Ask HN: What does the term Hacker mean to you?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7638968

by markcrazyhorse • 12 years ago

3 5 12 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

My manager seems to think that a Hacker is someone who solely gains unauthorised access into a system and tries not to leave a trace. Causing some malice or ill effect. I think it's evolved much more to include developers and entrepreneurs. What are your views? Discus...

mkal_tsr• 12 years ago

To me it's about knowing how a system (of any kind) works and exploring how that system can be used based on what you know.

The important thing is the effect/intent is completely independent of the definition. People inject their intentions into the definition, but on it's own, hacking is all about curiosity.

markcrazyhorse• 12 years ago

Interesting reply. Thanks.

dudeson• 12 years ago

Hacker for me is someone who knows what he is doing. Hacker is someone that from his solid knowledge at something (not necessarily "software engineering") can achieve his goal. His goal might be gaining an unauthorised access into a system or creating a piece of hardware that will make his life easier, or even having free drinks/snacks from a vending machine.

Having deep knowledge at something and being able to do what you want with it, makes you a hacker.

Note that sometimes there is a confusion with hackers and script kiddies. Script kiddies in short are those with little or no real knowledge use instructions and tools causing damage only.

Hope this helped.

ankurdhama• 12 years ago

https://medium.com/p/825de76cc7e9

hashtag• 12 years ago

Hacker in Silicon Valley type circles in recent years come to mean someone who moves fast, break stuff, and makes it work in some cases. In others, someone who is inventive and figures out how to get things to work. I'm sure there are a few others.

Some will proudly wear the badge and call themselves hackers because of the above. Facebook is huge on the term itself, even getting themselves the vanity address 1 Hacker Way.

Unfortunately, a huge chunk of the world does in fact view the word hacker very negatively like your manager and even in some reports I've come across, the authorities you don't want messing with you. For these reasons, I try to stay away from ever calling myself a hacker of any kind. It's a term. It can mean whatever you claim it to but it won't matter if others don't see it that way, it causes confusion, or at the end of the day means nothing to anyone else but you. After all, the only person that cares is the person claiming the title.

Ask HN: What does the term Hacker mean to you?

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