Monday
The Hacker Manifesto
Summary
The Hacker Manifesto is a piece written by Adam L. Beberg, who's information can be found by clicking on the small icon at the bottom of the manifesto. an example of our old topic of hypertext. This piece attempts to explain what a hacker really is by providing definitions of a hacker through hypertext (the word 'hacker'). Beberg enlightens the world, so to speak, on the mindset of a hacker, and how society has come to look down upon such people. Beberg seems to think that the world is quite misguieded about hackers, and attempts to straighten out people's view of them through his manifesto, and through hypertext links to his personal career in academia and professional life.
Inquiry
This work is by far one of my favorites of the year. It was fun to read, and very interesting. I, myself, have a view of hackers as the "scum" of the internet out there, out there to steal information and gain an edge illegally. Beberg seems to have set me a little straighter. Dictionary.com even defines a hacker as "a computer enthusiast" (dictionary.reference.com/browse/hacker). By viewing hackers in this way, I think we can better understand a social circle that exists, often right under our noses, in the world today. People like Richard Stallman could be considered hackers, as defined by Beberg and by dictionary.com. It seems that there is an entire world of hackers out there who consider themselves the elite of programming and computer knowledge. I find this fascinating, and would love to do more research on this topic. I think that the links Beberg has in his manifesto to his own personal information, including his resume, add to the credibility of this article, giving a so called face to the name type of effect. I think it's important more hackers attempt to convey to the world their true nature so that we may better understand their point of view, and what they seem to truly be about. I commend Beberg for his work, and again would love to see more like this.
1) What was your view of "hackers" before you read this manifesto?
2) Can hackers make a better name for themselves by creating more works such as Beberg has done?
3) Do hackers have a place in society, or will they forever be viewed as criminals by those that don't understand them?
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2 comments
Our class discussion regarding how stereotypes of hackers are perpetuated in pop culture made me realize that rarely are hackers shown in a positive light. Instead they are either committing espionage and siphoning private information, helping to pull off elaborate heists, or simply young adults who enjoy manipulating code in their free time. Society has made "hacker" synonymous with an invasion of privacy, thus many are reluctant to view them in any other way. However, virtual safety is something that many treasure, thus many companies are turning to hackers to figure out the weak spots of their systems. Thus hackers are helping to find problems in main frames before they become international disasters. We could thank hackers for helping make this blog's privacy features function correctly, and they will continue to do work that will make our experiences in cyberspace "safer."
I have always pictured a hacker as some nerdy kid, who has too much time on their hands, and is trying to get the secret codes for the latest WOW game, kind of like the kid in The Hacker. I think that no matter "hacker manifestos" are published, people are still going to have a negative opinion about hackers because most of these manifestos will probably only be read by other "hackers." Unless the book/article/etc. were to become a mainstream publication, most people would not neccesarily go out an read it. Only the "hackers" that believe they are doing good, and not really harming anyone will simply read another manifesto to validate their opinions.
I think that hackers are probably always going to be catagorized with the computer geeks, and won't be well respected because their work does involve illegal activity. It seems to me that what a lot of the hackers don't realize is that the are not just hurting Mr. Moneybags who owns the company, but the janitor whose wage is paid by the company.
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