Talk:Hacker

Excellent page. I would remove the line about wiki contributions being hacking, though. There's an argument at LQ now (or very recently) about what constitutes 'programming' but I think to be hacking, you have to be programming - I personally grant both scripting and coding as programming - but not marking up documentation.

Still, an excellent and (regrettably) necessary article.

Digiot 11:10, Mar 7, 2004 (EST)

Ok, done - I got a bit carried away confusing contribution to the community and hacking. Thanks for the positive feedback :)

Moth7 11:16, Mar 7, 2004 (EST)

Nah, you don't have to program to be a hacker. Consider this

Also, just because someone is not a cracker does not mean they are ethical - what if you are hacking together a program for a tabaco company?

But nice article! Future Leet 22:21 30 Apr 2004 (GMT)

The thing about hacking not needing to be related to programming is very true. In fact, the jargon file makes a point of this in itself when it talks about physical hacks which are unrelated to computing. Hacking can be anything which requires you to think outside of the normal means and manipulate a system to your own amusement.

An example, my freshman year in college the elevator in the freshman dorm building was garbage. It was constantly breaking and getting stuck. As I worked in the maintenance department, I was able to find out all sorts of information (I was never really told to do anything so I spent 12 hours a week just reading about everything). One thing I found was the information about the elevator phone. I found very specific instructions to reprogram the number the phone dialed when it was called (and the backup numbers as well). One night my roommate and I monopolized the elevator for about half an hour (the cover was harder to remove then I expected) and reprogrammed the primary to call our victim's room. We reprogrammed the backup number to call the primary in case he wasn't home.

The results were hilarious. One day he came out of his room with a puzzled look on his face and said, &quot;I don't get it. Robbie keeps calling and calling about the ****ing elevator. What does he want me to do about it?&quot; It turns out Robbie -- a guy from our floor -- was stuck in the elevator for 40 minutes trying to call and our victim kept hanging up on him. The elevator was so badly damaged that it took the fire department to get him out... three hours after security was finally called.

Was that a hack because it took some programming? Not really. The programming was literally right from an instruction sheet... password and all. The hack was in the idea and the execution. That started a wonderful tradition of pranking and hacking (which often had no computer component at all) at my school which lasted for several years and several times led to me being called before the Dean of Students to answer wild accusations.

Good times. I recommend the Jargon File (the real one on the web as well) for example of non-computer hacks. The MIT one is really good. Speaking of which MIT has a longstanding tradition of hacks which are not computer related. Everything from cop car (with blinking light) on top of the dome to changing the sayings on marble around campus.

--Frob23

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/topic/hacks-archive.html

This is a link to the MIT archive listing some of the more recent hacks that have occured on the campus. Read and enjoy. When you understand why these are hacks and breaking into someone's computer to deface a webpage isn't... then you are on the road to enlightenment.

Frob23

Don't you think articles like this one represent couch-potato-humor, laughing about stupid things because you have a boring life ? --ThorstenStaerk 16:35, October 26, 2007 (EDT)