"Leetspeak" domain?

[cybore]

I've noticed that there are tons of domain names registered under "leetspeak".

What I was wondering, is there any real value in these domain names?

I have done exhausting searches for "leetspeak" words and they all seem to be taken. I have only found one (and I was really surprised) that has yet to be registered.


I do know that the word in the english language could be worth mega $$.

The question would be, is it worth the reg. fee to grab it?

 

[Gene]

Forgive my ignorance on the subject, but would "w33k.com" (week) qualify as leet? I picked it up some time ago and never did anything with it. I think I'll sell it as I have way too many others to develop, but I would really like to know what 'leet' really is...

 

[cybore]

yes, w33k would be considered "leetspeak".

Leet, usually written as "1337" in Leetspeak, is an online culture and/or attitude, as well as a language code, among the Internet population. The word itself is derived phonetically from the word "elite", and is a cipher, or cryptic form of spelling replacing letters with numbers, symbols, and other letters that look or sound alike. Leetspeak was probably first used by hackers on Bulletin Board Systems, and then later adopted by users of Online Multiplayer Games and other Internet communities.

The gaming community made it very popular.

 

[barefoottech]

It is also very Lame or is that L4m3

 

[Gene]

Thanks for the explanation

 

[Flaresolutions]

To my knowledge, 1337 speak came about because of people wanting to bypass web filtering systems at work/school.

 

[labrocca]

I am old enough to know where l33t speak originated. Geeks using calculators to form words. It's true.