Arcana
Keep asking why, because repeated questioning will eventually get to the truth; but again, keep that voltmeter handy.
Here, you will find curious things I've discovered and curated over the years:
- Interesting websites found by wartyping.
- Chatronyms - "textspeak" for IRC chat.
- Curious phone numbers - mostly phone numbers with lingering phone company intercept messages or unusual recordings. No live numbers.
Enjoy!
Interesting websites
There were found by wartyping, which is the keyboard analogue of wardialing: typing combinations of domain names, staring with "a.org" (e.g.) and working up in the alphabet.
Skipped combinations either yield nothing, or a "buy this domain" page. Here's my list so far:
- a.org - social venture capital (??)
- c.org - shortcut to change.org
- e.org - British-owned energy supplier
- f.org - some sort of bitcoin clearinghouse
- g.org - allrighty, then
- i.org - weird Facebook error page
- q.org - yet more blockchain weirdness
- u.org - shortcut to understood.org, a neurodivergent support page
- v.org - victory over cancer
- w.org - shortcut to wordpress.org
- x.org - the X-windows wiki
- z.org - DNS malfunction page from cloudflare
- at.org - strange manifesto written on an oscillating rainbow
- bl.org - somebody was bored
- br.org - black rose; "adult education"
- bw.org - international geek of mystery
- cg.org - common ground; sort of an in-between thing
- cm.org - cancelmoose is obsolete but still there
- cq.org - at least they have a phone number
- dd.org - personal site; cryptic but interesting
- di.org - the dorsai irregulars: security for your comic-con
- eh.org - i have no idea, but it looks like an old BBS, sort of
Chatronyms
| nym | expansion |
|---|---|
| <3 | i like that comment |
| <g> | grin |
| aamof | as a matter of fact |
| afaiac | as far as i am concerned |
| afaict | as far as i can tell |
| afaik | as far as i know |
| afair | as far as i remember |
| afk | away from the keyboard |
| afssoap | a few sandwiches short of a picnic |
| aopc | reciting local national motto |
| asap | as soon as possible |
| asl pls | age sex location please |
| atm | at the moment |
| atp | at this point |
| aybabtu | all your base are belong to us |
| bbfn | bye bye for now |
| bbiab | be back in a bit |
| bbiaf | be back in a few |
| bbl | be back later |
| bbs | be back shortly |
| bbs | be back soon |
| brb | be right back/bathroom break |
| btw | by the way |
| cq... | looking for... |
| ctc | care to chat? |
| cya | see ya |
| d/c | disconnected |
| djjad | dammit jim, i'm a doctor |
| djiad | not my area of expertise |
| e.g. | exempli gratia |
| faq | frequently asked questions |
| fb | fine business |
| focl | falling off chair laughing |
| fwiw | for what it's worth |
| fyi | for your information |
| ga | good afternoon |
| gm | good morning |
| gmta | great minds think alike |
| gmtaasdo | great minds think alike, and so do ours |
| gtg | got to go |
| hdj | irretrievably broken (he's dead, jim) |
| hybs | christian greeting |
| ianad | i am not a doctor |
| ianaitp | i am not an IT person |
| ianal | i am not a lawyer |
| iaadbnyd | i am a doctor, but not your doctor |
| iaalbnyl | i am a lawyer, but not your lawyer |
| ic | i see |
| ifypfy | i fixed your post for you |
| iirc | if i recall correctly |
| imho | in my humble opinion |
| imnsho | in my not so humble opinion |
| imo | in my opinion |
| iow | in other words |
| irl | in real life |
| isagn | i see a great need |
| istr | i seem to recall |
| ito | in terms of |
| itt | i think that |
| j/k | just kidding |
| jk | just kidding |
| kbn | gimme a minute to break it |
| kbn | klaatu barada nikto |
| kbn | stand down, cowboy ^^ |
| kwh | kilroy was here |
| l8r | later |
| le | later edit |
| llap | live long and prosper |
