Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!rochester!pt!sei!sei.cmu.edu!pdb From: pdb@sei.cmu.edu (Patrick Barron) Newsgroups: comp.misc Subject: Re: Hacker Scholarship Message-ID: <1871@aw.sei.cmu.edu> Date: Mon, 13-Jul-87 17:04:03 EDT Article-I.D.: aw.1871 Posted: Mon Jul 13 17:04:03 1987 Date-Received: Tue, 14-Jul-87 07:15:23 EDT References: <2757@mtgzz.UUCP> <345@genesis.UUCP> <2318@hoptoad.uucp> <234@wrs.UUCP> <1139@codas.ATT.COM> Sender: netnews@sei.cmu.edu Reply-To: pdb@sei.cmu.edu (Pat Barron) Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, SEI, Pgh, Pa Lines: 40 In article <1139@codas.ATT.COM> dlm@codas.ATT.COM (Don_L_Million) writes: >In article <234@wrs.UUCP>, dg@wrs.UUCP (David Goodenough) writes: >> >> ... phreak is the term that should be used to describe people that >> attempt malicious damage or theft. I use the term hacker to describe >> someone like myself who writes a 90% full implementation of rogue on >> a Z80, .. NOTHING I have done while wearing my hacker hat has ever >> constituted theft or malicious damage. >> >OK, as long as you're hacking away on your own machine, I have nothing >but respect for your ingenuity. As soon as you intentionally break into >someone else's machine YOU ARE A CRIMINAL! I don't care whether you damage >anything or not! Just like you wouldn't care whether or not I found some- >thing to take; if I broke into your house, you'd want me prosecuted. > >BTW this may sound like a flame, but it's not intended as such. Just to try to set the record straight on what a "hacker" is, for those who do not yet understand...The following is taken from the Jargon File, which is maintained on MIT-AI and a few other machines. Of the six definitions of the word given here, only *one* has *anything* to do with breaking the security of computer systems (many "real" hackers prefer to use the term "cracker" for such malicious vandals). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HACKER [originally, someone who makes furniture with an axe] n. 1. A person who enjoys learning the details of programming systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. 2. One who programs enthusiastically, or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming. 3. A person capable of appreciating hack value (q.v.). 4. A person who is good at programming quickly. Not everything a hacker produces is a hack. 5. An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; example: "A SAIL hacker". (Definitions 1 to 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.) 6. A malicious or inquisitive meddler who tries to discover information by poking around. Hence "password hacker", "network hacker".