2 ms·

The word hacker is so abused for marketing purposes it now means entry level programmer of whatever trendy fad of the times. (e.g. node.js hacker, rails ninja,

by alecco 14y ago

The word hacker is so abused for marketing purposes it now means entry level programmer of whatever trendy fad of the times. (e.g. node.js hacker, rails ninja, mongodb god) * Originally (70s-80s) hackers were programmers/technicians who could modify programs or machines to perform tasks beyond their original intended use (for good or bad). * Afterwards (90s), journalists hyped the word to mean security hackers, people expert on security issues of software (itself a subset of original hackers). * And then further journalist confusion, changing it to refer to people cracking into systems * In the last few years it became a glorified buzzword losing any useful meaning. A lot of insecure people who need cool names use it to describe themselves. There's no substance and no way to verify their claims. This is like ghetto cars with neon lights and flaps.

doktrin 14y ago
You don't provide any evidence to support your claim. >> "hackers were programmers/technicians who could modify programs or machines to perform tasks beyond their original intended use (for good or bad)" That is incredibly vague. In fact, by that standard, I was a "hacker" in 8th grade. Is there some unspoken and arbitrary measure of skill in the "original" definition you are referring to? If not, then there's absolutely nothing wrong with any entry level programmer referring to themselves as a hacker. >> A lot of insecure people who need cool names use it to describe themselves. There's no substance and no way to verify their claims. This is like ghetto cars with neon lights and flaps. That analogy isn't helpful. How does the so-called dilution of the "hacker" term relate to "ghetto" cars with neon lights?
- alecco 14y ago
  Evidence? Are you joking? 2600, Phrack, BBS archives. Hell, there's even a half-decent page in Wikipedia. Not some random 90s nobody like ESR disenfranchised by the same people who made him famous (the slashdot crowd of the 90s).
  - alecco 14y ago
    But I bet the page will be corrected by this fad's promoters.

by alecco 14y ago

doktrin 14y ago

You don't provide any evidence to support your claim. >> "hackers were programmers/technicians who could modify programs or machines to perform tasks beyond their original intended use (for good or bad)" That is incredibly vague. In fact, by that standard, I was a "hacker" in 8th grade. Is there some unspoken and arbitrary measure of skill in the "original" definition you are referring to? If not, then there's absolutely nothing wrong with any entry level programmer referring to themselves as a hacker. >> A lot of insecure people who need cool names use it to describe themselves. There's no substance and no way to verify their claims. This is like ghetto cars with neon lights and flaps. That analogy isn't helpful. How does the so-called dilution of the "hacker" term relate to "ghetto" cars with neon lights?

alecco 14y ago
Evidence? Are you joking? 2600, Phrack, BBS archives. Hell, there's even a half-decent page in Wikipedia. Not some random 90s nobody like ESR disenfranchised by the same people who made him famous (the slashdot crowd of the 90s).
- alecco 14y ago
  But I bet the page will be corrected by this fad's promoters.