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From: jsq@ut-sally.UUCP (John Quarterman)
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: Definitions of 'Hacker'
Message-ID: <521@ut-sally.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Dec-84 12:04:37 EST
Article-I.D.: ut-sally.521
Posted: Thu Dec 20 12:04:37 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Dec-84 02:31:19 EST
References: <2612@dartvax.UUCP> <121@vax2.fluke.UUCP> <429@ut-sally.UUCP>, <6236@mcvax.UUCP> <2746@ncsu.UUCP>
Organization: U. Texas CS Dept., Austin, Texas
Lines: 26

> > Interesting that all the definitions of hacker in the sense of programmer
> > were complimentary: they must have been written by people who considered
> > themselves hackers! In England (where I come from) I always heard the word
> > used as an insult, meaning someone who programs without thinking first.

> Describing yourself as a hacker, and meaning it positively, is boasting.

Yes, the people who wrote those definitions were hackers, and yes,
they were boasting.  You can read about them in:

	HACKERS (Heroes of the Computer Revolution)
	Steven Levy
	Anchor Press/Doubleday
	Copyright (c) 1984 by Steven Levy
	ISBN 0-385-19195-2

You won't find Ken Thompson or Dennis Ritchie in the index, though you
will find many references to Richard Stallman.  You will also find TECO
spelled TICO and TENEX spelled TENNIX and other such rot.  In other
words, it's very selective in what and who it treats, and small details
sometimes fall by the wayside, but it does give some idea of what
hacking really is.
-- 

John Quarterman, CS Dept., University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712 USA
jsq@ut-sally.ARPA, jsq@ut-sally.UUCP, {ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!jsq