On Sun, Feb 11, 2001 at 03:51:33PM -0800, rswfire wrote:
> I am not a hacker. I do not try to hack and
> don't know how people go about doing it. I'm a
> programmer. To me, those two are very different.
> A programmer is constructive. A programmer
> likes to take a problem and turn it into a
> solution. A programmer is creative. A
> programmer has respect for other people's domains
> and boundaries. A hacker is destructuve. A
> hacker takes a solution and turns it into a
> problem. A hacker has no respect for other
> people's domain or boundaries. As you have
> clearly done. You have overstepped a boundary
> with me.
I feel compelled to repost this, because you seem to have the right
principles in mind, but the wrong term. I realize it's usually viewed
as useless nitpicking to point this out, but it seems appropriate in
this context to stress the misconception of what a hacker is. So if
you have a free moment, please do read over some of the well-written
explanations about where the word comes from, and what it stands for.
http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/hacker.html
http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/hacker-ethic.html
http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/cracker.html
Your description of a programmer does fit well with who a hacker really
is, so I'm sure you would appreciate what they have to say. There is,
of course, a great wealth of writing on the topic, the links above are
simply succinct definitions. For more in depth discussion, I'd suggest
browsing the bibliography included in the jargon file, which includes
excellent works, both fiction and non-fiction, relating to the subject.
http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/Bibliography.html
Matt
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