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How about hackers everywhere give up on reclaiming this term. It's not going to happen. That way I don't have to see this post on every single story about malic

How about hackers everywhere give up on reclaiming this term. It's not going to happen. That way I don't have to see this post on every single story about malicious intrusion that comes up on social news sites.

imok20 17y ago
The difference is that this site is called "Hacker News."
- andrew1 17y ago
  I appreciate that whoever runs the site can call it whatever they like, but I wish they hadn't chosen 'Hacker News'. I know that it's my own prejudices at play here but it's simply embarrassing to have 'Hacker News' staring out from the top of my browser window. It's so ridiculous I can't even bring myself to say it, when I discuss links with a friend who also checks this site the conversation starts with 'did you see that article about X on the, er, the YCombinator news site?'.
  - InclinedPlane 17y ago
    Also note that it's possible for a single word to have multiple meanings depending on context, this includes even opposite meanings with opposite connotations. In the context of news.yc.com the term "hacker" generally has a different meaning than the term has elsewhere, especially in the context of unauthorized, malicious intrusion into a computer system. Similarly a term such as "killer" may have an extremely negative connotation in the context of a grisly homicide yet the same word may have a positive connotation and a completely different meaning (dominant, superlative, desirable) in other connotations. Such is the dynamic, flexible, and adaptive nature of language (outside the realm of the pedant).
    - numbchuckskills 17y ago
      Main Entry: hack·er Pronunciation: \ˈha-kər\ Function: noun Date: 14th century 1 : one that hacks 2 : a person who is inexperienced or unskilled at a particular activity <a tennis hacker> 3 : an expert at programming and solving problems with a computer 4 : a person who illegally gains access to and sometimes tampers with information in a computer system Three out of four possible Merriam-Webster definitions are negative.
      - awa 17y ago
        Only the 4th one seems negative to me... 1) is neutral (since hack has atleast 1 +ve meaning), is positive and 2) is as similar to inexperienced/unskilled whose connotation is context dependent(imho)
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]

imok20 17y ago

The difference is that this site is called "Hacker News."

andrew1 17y ago
I appreciate that whoever runs the site can call it whatever they like, but I wish they hadn't chosen 'Hacker News'. I know that it's my own prejudices at play here but it's simply embarrassing to have 'Hacker News' staring out from the top of my browser window. It's so ridiculous I can't even bring myself to say it, when I discuss links with a friend who also checks this site the conversation starts with 'did you see that article about X on the, er, the YCombinator news site?'.
- InclinedPlane 17y ago
  Also note that it's possible for a single word to have multiple meanings depending on context, this includes even opposite meanings with opposite connotations. In the context of news.yc.com the term "hacker" generally has a different meaning than the term has elsewhere, especially in the context of unauthorized, malicious intrusion into a computer system. Similarly a term such as "killer" may have an extremely negative connotation in the context of a grisly homicide yet the same word may have a positive connotation and a completely different meaning (dominant, superlative, desirable) in other connotations. Such is the dynamic, flexible, and adaptive nature of language (outside the realm of the pedant).
  - numbchuckskills 17y ago
    Main Entry: hack·er Pronunciation: \ˈha-kər\ Function: noun Date: 14th century 1 : one that hacks 2 : a person who is inexperienced or unskilled at a particular activity <a tennis hacker> 3 : an expert at programming and solving problems with a computer 4 : a person who illegally gains access to and sometimes tampers with information in a computer system Three out of four possible Merriam-Webster definitions are negative.
    - awa 17y ago
      Only the 4th one seems negative to me... 1) is neutral (since hack has atleast 1 +ve meaning), is positive and 2) is as similar to inexperienced/unskilled whose connotation is context dependent(imho)
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]