The Geek Code, developed in 1993, is a series of letters and symbols used by self-described "geeks" to inform fellow geeks about their personality, appearance, interests, skills, and opinions.
The geek code attempts a concise description of your being in ‘geek space’, spanning key dimensions using a small set of categories and quantifying them with qualifiers ( or qualifying them with quantifiers, as you wish).
The idea is that everything that makes a geek individual can be encoded in a compact format which only other geeks can read. This is deemed to be efficient in some sufficiently geeky manner.
[Version 0.3](https://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/scotts/ftp/bulgarians/geek-code.html "This is perhaps the oldest still surviving example of Geek Code on the web!")
The code consists of a set of alphanumeric identifiers indicating the various categories (and subcategories), and qualifiers + and – following the identifiers indicating amount/size/level of proficiency/etc. These qualifiers can be stacked, e.g H+++ indicates a person of extremely skilled with hardware (the H indicating Hardware).
The broad categories encoded are: Geek of, Wetware, Computers, Politics, Entertainment, Lifestyle. Most have subcategories and you can answer at any level of detail desired, thus eg. U++ indicates someone highly interested/proficient in Unix, while ULDU++ indicates someone into Unix/Linux/Debian/Ubuntu (each additional step is a derivative of the previous step). Multiple subcategories can be indicated with a forward slash, e.g GCS/GM indicates a Geek of Computer Science and Math.
Some categories will be irrelevant, so ignore them. Some of the qualifiers will not match with you exactly, so choose that qualifier that most closely matches you.
Given a set of category/qualifier strings for any of the above (skip anything you dont want to answer/not relevant/classified/unknown/indeterminate/etc). A GEEK CODE BLOCK similar to the output created by PGP attempts to universalize how you will see the Geek Code around the net. Line breaks can be added if needed.
It’s time to assemble your code for displaying to the world. Take the substrings and concatenate with a space between. When completed, it will look something like the following:
For example, Geeks who happen to very much enjoy Star Trek: Picard as a whole, but aren't sure how they like the current season might list themselves as TSTpic+++@.
```() = for indicating “cross-overs” or ranges. Geeks who go from C+ to C— depending on the situation (i.e. mostly “C+”) could use C+(—). @ is different from () in that () has finite limits within the category, while @ ranges all over.```
```> = for ‘wannabe’ ratings. Indicating that while the geek is currently at one rating, they are striving to reach another. For example, C++>$ indicating a geek that is currently computer savvy, but wants to someday make money at it.```
```$ = Indicates that this particular category is done for a living. For example, UL+++$ indicates that the person utilizes Unix and gets paid for it. Quite a lucky geek, for sure.```
```? = Unless stated otherwise within the specific category, the ? is placed after the category identifier and indicates that the geek has no knowledge about that specific category. For example, a person that has never even heard of Babylon 5, would list their Babylon 5 category as 5?```
```! = Placed BEFORE the category. Unless stated otherwise, indicates that the person refuses to participate in this category. This is unlike the ? variable as the ? indicates lack of knowledge, while the ! indicates stubborn refusal to participate. For example, !E would be a person that just plain refuses to have anything to do with Emacs, while E? would be a person that doesn’t even know what Emacs is.```
To start a code, a geek must declare himself or herself to be a geek. To do this, we start the code with a “G” to denote “GEEK”, followed by one or two letters to denote the geek’s occupation or field of study. Multi-talented geeks with more than one vocational training should denote their myriad of talents with a slash between each vocation (example: GCS/MU/TW).
The Geek, of course, doesn’t believe any of that crap; on the internet, no one knows you’re a dog , according to ancient meme. In any case this section allows you to list something about what you look like, conceivably for dating purposes or such nonsense.
The only way to become a true geek is through practice and experience. To this end, your age becomes an important part of your geekiness. Use the qualifiers below to show your age (in Terran years). Base 10 , wise guys.
As facial hair plays some sort of role in geek space, serving as an expression of style, countercultural proclivities, etc. etc. and [unix beards](http://www.usenix.org.uk/content/unix_beards.html) being a thing we give it a category here despite its irrelevance to some fraction of the population. Also it lets us start off with ‘abcd’ for age/beard/clothing/dimensions
Geeks come in many shapes and sizes. Shape code is divided into two parts delimited by a colon, the first indicating vertical, and the second horizontal extent. Thus d+++:--- indicates extremely tall and thin.
There is a record of geeks that don’t use computers. Unfortunately, they are all dead, having lived in an era of no computers. All modern geeks have some exposure to computers. If you don’t know what a computer is, you need to go back into your shell.
Computers
Most geeks identify themselves by their use of computers and computer networks. In order to quantify your geekiness level on computers, consult the following (consider the term ‘computers’ synonymous with ‘computer network’). This category represents “general” computer aptitude. Categories below will get into specifics.
It seems that a Unix-based operating system is the OS of choice among most geeks. In addition to telling us about your Unix abilities, you can also show which specific Unix OS you are using. To accomplish this, you include a letter showing the brand with your rating. For example: UL++++ would indicate a sysadmin running Linux.
U++++ = I am the sysadmin. If you try and crack my machine don’t be surprised if the municipal works department gets an “accidental” computer-generated order to put start a new landfill on your front lawn or your quota is reduced to 4K.
