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From: warren@ihnss.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: "Hack" is a sacred word?
Message-ID: <1770@ihnss.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 27-Oct-83 17:51:52 EST
Article-I.D.: ihnss.1770
Posted: Thu Oct 27 17:51:52 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 31-Oct-83 04:29:30 EST
References: <114@ccieng6.UUCP> <1313@rlgvax.UUCP> <848@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, Il
Lines: 29

May I suggest a constructive alternative.  How about 
"Software Artist" as an alternative to hacker.  It suggests someone
who is involved in a mysterious creative activity with the following
properties:

1)	Frequently it's done for sheer enjoyment, rather than
	profit.

2)	It's persued by some people as an obsession, rather than a
	rational choice.

3)	The product is evaluated in terms of unmeasurable esthetic
	beauty, rather than an absolute standards.

This to me fits very well with the image of a computer hacker. 
(Someone who persues computing for the joy of it, NOT the
infantile/criminal element taking pot-shots at data banks).
Probably, the term hacker will survive forever in our jargon,
whether the public puts the right meaning on it or not, but If we
want people who enjoy computing to be regarded in a favorable light,
we better come up with a term that isn't tied to nerds, crooks, or
other public undesirables.

-- 
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	Warren Montgomery
	ihnss!warren
	IH x2494
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