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<TITLE>HACKER BEING - by Elf Qrin</TITLE>
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<B>HACKER BEING<BR><I>on the meaning of being a hacker</I></B><BR>
<B>
<I>by Valerio "Elf Qrin" Capello (<A HREF="http://www.ElfQrin.com">http://www.ElfQrin.com</A>)<BR>
Copyright (C) 1999 Valerio Capello<BR>
First written: 23JAN2000<BR>
v1.1eng 26MAR2000<BR>
This is a translation from the original Italian version v1.5 r23JAN2000 (first written: 31AUG1999-09SEP1999)<BR>
Supervisor for the English language: SirD.
</I><BR>
<BR>
Latest version available from: <A HREF="http://www.ElfQrin.com/docs/BeingHacker.html">http://www.ElfQrin.com/docs/BeingHacker.html</A><BR>
Other language versions: <A HREF="EssereHacker.html">Italian</A>
</B>
<P ALIGN=RIGHT><BR>
<CITE>
"But did you, in your three-
piece psychology and 1950's<BR>technobrain, ever take a look behind the
eyes of the hacker?<BR> Did you ever wonder what made him tick,<BR>what forces
shaped him, what may have molded him?<BR>
I am a hacker, enter my world..."<BR>
<B>("The Conscience of a Hacker", The Mentor)</B>
</CITE>
<P ALIGN=RIGHT><BR>
<CITE>
"Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that<BR>shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known"<BR>
<B>(Matthew 10:26)</B>
</CITE>
<P><BR><BR>
<B>THE HACKER</B>
<P>
Another idiot has been locked up because of committing a senseless act with little or no thought to the consequences. Law enforcement needs to look good, the news becomes public domain and the press is unleashed, using attention grabbing headlines like: "Computer terrorist busted", or better, a "hacker".
<P>
Not only is the term misused, but it is usually only understood to be a mere synonym for "computer pirate", which is not only limitive, but completely wrong. Few people, even those who would define themselves as such, really know what "being a hacker" means.
<P>
The WWWebster Online Dictionary (<A HREF="http://www.m-w.com/">http://www.m-w.com/</A>), at the "hacker" entry says:
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Main Entry: hacker<BR>
Pronunciation: 'ha-k&r<BR>
Function: noun<BR>
Date: 14th century<BR>
1 : one that hacks<BR>
2 : a person who is inexperienced or unskilled at a particular activity "a tennis hacker"<BR>
3 : an expert at programming and solving problems with a computer<BR>
4 : a person who illegally gains access to and sometimes tampers with information in a computer system<BR>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
Among the various meanings quoted above, (besides definition 1, which is obvious...), definition 4 is the one which generally corresponds to the idea of "the hacker" that the majority of people have, while definition 3, is the one which is actually closer to the real meaning of "hacker", even if it is still rather limiting.
<P>
A dictionary rarely gives a definative answer, but it is always a good start.<BR>
For a more precise definition we can consult a specific dictionary such as the Jargon File, the most prestigious dictionary of hacker terminology, <CITE>"a comprehensive compendium of hacker slang
illuminating many aspects of hackish tradition, folklore, and humor"</CITE>,
begun by Raphael Finkel of the university of Stanford in 1975, and then passed in management to Don Woods of the MIT, up to see the light of the printed paper in 1983, with the title of
"The Hacker's Dictionary" (Harper & Row CN 1082, ISBN 0-06-091082-8, also known in the scene as "Steele-1983").
<P>
The on-line hacker Jargon File, version 2.9.10, 01 JUL 1992 (part of the Project Gutenberg), at the "hacker" entry says:
<BLOCKQUOTE>
:hacker: [originally, someone who makes furniture with an axe] n.
1. A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable
systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most
users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary.<BR>
2. One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming.<BR>
3. A person capable of appreciating {hack value}.<BR>
4. A person who is good at programming quickly.<BR>
5. An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; as in `a UNIX hacker'. (Definitions 1 through 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.)<BR>
6. An expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy hacker, for example.<BR>
7. One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations.<BR>
8. [deprecated] A malicious meddler who tries to discover sensitive information by poking around. Hence `password hacker', `network hacker'. See {cracker}.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
Since this is a specific dictionary, the definition of hacker here is closer to its original meaning, even if it is necessary to extrapolate it from the varied proposed meanings in order to obtain the closest and most faithfull interpretation.
<P>
A hacker is a person that loves to study all things in depth (definition 1), especially the more apparently meaningless details, to discover hidden peculiarities, new features and weakness in them. For example, it is possible to hack a book, by using it to equalize the legs of a table, or to use the sharp edge of one of its pages to cut something. The main point being that it is used for more than it's conventional function of being read. But more than this, a hacker soon learns that the same techniques used for exploiting computer systems can be used to manipulate people. This is the so-called <I>social hacking</I>. With a little skilled psychology, the masters of "social hacking" can convince other people to do what they want (within limits of course, and depending on the abilities of the "social hacker"), in order to obtain the information they require. This may sound like an unusual and unatural practise, but once you take into account that this is performed quite regularly, in everyday life, by girlfriends, friends and teachers etc. to obtain what they want from others, it's not that strange, even if hackers do use a little more skill and technique.<BR>
Another way of bringing hacking out from the computer's world, is the so-called <I>vadding</I> (the term is actually rarely used, but the activity is largely practiced) this consists of exploring places where the average person doesn't normally have access, such as basements, roofs of public buildings, maintenance tunnels, elevator wells and similar places. Sometimes, some of these activities born inside the hacker scene, grow and eventually separate, becoming new entities, like <I>phreaking</I>,
the term applied to the world of "hacking" telephones and telephone systems, or the term <I>carding</I>, which is basically "techno-credit card fraud",.. very illegal and risky.<BR>
In short, a hacker has the tendency to use his skills also beyond of the computer context, and anywhere tends to use the hacking techniques and to discover what is normally hidden to the common man.<BR>
For a hacker, the ability to reason, harness his full brain capacity and maintain his mind at maximum efficiency levels, is most important.<BR> With a few exceptions, it is unusual that a hacker would smoke, use drugs, or drink excessively (however beer appears to be the preferred choice, when alcohol is drunk). Speaking of John Draper, (a.k.a "Captain Crunch", one of the most legendary phreaker/hackers, famous for discovering that by sending a tone of 2600Hz over the telephone lines of AT&T, it was possible to effect free calls), Steven Levy says:
<CITE>"Cigarettes made him violent"</CITE>: smoking next to him was extremely hazardous to your health...
