So what makes it for hackers? The Github backend? Including a plugin for code by default? http://redraftable.com is a blog engine for hackers, other than the author won't release sources while the project is still immature.
The real reason it's "for hackers" is for marketing. That and improving its chances for a front-page mention here.
If it said "a blogging framework for writers" do you think it would even get mentioned at hackernews?
It seems like YABF, with the possible exception of pretty good support for code display.
Other threads here say it's basically Jekyll. I did some searches. It's not Jekyll. Jekyll has zero branding, it's just a github project.
Good taglines define a brand. This one's a good tagline. Good enough to get the front page here.
What's so hard about using your own editor and when you're done, pasting your text in the web form?
1. Clone Octopress 2. Bundle install 3. Rake install
The reset of the documentation is about deploying, customizing, and updating.
[Disclaimer: self advertisement follow ;-)]
I think that my own blogware fugitive[1] is by far more hacker-friendly than octopress. It only depends on git and it integrates completely in the normal git workflow by using hooks to generate static html from files. Also, the article files just contain their title (the first line of the file) and then the article itself. All the meta data are those from git: creation and modification dates, authors...