The internet's oldest recurring character — five keystrokes that have stood in for a cat on bulletin boards, IRC and chat since before the web. Maximum cat, minimum character count. It predates emoji by decades.
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The internet's oldest recurring character — five keystrokes that have stood in for a cat on bulletin boards, IRC and chat since before the web. Maximum cat, minimum character count. It predates emoji by decades.
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Before the pixel-perfect emoji and rich media, a true proto-emoji emerged, summoning an entire cat from just five keystrokes on the sparse text interfaces of early bulletin boards and IRC. This was maximum feline charm with minimum character count, an ingenious solution born from the ASCII constraints of the 80s, when graphical interfaces were still uncommon. Such minimalist artistry, decades before Shigetaka Kurita designed the first modern emoji set in 1999, proved the enduring power of a few well-placed symbols to capture the internet's most beloved animal.
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ASCII cat
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