The project invite/ passcode for this site is "getcode"

 

In the 1990's, Geekmaster Robert Hayden developed the Geek Code, a system of identification that geeks and would-be geeks could opt into.

 

Many folks on Twitter are in search of folks to follow who share their interests. 

 

But in some cases we are bumping up against the built-in limits.... how do we let all of our interests shine through in a 160 character profile?  Maybe if we developed a Twit Code we could compress some vital information and help each other get connected.  Collect ideas here (so far borrowed heavily from Robert Hayden's system; we are working on contacting him to see if he's cool with that).  Then create a twitcode of your very own, and Tweet it out there periodically so that folks can search for elements of it using Tweet Scan or some other 3rd party app.  Updates via @twitcode on Twitter, too.

 

Here's a sample twitcode based on the information on this site: 

 

TL C1(609) a+ et37 Ol CM e+3 w25(K12) p1(6) r+3 PS+2 PE- t+4 v+ a+ iBL iGE iTH iBY iVB iCA iPO iKU #twitcode

 

The code was generated by looking at each one of the categories listed on this page and selecting the twitcode that applies. Additional codes were selected from the second, Twit Code Interests page.  A twitcode is constructed by stringing together all the codes bits with spaces in between each one. Any twitcode can be decoded via a kind of reverse-engineering from the same information on this site.

 

If it really takes off, maybe someone could even create a Twit Code Generator and Twit Code Decoder (e.g. Geek Code Generator and Geek Code Decoder).

 

Here's what we've got so far:

 

 

PRIMARY AFFILIATION

 

Twits come in many flavors. The flavors relate to the vocational orientation (or, if a student, what they are training in) of the particular Twit. (Not to be confused with what work they may be doing for wages.) To start a code, a Twit must declare herself or himself to be a Twit. To do this, we start the code with a "T" to denote "TWIT", followed by one or two letters to denote the Twit's  field of study or primary interest. Multi-talented and multi-faceted Twits may denote their myriad of talents with a slash between each vocation (example: TCS/MU/W).

 

    TAI = Twit of All things Internet

    TB = Twit of Business

    TC = Twit of Classics

    TCM = Twit of Computer Management

    TCS = Twit of Computer Science

    TCC = Twit of Communications

    TE = Twit of Engineering

    TED = Twit of Education

    TFA = Twit of Fine Arts

    TG = Twit of Government

    TGR = Twit of Graphic Design

    TH = Twit of Humanities

    TIT = Twit of Information Technology

    TJ = Twit of Jurisprudence (Law)

    TLS = Twit of Library Science

    TL = Twit of Literature

    TMC = Twit of Mass Communications

    TM = Twit of Math

    TMK = Twit of Marketing

    TMD = Twit of Medicine

    TME –= Twit of Media

    TMU = Twit of Music

    TPA = Twit of Performing Arts

    TP = Twit of Philosophy

    TPO = Twit of Politics

    TPS = Twit of Psychology

    TS = Twit of Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, etc.)

    TSS = Twit of Social Science (Psychology, Sociology, etc.)

    TW = Twit of Writing

 

 

    TO = Twit of Other. Some types of Twits deviate from the standard twit activities. This is encouraged as diversity is where it’s at.  If you think there might be a bunch of you, create a code and add it to the list above.

 

    TU = Twit of 'Undecided'. This could be a popular choice with incoming freshmen.

 

    T! = Twit of no qualifications. A hard way to go through life, maybe?

 

    TAT = Twit of All Trades. For those Twits who can do anything and everything. TAT usually precludes the use of other vocational descriptors.

 

LOCATION IN MEATSPACE

 

If people wanted to see you in real life, where would they have the best chance?

 

Get your country code from this list: http://www.countrycallingcodes.com/countrylist.php

 

Modify with area code if desired

 

e.g.   C1(203)

 

If multiple country or area codes apply, tack them on after an asterisk, e.g. if you hang out in Scotland and San Francisco: C44(131)*1(415)

 

AGE

 

There may be times when a fellow Twit is in search of folks from “a certain era.” Use the qualifiers below to show your age (in Terran years). Also, please use BASE 10 numbers.

 

a+4  70 and over

a+3    60-69

a+2    50-59

a+      40-49

a         30-39

a-       25-29

a-2     20-24

a-3     15-19

a-4     10-14

a-5     9 and under (Twit in training?)

