I wonder how many of us can identify with this

[snowman46919]

Some of you younger people may or may not recognize this. Some of you older folks may be in the same boat. I think, though, it is a good read and thought I would share:

Another one got caught today, it's all over the papers. "Teenager Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering"...

Damn kids. They're all alike.

But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950's technobrain, ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did you ever wonder what made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?

I am a hacker, enter my world...

Mine is a world that begins with school... I'm smarter than most of the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me...

Damn underachiever. They're all alike.

I'm in junior high or high school. I've listened to teachers explain for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction. I understand it. "No, Ms. Smith, I didn't show my work. I did it in my head..."

Damn kid. Probably copied it. They're all alike.

I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this is cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it's because I screwed it up. Not because it doesn't like me... Or feels threatened by me.. Or thinks I'm a smart ass.. Or doesn't like teaching and shouldn't be here...

Damn kid. All he does is play games. They're all alike.

And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing through the phone line like heroin through an addict's veins, an electronic pulse is sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought... a board is found. "This is it... this is where I belong..." I know everyone here... even if I've never met them, never talked to them, may never hear from them again... I know you all...

Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. They're all alike...

You bet your ass we're all alike... we've been spoon-fed baby food at school when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip through were pre-chewed and tasteless. We've been dominated by sadists, or ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us willing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.

This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for.

I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike.

 

[Clif45]

Hackers Manifesto... Good stuff

 

[ATF Consumer]

I can relate.

 

[Kase]

I fixed an xbox with glue one time. Am I part of the group?

 

[snowman46919]

I fixed an xbox with glue one time. Am I part of the group?

That's the thing, anybody that believes in those ideals can be part of the group. Hackers are often deemed evil down bringers of society, sound like the label given to OCers? The hacker mentality all started when the government tried to regulate and charge for data and information. Something that should be free to the people not horded and guarded. We should not be restricted to what the government thinks we can and can not handle, we should be given the right of self censorship. Just to give you an idea on the ridiculousness of it all as far as data is concerned, I can go buy 8 gbs of data from the store for about 10 bucks. For that same 8gbs of data verizon charges me 30 bucks. What gives data is data no matter its form so why is something that I can use over and over and over again 10 bucks but a limit that resets monthly is 30?

 

[jeremy]

Been awhile since I have heard that...

Still agree with a lot of it even though I am not a Software person...

 

[bigretic]

I am personally a coder and I think the hackers manifesto is chest pounding, self serving, egotistic B.S.
Especially these days.

 

[snowman46919]

I am personally a coder and I think the hackers manifesto is chest pounding, self serving, egotistic B.S.
Especially these days.

Why do you think that? I spent most of my school days in the same exact situation taking classes that were far below me and getting in trouble in math class for not showing my work, and definitely being labeled an underachiever. Once I got into programming, web development, graphic design, and finally Cisco courses I actually enjoyed school which was about time because it only took 10 years to get to that point.

 

[Jay]

..... what's the difference between hackers, and those who generate viruses? One may be of benefit, while the other certainly is not...... or, do hackers NOT create viruses?

 

[snowman46919]

..... what's the difference between hackers, and those who generate viruses? One may be of benefit, while the other certainly is not...... or, do hackers NOT create viruses?

It is just like any other community Jay, there are good and there are bad.

 

[jsharmon7]

So then what is the point of hacking and why would anyone be for it or against it?

 

[Jay]

It is just like any other community Jay, there are good and there are bad.

Agreed... it just seems like anyone smart enough to create a virus and wreak havoc with lots of folks, could make a pretty decent living applying those talents in a beneficial manner. Like in many cases, the good stuff goes un-noticed, and the bad stuff garners headlines.

 

[redneckmedic]

I am a hacker.... I may have invented the act of "blowing in a Nintendo cartridge to get the dust out... left to right, right to left." Many have used my work, I have saved millions of hours of day dreaming, reading, and paying outside with real people by getting that flashing screen back to life! This is my manifesto!

 

[snowman46919]

So then what is the point of hacking and why would anyone be for it or against it?

