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From: rhyde@ucrmath.ucr.edu (randy hyde)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: Rastan GS
Message-ID: <9101@ucrmath.ucr.edu>
Date: 8 Oct 90 06:15:10 GMT
References: <13958@smoke.BRL.MIL> <1990Oct7.050620.19014@isis.cs.du.edu> <9096@ucrmath.ucr.edu> <7586@darkstar.ucsc.edu>
Organization: University of California, Riverside
Lines: 33

>> I presume you've not been in the computer hobbyist "field" long enough.
Perhaps you're right.  I was only 10 years old in the middle 60s when the
term was coined.  However, from your statements, I assume *YOU* haven't
been around long enough to know where the term was derived from.  "Hack"
means exactly that, someone who hacks away at something till they get it
working.  The term "hack writer" was in existence long before there were
computers, much less computer hobbyists.  The term "computer hacker" came
about because there were lots of people playing around on computers, learning
how to program them, without any formal training.  Sure, they got a lot
of stuff to actually work, even some marvelous stuff, but their methods
were generally poor.  Hackers gained a lot of romantic infamy by writing
video games (Steve Levy's book didn't hurt, either) and other high visibility
programs (e.g., the GNU stuff).  Media stories of 16 year olds making six
figure salaries helped propogate the attention [I personally knew some
16-year olds who were making six figure salaries, it was a bunch of media
hype, this one character got a $25,000 quarterly royalty check; once.  
Multiply that by four and you've got a six figure salary.  Of course, the
next quarter's check was only $5,000 and the game stopped selling after
that).  

Then a new breed of "hackers" developed-- the ones who caused problems and
were breaking into systems, spreading viruses, and setting up pirate networks.
They called themselves hackers (because, by then, this had a romantic
meaning).  Indeed they were-- They had very little formal training and they
were busy solving  problems via trial and error (almost the definition of
a hacker).  Unlike their predecessors, these guys (and gals) were often
little more than common criminals.

So while I feel sorry for those who mistakenly choose the term "hacker"
as a badge of honor, only to have the term bastardized by some low-lifes,
I'm quite happy to see that, once again, the term is developing negative
connotations.
*** Randy Hyde