Great question. My lone(?) perspective is that one of the great tensions within the hacker community is between striving for a pure meritocracy, which is a publ

Great question. My lone(?) perspective is that one of the great tensions within the hacker community is between striving for a pure meritocracy, which is a public Hacker Value, and having cosy little social cliques, which is how hacking is often practiced even if we disavow the idea of prejudice. Many hackers of a certain age grew up when being a nerd wasn't hip, and identify strongly with civil rights. The fact that great hackers have come from different cultures speaks strongly to computes being colour-blind in a certain sense. Thus, I personally see issues around social prejudices and civil rights to be of interest to some hackers in a way that transcends the admonition that politics usually doesn't belong here. Paul's essays about the social behavior of nerds often speak to these matters in smaller settings, such as corporations or high school. That being said, the times change, and many people may not feel the same way about a connection between hacker culture and the fight against racial or cultural prejudices in society. I can appreciate an argument that goes the other way. p.s. This has abruptly dropped off the front page. I suspect that either flagging or moderation has taken place.