| lmao | laughing my * off |
| lol | laughing out loud |
| ltns | long time no see |
| lts | laughing to self |
| ly | love you |
| mil | mother-in-law |
| motd | message of the day |
| n/a | no attachment |
| n/m | nevermind |
| n/p | no problem - np also used |
| n/t | no text |
| nhdbof | observing a religious holiday/ritual |
| np | no problem |
| oic | oh, I see |
| omg | oh, my god |
| op | original poster |
| opiahh | op is a hose head |
| otoh | on the other hand |
| pal2 | peace and long life |
| ppl | people |
| re | re hi or re hello |
| rofl | rolling on floor laughing |
| roflmao | rolling on floor laughing my arse off |
| rotfl | rolling on the floor laughing |
| rtfm | read the * manual |
| rtfm | read the full manual |
| sahm | stay at home mom |
| shlm | jewish greeting |
| slm | muslim greeting |
| ta | thanks/again |
| tafn | that's all for now |
| tam | thanks a million |
| tmi | too much information |
| ttyl | talk (type) to you later |
| ttys | talk (type) to you soon |
| ty | thank you thx thanks |
| w8 | wait |
| wb | welcome back |
| wc | are you hungry? (want chinese food?) |
| wfm | works for me |
| wtf | what the ** |
| wtf | why the face? |
| wtg | way to go |
| wx | weather |
| wysineutwyg | what you see is not entirely unrelated to what you get |
| wysiwyg | what you see is what you get |
| ygbkm | you gotta be kidding me |
| ymmv | your milage may vary |
| yold | year of our lady of discord |
Curious phone numbers
These phone numbers all call a recording of some kind. Some of them are leftover Bell System intercept (error) messages.
| number | description |
|---|---|
| (202) 762-1401 | USNO master clock! |
| (202) 965-9970 | you have just deactivated this feature. |
| (206) 343-0011 | this call requires a coin deposit. no, really. |
| (212) 999-1010 | <intercept tone> "The number you dialed is not in service." |
| (213) 621-0001 | the good, old-fashioned, "We're sorry..." recording (not Jane Barbe, sadly) |
| (213) 621-0002 | 1000Hz @ 0dB (this only makes sense if you're a phone person) |
| (216) 931-1212 | WKYC Time and Weather |
| (270) 301-5797 | a maze of twisty little touch tones, all different. |
| (303) 337-2500 | Denver Post Weather |
| (313) 849-9906 | calling is too heavy to answer this number. |
| (401) 560-5293 | genuine Jane Barbe intercept message |
| (409) 724-3137 | The call you have made requires an initial deposit. please hang up momentarily... |
| (412) 885-0075 | "All test positions are unmanned at this time, please try your call again later." |
| (505) 503-4455 | Better Call Saul |
| (508) 690-6143 | Weird noises, but sounds a lot like malfunction telco equipment |
| (509) 457-0044 | This call requires a coin deposit... |
| (509) 457-0051 | All circuits are busy now... |
| (570) 387-0000 | "due to an emergency condition...." |
| (573) 996-0002 | they still have party lines? |
| (609) 729-9928 | ...the long distance company you have selected is unable to complete your call... |
| (610) 797-0014 | Excuse me, please deposit five cents for the next 3 minutes ... |
| (618) 625-8313 | Stranger Things |
| (718) 816-9901 | North Staten Island DMS-100 ident message & area code list |
| (719) 266-2837 | hall and oates emergency song line |
| (800) 444-4444 | automated number announcement circuit |
| (800) 437-9606 | honest to goodness at&t intercept message |
| (845) 354-9912 | callcannotbecompletedasdialed....." |
| (858) 651-5050 | the pronunciation line |
| (877) 763-2435 | odd squad HQ |
| (888) 447-5594 | congratulations, you found your way here |
| (914) 232-9901 | pleasant hills DMS 100 |
| (914) 737-9938 | somebody said put an outgoing message here |
| (916) 440-0017 | your service has been interrupted. |
| (916) 440-0031 | "due to facility trouble...." |
Enjoy.