superbnerd
15th October 2004, 03:14 PM
The hacker culture is large and varied. The writing style is no exception. Why, then, do so many discourage the hacker writing style(s)? To understand why we must first understand the culture.
Hacker writing consist of esoteric jargon to an extreme. It goes as far as to use symbols unintelligible to outsiders. Most of the symbols are a result from programing. (Arguably) Not all hackers program, however; Those that don't program usually have a different style than the programmers. This is because they are used to different programs and the way the handle markup. The programmers might refer to things as if they were Perl style variables. The non-programmers usually use the IRC style while more modern ones use the XML style tags.
In addition to the style, misspelling is common usually because of improper typing habits. The misspelling go as far as using numbers instead of letters (when possible).
Some may dislike hacker writing style because it is mostly intentional now where as before it was a result of the culture.
Another controversial area of hacker culture is the law. Most true hackers claim the hackers have skills and use them to build while those that destroy are crackers. This is not entirely true because you can still be a hacker and destroy. These individuals are referred to as black hat hackers. In contrast the “good” hackers are called white hat hackers. They both have skills, but they use them in different ways. But are they really different if you look at their motivation. The white hats usually believe in and abide by the laws of the land while black hats don't believe in the laws of the land because they exist on the Internet. The Internet is not bound to the laws of a particular nation or state. It is an international, soon to be interglobal, network built to share information. Black hats may use the same reasoning when they “hack” into a business and “pirate” the media. They simple believe it should be free and decide to free it. Without any universal laws, at least not in the hackers mind, it is not seen as a bad thing despite the negative connotation it brings to the word.
Sadly, the hacker culture of old is discouraged by the so called hackers of today. Traditional hackers (mostly phreakers) believed as the black hats do, all information should be free, but the modern hackers seem to believe as the Wiccans do, “An ye harm none, do what ye will.” This is usually their attempt to distance themselves from legal conflict, but it is a compromise. True hackers are outlaws by default because they don't believe in the laws of the land. For hackers exists in a world of their own. One not governed by bricks and laws, but by electrons and knowledge.
Hacker writing consist of esoteric jargon to an extreme. It goes as far as to use symbols unintelligible to outsiders. Most of the symbols are a result from programing. (Arguably) Not all hackers program, however; Those that don't program usually have a different style than the programmers. This is because they are used to different programs and the way the handle markup. The programmers might refer to things as if they were Perl style variables. The non-programmers usually use the IRC style while more modern ones use the XML style tags.
In addition to the style, misspelling is common usually because of improper typing habits. The misspelling go as far as using numbers instead of letters (when possible).
Some may dislike hacker writing style because it is mostly intentional now where as before it was a result of the culture.
Another controversial area of hacker culture is the law. Most true hackers claim the hackers have skills and use them to build while those that destroy are crackers. This is not entirely true because you can still be a hacker and destroy. These individuals are referred to as black hat hackers. In contrast the “good” hackers are called white hat hackers. They both have skills, but they use them in different ways. But are they really different if you look at their motivation. The white hats usually believe in and abide by the laws of the land while black hats don't believe in the laws of the land because they exist on the Internet. The Internet is not bound to the laws of a particular nation or state. It is an international, soon to be interglobal, network built to share information. Black hats may use the same reasoning when they “hack” into a business and “pirate” the media. They simple believe it should be free and decide to free it. Without any universal laws, at least not in the hackers mind, it is not seen as a bad thing despite the negative connotation it brings to the word.
Sadly, the hacker culture of old is discouraged by the so called hackers of today. Traditional hackers (mostly phreakers) believed as the black hats do, all information should be free, but the modern hackers seem to believe as the Wiccans do, “An ye harm none, do what ye will.” This is usually their attempt to distance themselves from legal conflict, but it is a compromise. True hackers are outlaws by default because they don't believe in the laws of the land. For hackers exists in a world of their own. One not governed by bricks and laws, but by electrons and knowledge.
