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From: MCGUIRE@GRIN2.BITNET
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Hackers
Message-ID: <8707230530.AA17133@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Wed, 22-Jul-87 11:33:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8707230530.AA17133
Posted: Wed Jul 22 11:33:00 1987
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> Date:         15 Jul 87 16:18:00 PDT
> From:         "VAXR::IVANOVIC" 
> Subject:      Re: Hackers
>
> Keith F. Lynch and Bruce G. Kahler both make approving noises about "hackers".
> I have always associated the term "hackers" with persons who
>
>     . commit crimes ( break into machines that are forbidden to them )
>
>     . write code that is incomprehensible to others ( spaghetti code,
>     deliberately obscure code, or otherwise unmaintainable code )
>
>     . have a greater facility dealing with computers than with people.
>
> I hope never to be accused of being a "hacker".
>
> The people who design and implement the truely state-of-the-art systems that I
> admire greatly ( "I wish I had done that!" ) are called "programmers",
> "designers" or "software engineers", but never, never "hackers".
>
> Keith and Bruce are naturally free to use the term "hackers" in any sense
> they wish, but at the risk of being misunderstood by a large part of the
> population, computer literate as well as computer illiterate.
>
> -- Vladimir

* Flame ON *

Mr. Ivanovic gives us a good opportunity to review the history of our
profession. These negative associations are indeed becoming the primary
meanings of the word `hacker.'  The word when coined did not have such
negative connotations.  Soon after it became a part of the vocabulary of
early computer programmers, it was used by some people in a negative sense.
I believe that makes both the original meaning and its secondary meaning
legitimate.

To set the record straight about the original meaning of the word, I am
including here excerpts from a couple of published sources.  This may
convince Mr. Ivanovic that the word when coined did not have such negative
connotations, and use thereof was, in fact, generally a token of respect.

1.
       With reference to the article `Software Security and the Pinstriped
       Pirate,' It should be pointed out that the term `hacker' has been
       terribly mangled lately by segments of the media--mostly because of
       heavily publicized computer break-ins of recent months.

       The term `hacker' should *not* be used in reference to criminal or
       illicit goings on--[its] proper usage refers to an individual who
       works intensely with computers and isn't satisfied with merely
       knowing the minimum amount required about a system to perform a
       given task.  This term does *not* imply any illegitimate activities
       whatsoever.

       The misuse of the term `hacker' has been spreading thanks to the
       `copycat' nature of many news stories in the popular press, and now
       is the time to call an end to this erroneous usage.  In a future
       column on the subject of hacking, I will suggest that the (rapidly
       being accepted) term `cracker' be used specifically to denote
       individuals who attempt to break into or otherwise misuse computer
       systems.  That's what they're trying to do--to `crack' the security
       of these systems.

        _UNIX/WORLD_, v1 #2, `A Personal Note on `Hackers'', Lauren
        Weinstein, Editor at Large

2.
        I was first drawn to writing about hackers--those computer
        programmers and designers who regard computing as the most
        important thing in the world--because they were such fascinating
        people.  Though some in the field used the term `hacker' as a form
        of derision, implying that hackers were either nerdy social
        outcasts or `unprofessional' programmers who wrote dirty,
        `nonstandard' code, I found them quite different.  Beneath their
        often unimposing exteriors, they were adventurers, visionaries,
        risk-takers, artists . . . and the ones who most clearly saw why
        the computer was a truly revolutionary tool. [. . .]  I came to
        understand why true hackers consider the term an appellation of
        honor rather than a pejorative.

        [. . .]  I found a common element, a common philosophy which seemed
        tied to the elegantly flowing logic of the computer itself.  It was
        a philosophy of sharing, openness, decentralization, and getting
        your hands on machines at any cost--to improve the machines, and to
        improve the world.

        _Hackers_, Steven Levy, p. 7.

The true hackers of the fifties and sixties flourished at the MIT
artificial intelligence lab.  Working for respected AI scientists such as
Dr. John McCarthy and Dr. Marvin Minsky, they helped create many of the
software tools and techniques that today's designers and software engineers
take for granted.  I am pleased that the AI lab still maintains a sense of
its history, which is also our history, no matter how we use the word
`hackers.'

                                *   *   *

As an afterword, I'll state that I consider myself a computer hacker in the
best sense, and that the technical skills that I developed as a consequence
of my intense interest in computers is valued by my employer and my peers.
I'll also give the lie to some of these misconceptions about hackers by
saying that I am
  - A respected, law-abiding member of my community;
  - Responsible for maintenance of security on our central systems;
  - A voluble backer of complete documentation, coding standards, etc.;
  - Skilled in dealing with people in both formal and informal settings.

* Flame OFF *

Ed McGuire
Systems Coordinator
Grinnell College
MCGUIRE@GRIN2.BITNET

Disclaimer: My opinions do not necessarily represent those of my employers
--but just ask them.

P.S. Is there an appropriate mailing list for discussions of this type?  A
     little bit of consciousness-raising goes a long way . . .  ;-)