Introduction
In this essay, I explore the questions - what is a hacker? what do we mean by hacker ethic? with reference to Bryan Pfaffenberger's article "The social meaning of the personal computer : or, why the personal computer revolution was no revolution", Sherry Turkle's book "The second self" and the Discovery channel documentary "The history of hacking". Various aspects of hacking are discussed through the example of one of the greatest ethical hackers of 20th century, Richard Stallman.
What is a hacker?
The Jargon file, a collection of hacker slang derived from technical cultures like MIT AI lab, defines a hacker as "A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and stretching their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary."
Hackers that use their skills for good are called as "white hat" hackers. these white hats often work as certified "Ethical hackers", hired by companies to test the integrity of their system.
We explore the culture of these white hat hackers and their hacker ethic through a view of life of Richard Stallman, one of the top 5 biggest white hat hackers ever existed.
Motivation behind hacking
Captain Crunch, arguably the first "hacker" summarizes his motives beautifully in the following statement
Stallman's crusade for software liberation started with a printer. At the MIT lab, he and other hackers were allowed to modify the code of printer so that they sent convenient alert messages. However, a new printer came along - one that they were not allowed to modify. It was located away from the lab and the absence of alerts was a huge inconvenience. It was the point that he was "convinced... of the ethical need to require free software."
Hackers and the society
As Sherry Turkle points out, hackers are closer to the computer than people. They are shy and inarticulate - trapped in the quest for control and mastery with the computers as their medium. Hackers tend to prefer relationships with computers than with humans. A major reason being computers can be "mold to their desires" - a world far less threatening and more rewarding than the world of conventional relations.
Hackers find their true friend, soulmate in the computer. Computers provide refuce to their loneliness. Stallman is no exception. Text editor is program with which hackers spend most of their time. Stallman made a text editor which had a feature called "the doctor". The doctor was a program with which one could chat and the doctor would answer them intelligently. What a cure for loneliness!
Hacker ethics
Hacker's obsession with computing leads to impatience and intolerance towards anything else that may come in the way. Following are some important beliefs in hacker ethics, as codified by Stephen Levy.
Stallman dedicated his life for freedom of software and information. He came up with the revolutionary concept of "copyleft". IT ensures that information required to modify/improve the program is always freely available.
Conclusion
Although hackers tend to be isolated, they have made a great impact on the society - a positive one in case of white hat hackers. Naming of an asteriod after Stallman testifies his impact on the society.
Referecnes
In this essay, I explore the questions - what is a hacker? what do we mean by hacker ethic? with reference to Bryan Pfaffenberger's article "The social meaning of the personal computer : or, why the personal computer revolution was no revolution", Sherry Turkle's book "The second self" and the Discovery channel documentary "The history of hacking". Various aspects of hacking are discussed through the example of one of the greatest ethical hackers of 20th century, Richard Stallman.
What is a hacker?
The Jargon file, a collection of hacker slang derived from technical cultures like MIT AI lab, defines a hacker as "A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and stretching their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary."
Hackers that use their skills for good are called as "white hat" hackers. these white hats often work as certified "Ethical hackers", hired by companies to test the integrity of their system.
We explore the culture of these white hat hackers and their hacker ethic through a view of life of Richard Stallman, one of the top 5 biggest white hat hackers ever existed.
Motivation behind hacking
Captain Crunch, arguably the first "hacker" summarizes his motives beautifully in the following statement
"It's (the phone network) a beautiful system, you know. I want to work for her. I want to help her get rid of her flaws and become perfect."The idea of looking at the machine not as a means to end, but the end itself, originated by phone phreaks, more or less remains the central idea for computer hackers too.
Stallman's crusade for software liberation started with a printer. At the MIT lab, he and other hackers were allowed to modify the code of printer so that they sent convenient alert messages. However, a new printer came along - one that they were not allowed to modify. It was located away from the lab and the absence of alerts was a huge inconvenience. It was the point that he was "convinced... of the ethical need to require free software."
Hackers and the society
As Sherry Turkle points out, hackers are closer to the computer than people. They are shy and inarticulate - trapped in the quest for control and mastery with the computers as their medium. Hackers tend to prefer relationships with computers than with humans. A major reason being computers can be "mold to their desires" - a world far less threatening and more rewarding than the world of conventional relations.
Hackers find their true friend, soulmate in the computer. Computers provide refuce to their loneliness. Stallman is no exception. Text editor is program with which hackers spend most of their time. Stallman made a text editor which had a feature called "the doctor". The doctor was a program with which one could chat and the doctor would answer them intelligently. What a cure for loneliness!
Hacker ethics
Hacker's obsession with computing leads to impatience and intolerance towards anything else that may come in the way. Following are some important beliefs in hacker ethics, as codified by Stephen Levy.
- Access to computers should be unlimited and free.
- All information should be free.
- Mistrust the authority - promote decentralization.
Stallman dedicated his life for freedom of software and information. He came up with the revolutionary concept of "copyleft". IT ensures that information required to modify/improve the program is always freely available.
Conclusion
Although hackers tend to be isolated, they have made a great impact on the society - a positive one in case of white hat hackers. Naming of an asteriod after Stallman testifies his impact on the society.
Referecnes
- The second self - Sherry Turkle
- The social meaning of the personal computer - Bryan Pfaffenberger
- Wikipedia
- Richard Stallman biography
- List of 10 greatest hackers : an article on www.itsecurity.com
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