> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://emdash-edition.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Im going to kill myself - URL: https://emdash-edition.ghost.io/algospeak/ - Published: 2026-09-11T23:03:41.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-12T04:45:08.000Z - Description: How the internet taught itself a new vocabulary to get around the machines watching it. - Author: Emdash Edition - Tags: internet, #internet Humans have always used euphemisms to soften a blow. We're worse for wear, kick the bucket and then go to a better place. A lovely way to minimise the harsh reality of a situation. Euphemisms have evolved alongside changing social norms and sensitivities throughout history. What was considered a harsh term in one era might be perfectly acceptable in another. However, in our current era, a new question arises: What happens when it’s the machine we're trying not to offend? Algospeak. Unfamiliar with the term? Join the club. Algospeak, a blend of **algorithm** and **speak**, is a form of coded language used online to bypass automated content moderation while discussing sensitive or restricted topics. Sources suggest it may have first been coined back in 2018, though its exact origin is unclear. I've done some digging so you don't have to, and perhaps will never need to, as this might just be of interest to those with 10+ hours of screen time, who are most likely not reading articles during those 10 hours. I digress. Artificial intelligence content moderation systems are put in place to enforce social media platforms' user guidelines, aka "bots", which remove millions of videos that dare defy the guidelines. What happens next? Tell millions of people a word is forbidden and you've inadvertently given them a vocabulary exercise. unalive = kill / dead / suicide pew pew = gun / shooting PDF = pedophile corn = porn Join me down a quick linguistic landslide. It's important to make mention of Aesopian language, a means of communication with the intent to convey concealed meaning to informed members of a movement, whilst simultaneously maintaining the guise of an innocent meaning to outsiders. The terminology refers to the writings of ancient Greek myth-maker Aesop. It was first used by the nineteenth-century Russian writer Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin to describe the writing technique he began using late in his career, which he compared to that of Aesop. His purpose was to satirise the social ills of the time while evading the harsh censorship of late Tsarist Russia, of which he was a target. Funny how history has a way of repeating itself. In short, this form of literature veils itself in suggestions, hints and euphemisms to avoid censorship. Aesopian language literature was intended to illuminate the truth for native readers. I find this an endearing quality of humanity and history: the innate ability to find ways to say things we're told shouldn't be said. When researching algospeak and my inability to say the word suicide on most online platforms, I thought going into this piece it would be through a satirical lens. But as I dove deeper into the world of coded language, I can't help but now feel slightly moved by the terminology. It feels very human vs machine. The question I'm left with, however, is: have I algorithmically unalived myself in this article, and will I be banished to the shadow realm of the internet by using the now-forbidden word? That's what I'll be telling myself anyway if no one reads this post: shadow banned, not poorly written... ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/64/8e/648e8f38-f0bf-41cb-a2b6-1cd43642ad69/content/images/2026/09/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-12--2026--12_26_06-PM-3.png)