 

a?  immortal

!a  it's none of your business how old I am

 

In addition, if you wish to give your exact age, you can place the number after the 'a' identifier. For example: a42

 

ETHNICITY

 

Et & numerical code from 2001 US census? (not perfect, but a start):

 

Mixed Groups

 

et21 White and Black Caribbean

et22 White and Black African

et23 White and Asian

et24 Black and Asian

et25 Black and Chinese

et26 Black and White

et27 Chinese and White

et28 Asian and Chinese

et29 Other Mixed, Mixed Unspecified

 

White Group

 

et1 British, Mixed British

et2 Irish

et3 English

et4 Scottish

et5 Welsh

et38 Northern Irish

et6 Cornish

et7 Cypriot (part not stated)

et8 Greek

et9 Greek Cypriot

et10 Turkish

et11 Turkish Cypriot

et12 Italian

et13 Irish Traveller

et14 Traveller

et15 Gypsy/ Romany

et16 Polish

et17 All republics which made up the former USSR

et18 Kosovan

et19 Albanian

et31 Bosnian

et32 Croatian

et33 Serbian

et34 Other republics which made up the former Yugoslavia

et36 Mixed white

et37 Other white European, European unspecified, European mixed

et39 Other white, white unspecified

 

Asian or Asian British Group

 

et41 Indian or British Indian

et42 Pakistani or British Pakistani

et43 Bangladeshi or British Bangladeshi

et44 Mixed Asian

et45 Punjabi

et46 Kashmiri

et47 East African Asian

et48 Sri Lanka

et49 Tamil

et50 Sinhalese

et51 British Asian

et57 Caribbean Asian

et59 Other Asian, Asian unspecified

 

Black or Black British Group

 

et61 Caribbean

et62 African

et63 Somali

et64 Mixed Black

et65 Nigerian

et66 Black British

et69 Other Black, Black unspecified

 

Other Ethnic Groups

 

et81 Chinese

et84 Vietnamese

et85 Japanese

et86 Filipino

et87 Malaysian

et89 Any Other Group

 

et99 Not stated

et~  It’s complicated. You might want to ask.

 

Source is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_2001_Ethnic_Codes

 

SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND IDENTITY

 

Ob  bisesexual

Og  gay

Ol   lesbian

Os  straight

Otg   transgender

Otr  transitioning

Oq  queer

O?   questioning

O*   not relevant to my Twitter life

 

COMPUTER OPERATING SYSTEM

 

CW – Windows

CM – Mac

CL – Linux

CU – Unix

C+ - multilingual when it comes to computer operating systems

 

[Are we missing any here?]

 

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

 

e+5   I am Stephen Hawking

e+4  Managed to get my Ph.D.

e+3   Got a Masters degree

e+2  Got a Bachelors degree

e+  Got an Associates degree

e    Finished high school

e-   Haven't finished high school

e-2 Haven't even entered high school

e*   I learned everything there is to know about life from RL, SL, or some alternate source.

 

WAGED WORK  (may overlap with training and education, but may not)

 

w11 Management Occupations

w13 Business and Financial Operations Occupations

w15 Computer and Mathematical Occupations

w17  Architecture and Engineering Occupations

w19  Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations

w21  Community and Social Services Occupations

w23 Legal Occupations

w25 Education, Training, and Library Occupations

     if you work in a school, (K12) = secondary school

     (gx) where x=grade level(s) you work with

     (AS) = community college

     (BS) = college or university

w27 Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

w29 Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

w31 Healthcare Support Occupations

w33 Protective Service Occupations

w35 Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations

w37 Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations

w39 Personal Care and Service Occupations

w41 Sales and Related Occupations

w43 Office and Administrative Support Occupations

w45 Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations

w47 Construction and Extraction Occupations

w49 Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations

w51 Production Occupations

w53 Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

w55 Military Specific Occupations

 

Source: http://www.bls.gov/soc/soc_majo.htm

(in case you want to get more specific)

 

RELATIONSHIPS

 

p1(a) parent of one child, age a

p+x(a,b,c) where x=# of kids >1 and a,b,c are their ages

 

r+3 Found someone, dated, and am now married/civil unioned

r+2  I've dated my current S.O. for a long time

r+  I date frequently, bouncing from one relationship to another

r    I date periodically

r- I have difficulty maintaining a relationship

r-2  People just aren't interested in dating me

r-3  I'm beginning to think that I'm a leper or something, the way people avoid me

 

!r   I've never had a relationship.

r*   signifying membership in the SBCA (Sour Bachelor(ette)'s Club of America). The motto is 'Bitter, but not Desperate'. First founded at Caltech.

