1337 - Leet and Loving It Trivia Quiz

Answer: "Elite," denoting the elite class its users placed themselves in

Because of the access 1337 (shortened from 31337) gave its users in early days of its use, they considered themselves as having an "elite" status. Encouraging creativity with its highly personalized alphabet and vocabulary, 1337 is now primarily associated with "Generation Y" or "millennials" - those born in the 1980s or '90s. It is a point of some debate whether 1337 is actually a language in and of itself, or simply a dialect.

Answer: Haxor

While forms of shorthand on the Internet have developed for legitimate reasons, hackers (haxors, or even H4X0RZ) used similar methods to get around the censors and moderators of Bulletin Board Systems to discuss illicit topics. Those in the "elite" class of 1337-speaking hackers were also able to gain access to hidden (or illegal) pages. Leetspeak is, thus, synonomous with hakspeak.

Answer: Chatspeak

Although the two have blended together in recent incarnations, there are some key differences between chatspeak and hardcore 1337. Whereas chatspeak alters standard English words based on their sounds (e.g., "great" becomes "gr8"), 1337 usually rewrites words using characters that give a similar appearance to the original letters. Chatspeak users seek convenience and speed, but 1337 was originally about encryption and can be much more complex than the original word.

Answer: False

This is not true at all! In fact, using the complex dialect is more likely to identify you as a "wanna-be." 1337 was not designed as a form of chat, and if you use it that way around real hackers, perhaps touting your "m4d sk1llz" (mad skills = talent), you may be labeled a script kiddie, an amateur hacker who uses existing scripts rather than creating their own unique ones.

Answer: VV4R

The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) took place in France, and was fought between the French and the English during the time period known as the Middle Ages. The word "war" could be written several different ways in 1337; in the correct answer, the W was formed with two capitalized Vs (VV). The three incorrect answers were famine ( Ph4m!//e ), crusade ( (RU54D& ), and plague ( PL49U3 ).

Answer: Google

Founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the Google search engine aims to deliver fast and accurate results. In Google H4x0r, you can make a Google "s3a|2ch" (Search), or declare your hoped-for fortune by saying, "EyE Am ph33|1n6 |u(ky!" (I'm Feeling Lucky).

Indicating the enormity of information on the Internet for Google to access, the name "Google" comes from the word "googol," which is 10 to the hundredth power.

Answer: 6()1D

Gold (the correct answer, 6()1D) is measured in carats, with pure gold weighing in at 24 carats. In ancient times, gold and gems were measured using a carob seed, one carob equaling one carat. However, this method could have lent itself to dishonesty, if the measurer purposely chose heavier seeds.

The other three "metal" options given as incorrect answers were zinc (Z1//c), brass (Br4$$), and tin (71/V).

Answer: Yes

Though it is purely cosmetic and not helpful if your purpose is encryption, it is acceptable to vary your capitalization when speaking in 1337. One method of doing so may involve capitalizing only the consonants and leaving the vowels in lower-case. This gives your words a height variation similar to alternating lower-case letters and numbers.

Answer: Teh (the)

In the English language, the definite article "the" and the indefinite articles "a" and "an" serve to identity nouns as referring to something either specific or unspecific. For example, "I will buy THE car" differs from "I will buy A car." Thanks to the articles, the reader will know if I have a specific car in mind, or not. Due to a misspelling often made when one types quickly, 1337 transposes the last two letters and "the" becomes "teh" or "t3h." Similarly, "own," as in having beaten or bested someone, becomes "pwn."

Answer: While playing an MMORPG

Most online forums frown upon the use of 1337 or other chatspeak, and using it while engaging in online business dealings or doing schoolwork would not be recommended either. The best outlet for your inner 1337-speaking geek is an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game), such as "World of Warcraft," where you can hold real-time conversations with other 1337-speaking players during the game.

Another instance when 1337 comes in handy is the creation of secure Internet passwords. 1337-based passwords can be far more secure than using a basic English word, yet still easy to remember if you choose something familiar. For instance, it would not be very secure to make your password the word "password." However, "p4$$VV02d" would be far more difficult to crack.