Smurf Code

Smurf Code is a inside joke on the soc.motss newsgroup. Though the name and code reference Belgian artist Peyo’s comic characters The Smurfs, the term “smurf” instead refers to silly user behavior in the newsgroup, as documented on the Jargon File:

1. [from the soc.motss newsgroup on Usenet, after some obnoxiously gooey cartoon characters] A newsgroup regular with a habitual style that is irreverent, silly, and cute. Like many other hackish terms for people, this one may be praise or insult depending on who uses it. In general, being referred to as a smurf is probably not going to make your day unless you’ve previously adopted the label yourself in a spirit of irony. Compare old fart.

And also at soc.motss’s archived FAQ:

smurf: Usually indicates an irreverent, silly, cute poster. Some soc.motss participants have formed a loose organization called the “Smurf Gang”. Never take a Smurf Gang posting at face value.
(Etymology: the cartoon characters.)

Smurf Code was created seemingly as a joking response to Bear Code on the soc.motss, which was then formalized. However, interoperability with Bear Code seems to be a deliberate feature:

Since Smurfs and their *friends* have so many varied qualities, we have devised a *really*neat* method for uniquely identifying them. Furthermore, since Smurfs and Bears now intermingle frequently, the Smurfcode is deliberately orthogonal to Bearcode version 1.7. Characteristic letters from both systems may be intermingled to form a Smurfurr code or a Bluebear code.