 

r%   I was going out with someone, but the jerk dumped me

 

r~  It’s complicated. You should maybe ask.

 

POLITICS & SOCIAL ISSUES

 

PS+3  Legalize drugs! Abolish the government.

PS+2  I give to liberal causes. I march for gay rights. I'm a card carrying member of the ACLU. Keep abortion safe and legal. Racism is everybody’s problem.

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-2   Oppose sex education, abortion rights, gay rights. Rush Limbaugh is my spokesman.

PS-3  Repent left-wing sinners and change your wicked, evil ways.

 

POLITICS & ECONOMIC ISSUES

 

PE+3  Abolish antitrust legislation. Raise taxes on everyone but the rich so that the money can trickle-down to the masses.

PE+2 Keep the government off the backs of businesses. Deregulate as much as possible.

PE+ Balance the budget with spending cuts and an amendment.

PE   Distrust both government and business.

PE-  It's ok to increase government spending, so we can help more poor people. Tax the rich! Cut the defense budget!

PE-2 Capitalism is evil! Government should provide the services we really need. Nobody should be rich.

 

INFORMATION INTAKE PREFERENCES

 

    TEXT

 

t+4  I read a book a day. I still read newspapers, subscribe to hundreds of RSS feeds and follow thousands of fellow Twits.  I have library cards in three states and one-click ordering enabled on Amazon. I’ve mastered keystroke commands so I can scroll better. My eyes hurt from reading.

t+3  I consume a few books, watch my Tweetstream, and read multiple blogs each week as part of a staple diet.

t+2  I find the time to get through at least one new book a month. If you tell me something is a “must read,” I’ll give that serious thought.

t+   I enjoy reading, but don't get the time very often.

t   I read my homepage and the occasional book.

t-  I read when there is no other way to get the information.

t-2  I did not actually READ the twitcode, I just had someone tell me.

 

    VIDEO

 

v+3  I know all the cable channels to which I am subscribed, and am rarely out of range of a screen with moving images on it. Also, have you seen my YouTube videos?

v+2  I watch more television than I typically admit, and I sometimes send someone else’s YouTube video around to my friends.

v+  I like watching good movies and commercials, but find it harder and harder to find them or the time to view them.

v  I own a television and an internet-connected computer.

v-  I own either a television or an internet-connected computer, but not both

v-2 Moving images? Feh.

 

    AUDIO

 

a+3  I have several different kinds of headphones that I use differentially depending on what I’m listening to. I spend the majority of my day listening to podcasts and/or mp3’s. Also, have you heard my podcast?

a+2  I follow bands on MySpace, download music on a near-daily basis, and have my life set up so that I can hear stuff I want to hear throughout the day.

a+  I wish I had more time to listen to all the cool stuff other people are talking about.

a    I appreciate good sound, but don’t want to spend too much money or time on it.

a-  I do a fair amount of song-skipping and fast-forwarding… I have a low tolerance for “noise.”

a-2 Sound is not where it’s at for me.

 

INTERESTS are likely to be one of the biggest areas of search, so that’s a separate page called Twit Code Interests.

 

Feeling too constrained by the binary nature of these codes? Here are some potential modifiers:

 

VARIABLES

 

To facilitate the fact that within any one category you may not be able to determine a specific rating, variables have been designed to allow greater flexibility.

 

@  for this variable, said trait is in flux, and may change with time or with individual interaction. For example, Twits who are working on a bachelor’s degree but thinking about dropping out could indicate e+@.

 

>  for 'wannabe' ratings. Indicating that while the geek is currently at one rating, they are striving to reach another. For example, r+2>3 indicating a twit who is in a long-term relationship and hoping to take it to the next level

 

$ Indicates that this particular category is done in a way that generates income

 

? 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.

 

! 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, !w would represent someone who is not working for wages and has no intention of doing so.