Mau5

Mau5 turns deadmau5's mouse identity into a Twitch Global. Joel Zimmerman's official timeline says the name began after he found a dead mouse inside his computer; friends called him the `dead mouse guy`, and he shortened `deadmouse` to `deadmau5` when the longer username would not fit.

The mouse became a stage image when deadmau5 first performed in a mau5head in 2008. Twitch's Mau5 then developed a separate Dota meaning: period chat guides used the mouse for `ratting`, the strategy of taking an objective while the opposing team is occupied and escaping when defenders react.

Viewers type Mau5 for deadmau5 and mau5head references, and Dota viewers also use the mouse as a `ratting` reaction.