Teh r0x0r

Alright. We admit it. We honestly had to take time to look up how to properly spell the title for this particular posting. This is largely due to the fact that, while plenty of our existence revolves around the online world, we have tried to avoid getting into places where people communicate via l33t speak. Our avoidance of this bastardization of the language sometimes makes it more difficult to communicate with people online, but we trust that, by simply using the correct (and complete) words, we'll eventualy be understood.

Naturally, as l33t speak grew out of online gaming and messaging, it should be no surprise that the format has passed along to cellphones, and the concept of the text message. And, while we never thought we'd be thankful when a day like this came to pass, we have to tip our hats to LG, who hosted the first ever "National Texting Championship" this weekend, crowning a 13-year-old girl as the eventual winner. This ended a month where LG scoured the country for the fastest text messagers that they could find.

But it wasn't just speed that they were looking for. After all, anyone can key in their messages quickly (this is, supposedly, one of the benefits of using l33t, even though plenty of words require the same number of keystrokes). The real trick to the competition was using your speed coupled with accuracy of spelling to get your point across. No predictive text here (although, for those that have ever used it, they know that predictive text uses a logic unfound anywhere else on the planet). Morgan Pozgar eventually won the competition by texting the first 151 characters to "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocios!" in 46 seconds, without missing a single letter. True, she was copying the message off of a projection, but still. Give credit where it's due, and acknowledge the fact that competition didn't feature people stringing together letters and numbers into a nonsensical series, under the guise of making communication.

Sadly, while Pozgar was winning her competition, high school students around the country were busy taking part in their own texting challenges. Many of their text messages looked like excerpts from Prince lyrics. And the winners, without fail, responded to the losers by saying that they had been pwned.

And people wonder why American spelling is so atrocious.