Pwn

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The slang term Pwn (see pronunciation note below), used primarily in the Internet gaming culture, means to soundly defeat an opponent. It is sometimes used for taunting of an in-game enemy and rubbing in victories. It can also be used, especially by non-gamers, in the context of getting "pwned" by The Man.

In internet security jargon, to "pwn" means "to compromise" or "to control", specifically another computer (server or PC), web site, gateway device, or application; it is synonymous with one of the definitions of hacking. An outside party who has "owned" or "pwned" a system has obtained unauthorized administrative control of the system.

The term was one of 16 to appear on the 2006 "List of Words and Phrases Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness," released annually by Lake Superior State University.^[1]

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Pronunciation 3 Quotations 4 References 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Etymology

While no single usage of the term can be definitively identified as the original source,^[2][3] it most likely arose and spread naturally from a misspelling of the word "own", arising from the proximity of the 'p' and 'o' keys on a standard English keyboard; however, it has been claimed by many gamers that the origin of the word comes from the PC game Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, where a programming error results in the message "You have been pwned." When the player gets defeated by a CPU controlled opponent, the correct message should have been "You have been owned." The phrase has become an internet icon for online gamers across the globe.^{[citation needed]}

To "own" another gamer is to be dominant over one's opponent. When boasting to the other player during the excitement of play, gamers would often mistakenly type p-w-n, rather than o-w-n. Eventually, the word began to convey a meaning both stronger and more specialized than that of "own," its pronunciation began to vary, and it was adopted into the "1337" ("leet") lexicon.

[edit] Pronunciation

Given the recent development of the word, and its primary use in written form only, there is no single accepted pronunciation of pwn; as there are no vowels, arguments about the "correct" pronunciation occur with relative frequency. Pronunciation is usually determined by personal preference and context. The two most common pronunciations are [oʊn] ("own," in reference to the original misspelling) and [poʊn] (as in "corn pone").

Other variations include:

• [pun] (as in "harpoon")
• [pəʔˈoʊn] ("puh-own")
• [piˈoʊn] ("pee-own")
• [pʌn] ("pun")
• [pwin] ("pween")
• [pɔːn] ("pawn")
• [paʊn] (to rhyme with gown)
• [pwəʔˈn̩] (pwuhn)

[edit] Quotations

Some popular quotes involving "pwn" include:

• The 2006 South Park episode, "Make Love, Not Warcraft," satirized the game "World of Warcraft." In the episode, the word is pronounced [poʊn] (pone), rhyming with "own."
  • "Looks like you're about to get pwned. Yeah!!!" - Eric Cartman (~20m 30s into episode)
  • "That was such über-pwnage" - Kyle Broflovski (soon after above)

• In "Teen Girl Squad" (see issue 10), "PØwned" appears on the screen and is pronounced by Strong Bad as "Puh-owned! Or however you say that!" Later the derivative "P4wned" appears and is pronounced "Puh-ahned," followed again by "or however you pronounce that."

• On a South Korean news channel an anchor said, “Youn Hong-Gyu PWNS” because a rival news anchor told him that it was a formal, professional way to say “good bye” in English.

• During the telecast of the 2006 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, Daniel Negreanu tells Mike Matusow that Mike Sexton "pwned" (pronounced [poʊn]) Matusow with an especially good play. The closed-captioning, however, misinterpreted Negreanu's remark as "boned."

• The internet TV show Pure Pwnage claims that the word is pronounced "own," as it was a spelling mistake in the first place.

• In the movie Employee of the Month, the character played by Dane Cook uses "pwned" (pronounced "poned") during a competitive scene.

• In Comic 91 of web-comic xkcd in reference to a satirical text-based version of Counter-Strike: "You have been pwned by a Grue." In another comic of this, the lead character says that when he is older, he will use out of date slang to see teenagers squirm. He then says "This song is so pwned".

• Filmmaker John Scott 3 used "Pwned" for the title of his short documentary exploring the effects of video games on the individual and society.

[edit] References

1. ^ LA Times, Words they wish would go missing, accessed January 19, 2007
2. ^ About.com, pwn - own, accessed Jan 1, 2006
3. ^ Microsoft, Microsoft Security At Home: Child Safety, A parent’s primer to computer slang, accessed Jan 1, 2006

• ^{^} urban dictionary definition of PWN. urbandictionary.com. Retrieved on 2006-04-13.
• Pure Pwnage. Canadian comedy about computer gaming culture. Retrieved on 2006-01-04.

[edit] See also

• Internet slang
• Noob
• Owned
• Pure Pwnage
• Leet (1337)

[edit] External links

• Urban Dictionary definition
• Pwned, webpage and blog of USC's class Pwned: Is everyone on campus a copyright criminal?, taught by Cory Doctorow
• [1], part 1, and [2], part 2, "Pwned," a documentary by filmmaker John Scott 3.