Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!amdcad!ames!mailrus!iuvax!purdue!bu-cs!mirror!frog!john
From: john@frog.UUCP (John Woods)
Newsgroups: news.sysadmin
Subject: Re: Security checkup
Keywords: security intruder self-help
Message-ID: <1218@X.UUCP>
Date: 13 Oct 88 03:28:00 GMT
References: <167@carpet.WLK.COM> <1454@lznv.ATT.COM> <1834@ddsw1.MCS.COM> <2985@mipos3.intel.com>
Distribution: na
Organization: Servants of the Great White Frog
Lines: 24

In article <2985@mipos3.intel.com>, nate@mipos2.intel.com (Nate Hess) writes:
> In article <307@mccc.UUCP>, pjh@mccc (Pete Holsberg) writes:
> >Could we stop calling those people who break in "hackers"?  Let's not
> >continue to support the public's gross misuse of that once-honorable
> >appellation.
> I agree.  As an alternative that I would like to see the media pick up
> on, how about "cracker"?

The real problem is that horrible little children read third-hand accounts
of someone's discovery of an interesting security flaw, breaks into someone's
computer with it, and brands themselves a "hacker" in the belief that they
somehow understand something.  The ``hackers'' stole the term away from those
who sought understanding (the original hackers), and they told the media their
self-chosen appellation.

I think the only solution is to choose a new name for Real Hackers.  How about
Roz Chast's suggestion of "Data Stylist"?
-- 
John Woods, Charles River Data Systems, Framingham MA, (617) 626-1101
...!decvax!frog!john, john@frog.UUCP, ...!mit-eddie!jfw, jfw@eddie.mit.edu

	Goooooood Morning Discovery!	-Robin Williams

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