Yeah but anyone who actually opens a discussion on hackforums will realize it's a forum made for skids.

as a previous user of the forum in question, I can confirm it's not for the "curious programmer" type of hacker. I realise that the term is ambiguous, but I think that's more due to the "hacker news" type hacker clinging onto an old term after the public understanding of the term has moved onto "hacker = computer criminal". The public at large, and journalists, know what a hacker is - and it's not a VC-driven startup entrepreneur.