Comment by coderdude | Hacker News Reader

Comment by coderdude | Hacker News Reader

"Hacker" has the gone the way of "geek" and "begs the question." Diluted to the point of having no meaning whatsoever. I'm pretty sure that in fewer than 5 years "hacker" will mean what "geek" means today, which is anyone with a cell phone or who has ever played Mario Bros.

I read TechCrunch, I'm a hacker I'm a hacker!

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Edit: I'll consolidate my responses into one post to keep the attack surface small and reply from here.

@dsmithn: The word 'hacker' hasn't been redefined. There isn't a governing body of words that decided one day to change what hacker means. It just changed with some people using it differently because they thought it made them sound cooler. Then other people wanted to sound cooler. Now everyone is cooler. At this point auto mechanics are hackers.

@budu: Excellent work, you've proven my point quite nicely. Thank you. And I don't worry about the down-voting. I saved up enough imaginary points so that I don't have to worry about nerd rage. My comment is just off-topic.

From the description: "The term 'hacker' has been redefined to consist of anyone who has an insatiable curiosity as to how things work—and how they can try to make them better. This book is aimed at hackers of all skill levels..."

It's pretty clear what he means by "Hacker" and why he used it.

HACKER [originally, someone who makes furniture with an axe] n. 1. A person who enjoys learning the details of programming systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. 2. One who programs enthusiastically, or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming. 3. A person capable of appreciating hack value (q.v.). 4. A person who is good at programming quickly. Not everything a hacker produces is a hack. 5. An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; example: "A SAIL hacker". (Definitions 1 to 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.) 6. A malicious or inquisitive meddler who tries to discover information by poking around. Hence "password hacker", "network hacker". -- The Original Hacker's Dictionary

Edit: I didn't downvoted you, I think people were a bit unfair, but I wanted to point that the word hacker already had a variety of meanings even 30 years ago.

> I wanted to point that the word hacker already had a variety of meanings even 30 years ago.

I agree with this, but the snippet from the book suggests it's the other way around--that "hacker" used to mean criminal and has only now begun to mean positive things.

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