symbolic word encryption. More obscure forms of leet, involving the use of symbol combinations and almost no letters or numbers, continue to be used for its original purpose of encrypted communication. It is also sometimes used as a script language. Variants of leet have been used for censorship purposes for many years; for instance "@$$"[Notes 1] and "$#!+"[Notes 2] are frequently seen to make a word appear censored to the untrained eye but obvious to a person familiar with leet.

Leet symbols, especially the number 1337, are Internet memes that have spilled over into popular culture. Signs that show the numbers "1337" are popular motives for pictures and shared widely across the internet.
文中 @$$ = ass, $#!t = shit。

而 leet 也常转写为 l33t、L337 或者 1337。你可以理解为,用这种转写方法来写名字,就如同中文火星文一样,是一种身份识别机制,看得懂的人会心一笑,看不懂的人摸不到头脑——甚至感到反感和厌恶。



[1] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L
原发布于 https://www.zhihu.com/question/20475751/answer/15232234