<P>
A hacker is certainly a programming maniac, (definition 2): once a technique has been discovered, it is necessary to write a program that exploits it.<BR> Hackers often spend many day's and night's in front of a computer, programming or experimenting with new techniques.
After spending so many hours in front of a computer, a hacker gains a remarkable ability to analyze large amounts of data very quickly.<BR>
The ability to program quickly, (definition 4) can be a characteristic of a hacker, but is not always necessarily so. As far as a hacker is concerned, it is faster to type on a keyboard, than it is to write things down, many hackers spend quite a lot of time reflecting over, or analyzing previously written code, while they are programming.<BR>
Definition 5 is, in effect, a restrictive meaning of the word "hacker" since it limits it to a single field (as in UNIX), it can however be considered as a specialization.<BR> Actually in these cases, especially when it concerns true experts in a field, the terms <I>wizard</I> or <I>guru</I> are preferred. For example, the definition <I>"UNIX wizard"</I> in the United States is also recognized outside of the hacker environment and it can be included in a resume.
<P>
Definition 3 may be considered apart: a person that qualifies for this definition is not neccasarily a real hacker, but a very experienced person with a good knowledge, who is not neccasarily able to develop hacker techniques. To make it clearer, think about the differences between a good author and someone that appreciates a good book.
<P>
Definition 7, together with definition 1, are the ones that get closer to the real essence of the hacker. To study a system, to discover weaknesses, the peculiarities and hidden features of it, and then use them to go beyond its limits, with creativeness and imagination. This, in a certain way, brings us directly to definition 8. The person with these skills can use his knowledge to try to access information to which he doesn't have the right to access, and here the discourse gets complicated, because for a hacker there is no information which he does not have the right to access. We will get back to this point later, when we will speak about the "hacker ethic".
<P>
Finally, although it has nothing to do with the character of the hacker, I would like to attract attention to definition 6; for a hacker, the term hacker is always positive: if he speaks of a "hacker of astronomy", he speaks of a true expert of that subject. Contrary to this, in everyday language, according to definition 2 of the WWWebster dictionary, a "hacker" in a certain field is a person that is not skilled in that specific field.
<P>
After giving the definitions, the Jargon File provides more information on the meaning of the word "hacker":
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The term `hacker' also tends to connote membership in the global community [...].
It also implies that the person described is seen to subscribe to some version of the hacker ethic [...].
<P>
It is better to be described as a hacker by others than to describe oneself that way. Hackers consider themselves something of an elite (a meritocracy based on ability), though one to which new members are gladly welcome. There is thus a certain ego satisfaction to be had in identifying yourself as a hacker (but if you claim to be one and are not, you'll quickly be labeled {bogus}). [...] [or most commonly, the most used term in these circumstances is "lamer", even if next versions of the Jargon File use this term in a slightly different context]
</BLOCKQUOTE>
But, perhaps more than anything else, curiosity and above average intelligence are the signatures of a true hacker. The hacker has an almost physical need of knowledge of any kind.<BR>
The hacker is most certainly a voracious reader, even if his preference is only for scientific matters or science fiction, and generally one would find many shelves full of books in his room.
But a hacker is not satisfied by the "ready made" knowledge, of the information that he finds in the books written for the average person, a hacker wants it all, and collects all possible information.<BR>
Schools are institutions that are not able to furnish all the information that a hacker <I>needs</I>. The governments and all the public or private institutions have the tendency to furnish the least necessary information.<BR>
About this point, Steven Levy in "Hackers, Heroes of the Computer Revolution" (written in 1984), affirms that the hackers
<CITE>"are possessed
not merely by curiosity, but by a positive *lust to know.*"</CITE>
<P>
This idea is even clearer in these excerpts took from what is a considered "the hacker's manifesto": "The Conscience of to Hacker" (sometimes erroneously reported, in a nearly prophetic sense, as "Mentor's Last Words"), written by The Mentor on January 8th 1986, and published for the first time on the e-zine Phrack, Volume One, Issue 7, Phile 3.<BR>
This text collects in a few paragraphs, a large part of the hacker philosophy, with touching results for most true hackers (even if it may be difficult to think of a hacker as a person that has a heart as well as a brain).
<BLOCKQUOTE>
[...]
<P>
Mine is a world that begins with school... I'm smarter than most of the
other kids, this crap they teach us bores me... Damn underachiever.
<P>
[...]
<P>
we've been
spoon-fed baby food at school when we hungered for steak... the bits of
meat that you did let slip through were pre-chewed and tasteless.
We've been dominated by sadists, or ignored by the apathetic. The few
that had something to teach found us willing pupils, but those few are
like drops of water in the desert.
<P>
[...]
<P>
We explore... and you call us
criminals. We seek after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We
exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias...
and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you
murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our
own good, yet we're the criminals.
<P>
Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is
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