5 ms·

first off, quit calling them hackers. they aren't hackers. they are script kiddies.

by jayrox 12y ago

wyager 12y ago
What makes you say this? Do we know exactly what they've done?
- onewaystreet 12y ago
  Lizard Squad has access to a large botnet which they used to DDoS Sony and Microsoft and now to create a large number of TOR relays. It's not hacking. It's not even being a script kiddie.
  - ck2 12y ago
    It's organized crime.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
- tw04 12y ago
  I can tell you most of the TOR relays they've got aren't anything more than google cloud instances. So... not really hacking at all.
jacquesm 12y ago
Calling them script kiddies is not productive either. They're hackers by the now commonly accepted definition as used in the media. That ship sailed ages ago, but if you want to bicker about what to call them the correct term is probably something along the lines of cyber criminals.
- simias 12y ago
  I don't usually care for the meaning of "hacker" (tinkerer or pirate) but in this case calling them "hacker", even in the mainstream meaning of the word is giving them too much credit. They're not hacking anything any more that 4chan users "hack" websites by flooding them, there's no "hack" involved in any meaning of the word. I'm sure they love being called "hackers" by the media. So yeah, I'm definitely in favor of calling them script kiddies. It's much easier to understand, even for a mainstream audience. And I assume they'd find the attention they're getting less rewarding if they were called script kiddies everywhere...
  - anigbrowl 12y ago
    Complaints about the terms are 'no true Scotsman...' arguments. DDOSing and Botnet attacks are crude, brute-force attacks, but finesse has never been a requirement for a good hack - it's the icing on the cake but ultimately it's the result that matters. Being pompous about terms just comes across to the general public as nerd rage, much like gun aficionados whining about terminological niceties following reports of a mass shooting incident.
    - AnthonyMouse 12y ago
      > Complaints about the terms are 'no true Scotsman...' arguments. They really aren't. > Being pompous about terms just comes across to the general public as nerd rage, much like gun aficionados whining about terminological niceties following reports of a mass shooting incident. Words matter. If some fools are caught with a Molotov cocktail and the media starts reporting that they had a "nuclear weapon" because gasoline contains some radioactive carbon-14, the sane people are the ones telling anyone who will listen how stupid that is. Calling those who maliciously break shit "hackers" is like calling those who drink too much "Irishmen." It's an offensive misuse of the word.
      - JoeAltmaier 12y ago
        I'm old enough to remember when 'hacker' meant exactly that. Now its hip to be called a hacker; does that change its meaning? What does it mean to be a 'gangsta'? Languages change. That doesn't mean its offensive when somebody still uses the old meaning, because its how they grew up using it.

first off, quit calling them hackers. they aren't hackers. they are script kiddies.

by jayrox 12y ago

first off, quit calling them hackers. they aren't hackers. they are script kiddies.

wyager 12y ago

What makes you say this? Do we know exactly what they've done?

onewaystreet 12y ago
Lizard Squad has access to a large botnet which they used to DDoS Sony and Microsoft and now to create a large number of TOR relays. It's not hacking. It's not even being a script kiddie.
- ck2 12y ago
  It's organized crime.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
tw04 12y ago
I can tell you most of the TOR relays they've got aren't anything more than google cloud instances. So... not really hacking at all.

jacquesm 12y ago

Calling them script kiddies is not productive either. They're hackers by the now commonly accepted definition as used in the media. That ship sailed ages ago, but if you want to bicker about what to call them the correct term is probably something along the lines of cyber criminals.

simias 12y ago
I don't usually care for the meaning of "hacker" (tinkerer or pirate) but in this case calling them "hacker", even in the mainstream meaning of the word is giving them too much credit. They're not hacking anything any more that 4chan users "hack" websites by flooding them, there's no "hack" involved in any meaning of the word. I'm sure they love being called "hackers" by the media. So yeah, I'm definitely in favor of calling them script kiddies. It's much easier to understand, even for a mainstream audience. And I assume they'd find the attention they're getting less rewarding if they were called script kiddies everywhere...
- anigbrowl 12y ago
  Complaints about the terms are 'no true Scotsman...' arguments. DDOSing and Botnet attacks are crude, brute-force attacks, but finesse has never been a requirement for a good hack - it's the icing on the cake but ultimately it's the result that matters. Being pompous about terms just comes across to the general public as nerd rage, much like gun aficionados whining about terminological niceties following reports of a mass shooting incident.
  - AnthonyMouse 12y ago
    > Complaints about the terms are 'no true Scotsman...' arguments. They really aren't. > Being pompous about terms just comes across to the general public as nerd rage, much like gun aficionados whining about terminological niceties following reports of a mass shooting incident. Words matter. If some fools are caught with a Molotov cocktail and the media starts reporting that they had a "nuclear weapon" because gasoline contains some radioactive carbon-14, the sane people are the ones telling anyone who will listen how stupid that is. Calling those who maliciously break shit "hackers" is like calling those who drink too much "Irishmen." It's an offensive misuse of the word.
    - JoeAltmaier 12y ago
      I'm old enough to remember when 'hacker' meant exactly that. Now its hip to be called a hacker; does that change its meaning? What does it mean to be a 'gangsta'? Languages change. That doesn't mean its offensive when somebody still uses the old meaning, because its how they grew up using it.