105 lines
5.7 KiB
Plaintext
105 lines
5.7 KiB
Plaintext
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ARE YOU A HACKER?
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by Robert Bickford
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Are you a Hacker? How would you know? If all you know about the word
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is what you've seen on the evening news, or read in a magazine, you're
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probably feeling indignant at the very question! But do those
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magazine-selling headlines really describe what a Hacker is?
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Some time ago (MicroTimes, December 1986) I defined a Hacker as "Any
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person who derives joy from discovering ways to circumvent
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limitations." The definition has been widely quoted since that time,
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but unfortunately has yet to make the evening news in the way that a
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teenager who robs a bank with his telephone does.
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Does that teenaged criminal fit my definition? Possibly. Does that
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fact make all, or even most, Hackers criminals? (Does that fact make
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all or most Hackers teenagers?) Of course not! So why is there such
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widespread misinformation about Hackers? Very simply, it's because
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the criminal hackers, or 'Crackers', have been making news, while the
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rest of us are virtually invisible. For every irresponsible fool
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writing a virus program, there are at least twenty software engineers
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earning a living "...discovering ways to circumvent limitations."
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When the much-publicized InterNet worm was released by an
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irresponsible hacker, hundreds of other Hackers applied their
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considerable talents to the control and eradication of the problem:
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the brilliance and creativity brought to this task are typical of the
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kind of people --- Hackers ---that my definition is meant to describe.
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Working on the yearly Hackers Conferences has been a mixed experience:
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on the one hand, helping to bring together 200 of the most brilliant
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people alive today, and then interacting with them for an entire
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weekend, is immensely rewarding. On the other hand, trying to explain
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to others that the Hackers Conference is not a Gathering of Nefarious
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Criminals out to Wreak Havoc upon Western Civilization does get a bit
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wearing at times. Also, trying to convince a caller that repeatedly
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crashing his school district's computer from a pay phone will not,
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emphatically not, qualify him for an invitation to the conference can
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be a bit annoying. None of this would be a problem if we hadn't let a
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small minority --- the Crackers --- steal the show, and become
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associated with the word 'Hacker' in the minds of the general public.
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The attendees at the Hackers Conferences --- many of whom hold PhDs,
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and/or are Presidents or other upper management of Fortune 500
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companies --- are (quite understandably) very indignant at being
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confused with these Crackers.
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Taking myself as an example --- no, I don't have a PhD, my only degree
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is from the School of Hard Knocks, and no, I'm not working in
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management ---when this article was first published [1989] I was
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writing software for a company that builds medical image processing
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equipment. My code controls a product that can, and often does,
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either improve the quality of medical care, reduce the cost, or both.
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When I develop a piece of software that goes around some limit I feel
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very happy, and can often find myself with a silly grin plastered
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across my face. When some ignorant reporter writes a story that
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equates the work I do with expensive but childish pranks committed by
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someone calling himself a "Hacker", I see red.
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Are you a Hacker? If you want to break rules just for the sake of
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breaking rules, or if you just want to hurt or "take revenge" upon
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somebody or some company, then forget it. But if you delight in your
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work, almost to the point of being a workaholic, you just might be.
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If finding the solution to a problem can be not just satisfying but
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almost an ecstatic experience, you probably are. If you sometimes
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take on problems just for the sake of finding the solution (and that
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ecstatic experience that comes with it), then you almost certainly
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are. Congratulations! You're in good company, with virtually every
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inventor whose name appears in your high school history book, and with
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the many thousands of brilliant people who have created the "computer
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revolution."
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What can we do about all that bad press? Meet it head on! Tell the
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people you work with that you're a Hacker, and what that means. If
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you know somebody whose work habits, style, or personality make them
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pretty clearly a Hacker, tell them so and tell them what you mean by
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that. Show them this article!
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Meanwhile, have fun finding those solutions, circumventing those
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limitations, and making this a better world thereby. You are an
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Artist of Technology, a Rider of the Third Wave, and at least you can
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enjoy the ride!
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Bob Bickford is a software consultant who lives in Marin County, often
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Hacking late into the night, and (usually) enjoying it immensely. His
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wife, Greta, only tolerates this because she's an animation hacker and
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sometimes does the same thing. Bob can be reached through InterNet at
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rab@well.sf.ca.us
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(An edited version of this article appeared in Microtimes in early
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1989. Copyright (c) Robert Bickford, 1989, 1992)
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+++
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Robert Bickford "A Hacker is any person who derives joy from
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rab@well.sf.ca.us discovering ways to circumvent limitations." rab'86
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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"I recognize that a class of criminals and juvenile delinquents has
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taken to calling themselves 'hackers', but I consider them irrelevant
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to the true meaning of the word; just as the Mafia calls themselves
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'businessmen' but nobody pays that fact any attention." rab'90
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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-/Vuarnet International/-
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617/527.oo91
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