Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Is shibboleet the key signal for tech support

Being on any tech support phone call could be very difficult — however would “shibboleet” may be the passcode to an easier time? Unfortunately, shibboleet is not a super-secret backdoor passcode for tech support. The Hebrew-based word, nevertheless, could be considered uniquely appropriate for its new chosen use.

Shibboleet on XKCD

If you have never read the comic XKCD, it’s a “webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.” The tech-minded on the internet are those who really enjoy this hand-drawn stick figure comic. This morning’s comic put “shibboleet” to the forefront. A tech support caller would immediately be sent to a tech support worker who knows a lot about workers by just saying shibboleet based on the dream within the comic. The comic said it was to “an individual who knows a minimum of two programming languages.”

Will shibboleet work?

Regrettably, shibboleet was just a dream even in the XKCD. Saying shibboleet if you are on a tech support call will probably do just one of two things. The tech support person will likely be confused unless they have read XKCD. They also might have read the comic. If they have, they will just giggle a bit. The people who are tech support usually go off of scripts written by those who do not even get paid enough to get a no no faxing payday loans rather than from comics. In case you are lucky, the tech support personnel can at least have a good conversation with you if you say shibboleet.

The meaning of shibboleet

There are some saying that “shibboleet” is a term depending on a Hebrew-language word that indicates “a person of knowledge.” The malmanteau “shibboleet” probably is used to mean a reading and writing access data or passwords, for “shibbo,” and a savvy person, with “leet”. Typically this is used online with a second alphabet using ASCII characters with the regular alphabet called “I33t”..

Citations

XKCD

xkcd.com



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