4 ms·

I don't like the word "hacker" at all [ * ]. Trying to get people to use it "correctly" circa 2010 is like trying to persuade everybody that "gay" should only b

by hugh3 16y ago

I don't like the word "hacker" at all [ * ]. Trying to get people to use it "correctly" circa 2010 is like trying to persuade everybody that "gay" should only be used to mean "happy". You'll just waste your breath and look stupid in the process. [ * ] "Well why are you on Hacker News then, huh?" asks the inquisitive reader. Hey, when I started it was called Startup News. I never liked the new name at all.

jokermatt999 16y ago
It's joined the list of words whose definitions are so overly broad they're pretty much meaningless. See also: literally, ironic, etc.
iuhjyftgrd 16y ago
Used 'correctly' it means a minicab. It comes from a 19th century French slang for a horse for hire (hack ney) which became hackney carriage (the British legal term for a minicab) being any vehicle you could just hire for a trip. Then it came to be used for freelance writers - who could be hired to write what you wanted. Especially journalists on British newspapers where the term 'hack' comes from. Hacker in the sense of somebody who does boring unpleasant work for hire is considerably older than it's usage to mean somebody who tinkers with things for fun.
- stan_rogers 16y ago
  I think you'll find the derivation for this usage is actually hacher (to chop or hack; hatchet comes from the same root borrowing), and means one who works in an inelegant manner (hacks away at a problem until it is solved). The British usage of bodger (outside of the realm of making greenwood chairs) would be more-or-less equivalent.
crocowhile 16y ago
It's not about the word hacker. It's about what the word represents and that go so much beyond the /b/tards. Keeping your analogy: there's a lot of gay people who think the "fabulousity" of the gay parade may hurt their cause in getting au pair with civil rights. Whether this is true or not, I think it's a valid argument to be discussed. Same goes for hacker: those who attribute hackerism only to black hats, vandals and script kiddies may hurt the values true hackers stand for.

by hugh3 16y ago

jokermatt999 16y ago

It's joined the list of words whose definitions are so overly broad they're pretty much meaningless. See also: literally, ironic, etc.

iuhjyftgrd 16y ago

Used 'correctly' it means a minicab. It comes from a 19th century French slang for a horse for hire (hack ney) which became hackney carriage (the British legal term for a minicab) being any vehicle you could just hire for a trip. Then it came to be used for freelance writers - who could be hired to write what you wanted. Especially journalists on British newspapers where the term 'hack' comes from. Hacker in the sense of somebody who does boring unpleasant work for hire is considerably older than it's usage to mean somebody who tinkers with things for fun.

stan_rogers 16y ago
I think you'll find the derivation for this usage is actually hacher (to chop or hack; hatchet comes from the same root borrowing), and means one who works in an inelegant manner (hacks away at a problem until it is solved). The British usage of bodger (outside of the realm of making greenwood chairs) would be more-or-less equivalent.

crocowhile 16y ago

It's not about the word hacker. It's about what the word represents and that go so much beyond the /b/tards. Keeping your analogy: there's a lot of gay people who think the "fabulousity" of the gay parade may hurt their cause in getting au pair with civil rights. Whether this is true or not, I think it's a valid argument to be discussed. Same goes for hacker: those who attribute hackerism only to black hats, vandals and script kiddies may hurt the values true hackers stand for.