Monday off. Tuesday too. Need to read up on the new subject I've acquired, Comms at AS. Doing some internet shopping for DVDs. Checking in on Unreal® Tournament 2003 forums to see if they've released teh demo.

That spelling - 'teh' - confused me at first. But as mentioned in Internet Culture, it's a troll - a device for separating those 'in the know' from those not, a secret signs of sorts to define the community in-group over against the out-group.

If you 'get it', you a) don't comment, b) use the spelling yourself. Spend a little time reading the forums and you'll notice that it's not ignorance or bad spelling, but has been adopted by many heavy posters in the community.

If you don't get it, you haven't been reading the forums properly, and you're a n00b. You give this away by posting an indignant correction, sounding all good'n'smug like you're superior in education and style to the poster who 'can't spell'. In fact, you have been trolled. You have made a fool of yourself and marked yourself as 'out-group'.

It's like how friends - good friends - at least in the UK - are utterly rude to each other. it signals that they know each other well enough to know they're kidding. If a stranger comes along nd tries to play that game, they'll get a radically different reception, and the same statement will be taken as a sore insult.