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I wouldn't use the phrase script kiddies to describe 4chan since a great deal of them actually know what they're doing, I'd be so bold to say the overwhelming m

• silentbicycle 18y ago
  It's neutral on whether they're intelligent or not, the idea is that they're mischievous and destructive because they're bored.
  • iamdave 18y ago
    Well sure, I appreciate your point but don't forget that some of the biggest innovative breakthroughs that we use to this day came from hackers being bored and doing things they shouldn't. Those were probably considered destructive then. Now, I'm not condoning what this person did. I'm not saying go around trying to gain unauthorized access to a politician's computer; but instead we've got to look at these things from multiple angles instead of immediately jumping on the 'These actions are purely irresponsible and negative', true enough.
    • hugh 18y ago
      don't forget that some of the biggest innovative breakthroughs that we use to this day came from hackers being bored and doing things they shouldn't. Such as? We need to be careful to distinguish between two types of "shouldn't". There's the "shouldn't" that's merely against some kind of arbitrary rules, and there's the "shouldn't" that's actually immoral because it hurts people. Plenty of useful things were invented by breaking stupid rules, but few were invented by actually being a malicious jerk.
      • froo 18y ago
        Such as? I dunno about you, but I would call penicillin a pretty significant hack.
        • silentbicycle 18y ago
          Could you explain the connection? It sounds like you're implying penicillin was discovered by being a malicious jerk. (And re: the gremlin thing, I was thinking of people doing things that would generally be considered stupid vandalism, but I don't want to split hairs.)
          • iamdave 18y ago
            You seem to be stuck on the notion all of 4chan is full of jerks who want to destroy the Internet when it's quite the contrary. By the admission of the person quoted in the article, it's one message board out of the entire site that causes the most trouble. But I think his point is that great things have come about completely by accident, and that's the same point I was trying to make. Great things have happened to take technology where it is today; sometimes by sheer chance and tomfoolery with what a hacker had in front of him. In no way is he calling Alexander Flemming a 'jerk'
            • silentbicycle 18y ago
              No, I don't really care about 4chan. I just think penicillin was an odd example.
              • froo 18y ago
                I want to satisfy 2 points, firstly no, I don't particularly care for 4chan either - but I think to discount all of it's members based on what seems to be a few bad eggs is stereotyping at its worst. Secondly, the Penicillin example, it was a run on example from this. don't forget that some of the biggest innovative breakthroughs that we use to this day came from hackers being bored and doing things they shouldn't. Such as? I dunno about you, but I would call penicillin a pretty significant hack. As you might know, Fleming noted a contaminant in one of his cultures. Instead of throwing it out as a failed experiment, he played with it or essentially 'hacked' it. It resulted in one of the most significant medical discoveries of last century. If he instead was doing what he was meant to be doing (studying Staphylococci) instead of 'playing' around (or 'hacking'); millions of lives may not have been saved. So in truth, it was a fair comment.