U+++ = I don’t need to crack /etc/passwd because I just modified su so that it doesn’t prompt me. The admin staff doesn’t know I’m here.
U++ = I’ve get the entire admin ticked off at me because I am always using all of the CPU time and trying to run programs that I don’t have access to.
U+ = I enjoy shell scripting and understand the fundamental importance of the difference between ‘ and `
U = I have a Unix account to do my stuff in
U- = I have a VMS account.
U-- = I’ve seen Unix and didn’t like it. DEC rules!
List a series of languages and your facility/opinion thereupon, for example Lp++/R+ would indicate high proficiency in python and above average knowledge of R.
Many geeks have abandoned the character-based computer altogether and moved over to the Macintosh. It in important to give notification of your Mac rating.
M-- = Macs do more than suck. They make a user stupid by allowing them to use the system without knowing what they are doing. Mac weenies have lower IQs than the fuzz in my navel.
Pretty Good Privacy (aka PGP) is a program available on many platforms that will encrypt files so that prying eyes (particularly governmental) can’t look at them.
PGP+++ = I don’t send or answer mail that is not encrypted, or at the very least signed. If you are reading this without decrypting it first, something is wrong. IT DIDN’T COME FROM ME!
PGP++ = I have the most recent version and use it regularly
PGP+ = “Finger me for my public key”
PGP = I’ve used it, but stopped long ago.
PGP- = I don’t have anything to hide.
PGP-- = I feel that the glory of the Internet is in the anarchic, trusting environment that so nurtures the exchange of information. Encryption just bogs that down.
PGP--- = If you support encryption on the Internet, you must be a drug dealer or terrorist or something like that.
PGP---- = Oh, here is something you all can use that is better (insert Clipper here).
The last few years has seen the rise of the political geek. This phenomena is little understood, but some theorize that it has come about because of the popular media’s attempts to demonize the Internet and computer use in general, and the government’s willingness to go along with it. Others propose that the aging geek population has simply started taking an interest in the world around them. Some support the “Sun Spot” theory. As of v4 some new subcategories are added to the PS and PE categories.
Where, in general, your political views on different social issues fall. The + and – ratings here roughly indicate left/right on the political spectrum.
PS+++ = Legalize drugs! Abolish the government. “Fuck the draft!”
PS++ = I give to liberal causes. I march for gay rights. I’m a card carrying member of the ACLU. Keep abortion safe and legal.
PS+ = My whole concept of liberalism is that nobody has the right to tell anybody else what to do, on either side of the political fence. If you don’t like it, turn the bloody channel.
PS = I really don’t have an opinion; nobody’s messing with my freedoms right now.
PS- = Label records! Keep dirty stuff off the TV and the Internet.
PS-- = Oppose sex education, abortion rights, gay rights. Rush Limbaugh is my spokesman.
PS--- = Repent left-wing sinners and change your wicked evil ways. Buchanan/Robertson in ’96.
Geeks love to play. No matter their age, all geeks enjoy playing. Of course, the object of this entertainment takes a myriad of different forms. What is it that pushes a geek to play? Is it simply a desire to relive their childhood? Or perhaps there is a piece of geeky genetic code that requires intellectual stimulation. Who knows, maybe it’s a Freudian thing…
In v4, tv/series are given its own category other than star trek which remains for backwards compatibility.
TT+++ = It’s not just a TV show, it’s a religion. I know all about warp field dynamics and the principles behind the transporter. I have memorized the TECH manual. I speak Klingon. I go to cons with Vulcan ears on. I have no life.
TT++ = It’s the best show around. I have all the episodes and the movies on tape and can quote entire scenes verbatim. I’ve built a few of the model kits too. But you’ll never catch me at one of those conventions. Those people are kooks.
TT+ = It’s a damn fine TV show and is one of the only things good on television any more.
TT = It’s just another TV show
TT- = Maybe it is just me, but I have no idea what the big deal with Star Trek is. Perhaps I’m missing something but I just think it is bad drama.
TT-- = Star Trek is just another Space Opera. William Shatner isn’t an actor, he’s a poser! And what’s with this Jean-Luc Picard? A Frenchman with a British accent? Come on. Isn’t Voyager just a rehash of Lost in Space? Has Sisko even breathed in the last two seasons? Come on. I’d only watch this show if my remote control broke.
TT--- = Star Trek SUCKS! It is the worst crap I have ever seen! Hey, all you trekkies out there, GET A LIFE! (William Shatner is a t—)
Role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons have long been a part of the traditional geek life. Because geeks often become so involved in their role-playing that they lose touch with reality, include one of the following role-playing codes.
B++++ = I read a book a day. I have library cards in three states. I have discount cards from every major bookstore. I’ve ordered books from another country to get my Favorite Author Fix.
B+++ = I consume a few books a week as part of a staple diet.
Geeks, unlike the lower lifeforms known as nerds, have lives. They have things to do that are in the outside world. Of course, this is usually done with other geeks, but that’s not the point. The point is,, that geeks are not necessarily the outcasts society often believes they are. The fact is that society isn’t kool enough to be included in our activities.
Geeks have traditionally had problems with sex (ie, they never have any). Because geeks are so wrapped up in their sexuality (or lack of sexuality for that matter), it is important that the geek be willing to quantify their sexual experiences.
