Usenet · forum spoilers Cipher
ROT13 Translator
ROT13 encoder and decoder, the half-turn cipher that hid spoilers and punchlines across Usenet and old forums. Apply twice, get your text back.
The Story
About ROT13
ROT13 rotates every letter exactly half the alphabet, 13 places, which means encoding and decoding are the same operation. That elegance made it the unofficial spoiler tag of the early internet: Usenet posts hid movie endings, puzzle answers and off-colour jokes in ROT13 for decades.
It offers zero real security and everyone knows it; that is the joke. Gur pnxr vf n yvr, decode that one above.
- ROT13 twice = the original text, because 13 + 13 = 26.
- Netscape once stored passwords in ROT13, to universal programmer laughter.
- The phrase “ROT26” is a running gag meaning no encryption at all.
- Old adventure game hint books printed answers in ROT13 so your eyes couldn’t cheat.
Alphabet
The ROT13 Key, A to Z
Hover or tap any letter to study it. This chart is the full key used by the translator above.
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