It's fun, hacking is far beyond software. You can hack a car, a computer, anything with electronics and even things without. Hacking in its truest form is the freedom of information to help better society whether it is to get you a few more miles per gallon or to help you live a better life.

 

[snowman46919]

I am a hacker.... I may have invented the act of "blowing in a Nintendo cartridge to get the dust out... left to right, right to left." Many have used my work, I have saved millions of hours of day dreaming, reading, and paying outside with real people by getting that flashing screen back to life! This is my manifesto!

Those who don't understand often insult or judge.

 

[Expat]

I think those days are gone. Kids now play games, send text messages, tweet, FB, etc. I don't detect the same intellectual curiosity that we used to have. We wanted to how how things worked. We wanted to try to change it to be better, do different stuff that wasn't intended.

 

[Jay]

If you equate "judge" with "profile", then I"ll be forever guilty of that......

 

[bigretic]

Why do you think that? I spent most of my school days in the same exact situation taking classes that were far below me and getting in trouble in math class for not showing my work, and definitely being labeled an underachiever. Once I got into programming, web development, graphic design, and finally Cisco courses I actually enjoyed school which was about time because it only took 10 years to get to that point.

The manifesto is in my eyes is self justification of what really amounts to common breaking and entry; thinnly vieled with comments of self pitty because "the system" failed him/her.
I'm not saying your case in point is not accurate, I just don't buy into it (the manifesto as it's implied) being anywhere close to the majority instance. Not withstanding my opinion that the perceived definition of hackers and crackers has been greatly skewed by the current generation of youth. Finding access to the command line and executing remote shutdowns in the school lab is horseplay, not hacking. And while there is always some 1%er rule, hackers are simply out for self recognition and bragging (if not theft), they are not "doing good".
I was fortunate to some extent to have the opposite experience from you in school, I was always pushed into more advanced classes... but to the point where I was overwhelmed by junior year and became disgruntled with pretty much the same endpoint. I struggle with this topic with my son all the time, as he wants to follow my field and at his age hacking/cracking and now "modding" is what drives his interst. Why? because his friends think it's cool, it makes him popular in some ways, and other reasons that you can imagine.
Respectfully, -d

 

[snowman46919]

I think those days are gone. Kids now play games, send text messages, tweet, FB, etc. I don't detect the same intellectual curiosity that we used to have. We wanted to how how things worked. We wanted to try to change it to be better, do different stuff that wasn't intended.

Unfortunately more and more you are correct sir, but both of my sons have already shown interest in computers far beyond just games so there is still hope.

If you equate "judge" with "profile", then I"ll be forever guilty of that......

I think we are all slightly guilty on that charge.

 

[snowman46919]

The manifesto is in my eyes is self justification of what really amounts to common breaking and entry; thinnly vieled with comments of self pitty because "the system" failed him/her.
I'm not saying your case in point is not accurate, I just don't buy into it (the manifesto as it's implied) being anywhere close to the majority instance. Not withstanding my opinion that the perceived definition of hackers and crackers has been greatly skewed by the current generation of youth. Finding access to the command line and executing remote shutdowns in the school lab is horseplay, not hacking. And while there is always some 1%er rule, hackers are simply out for self recognition and bragging (if not theft), they are not "doing good".
I was fortunate to some extent to have the opposite experience from you in school, I was always pushed into more advanced classes... but to the point where I was overwhelmed by junior year and became disgruntled with pretty much the same endpoint. I struggle with this topic with my son all the time, as he wants to follow my field and at his age hacking/cracking and now "modding" is what drives his interst. Why? because his friends think it's cool, it makes him popular in some ways, and other reasons that you can imagine.
Respectfully, -d

Okay so tour saying that let us take Adobe for example is not guilty of self righteous profiteering when they sell Photoshop at the price of 600 dollars to some one that is not using it as a profession but still makes money selling it to a student who will go on to use it to make money for themselves at 50 dollars? How about apple OSX that is based on a free operating system, Linus Torvalds could crush Jobs with a single class action lawsuit.

The fact that you differentiated between hackers and crackers leads me to believe that you know there is some separation there. Like I said previously there is good and bad in every community and usually only the bad get the spotlight.