This is probably as futile and misguided as Stallman's effort to get everyone to say "GNU/Linux". Once a word serves its functional purpose within a community it's going to be used to communicate whatever idea it communicates. Words are often used contrary to what their etymology and history would seem to imply. I don't use "hacker" to mean "intruder," but I'm not going to waste any effort "correcting" people who do.
Earliest recorded usage of the term "hacker" in a technology context:<p>----<p>1963 The Tech (MIT student newspaper) 20 Nov. 1 Many telephone services have been curtailed because of so-called hackers, according to Prof. Carlton Tucker, administrator of the Institute phone system. … The hackers have accomplished such things as tying up all the tie-lines between Harvard and MIT, or making long-distance calls by charging them to a local radar installation. One method involved connecting the PDP-1 computer to the phone system to search the lines until a dial tone, indicating an outside line, was found. … Because of the “hacking,” the majority of the MIT phones are “trapped.”<p>---<p>(I wrote an article on this many years ago <a href="http://imranontech.com/2008/04/01/the-origin-of-hacker/" rel="nofollow">http://imranontech.com/2008/04/01/the-origin-of-hacker/</a>)
I'm pretty sure I read this complaint on Slashdot, circa 1997.<p>Despite what people claim, it wasn't true then and it isn't true now. For example the movie "War Games"(1983)[1] uses the term Hacker to refer to someone who hacked into computer systems.<p>A word can have multiple connotations without causing problems.<p>[1]<a href="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGames" rel="nofollow">http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGames</a>
"Dear media, please stop using a word your readers understand, instead say a racial epithet that's been used for the last 140 years."<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_(pejorative)" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_(pejorative)</a>
Back in the 90's and early 2000's this is what I thought 'Hacker' and 'Cracker' meant<p>Hacker - A person who circumvents a walled network.<p>Cracker - A person who circumvents a walled software.
"cracker" was invented as a derogatory neologism to attack one group of people that called themselves "hackers" by another group of people that called themselves "hackers".<p>That ship sailed approximately with the first documented use of the word "hacker": <a href="http://imranontech.com/2008/04/01/the-origin-of-hacker/" rel="nofollow">http://imranontech.com/2008/04/01/the-origin-of-hacker/</a><p>This petition is bad and its creator should feel bad.
In my experience, even those who use the term not in the 'Cracker' sense disagree on its meaning. Definitions range from 'elite programmer' to 'programmer who operates in a disorganised, haphazard manner'.<p>'Cracker' also has racial connotations in the US, doesn't it? Language is complicated.
It's just not going to happen.<p>Either resign to the fact, or simply come up with a better term to describe what a hacker is.<p>In fact, what is a hacker anyway, just a talented coder? What about hardware hackers? A maker? Someone technical, but concerned with beauty? What about jailbreakers, are they crackers?
I'm afraid I'm just adding to the pile here, but still: this is complete nonsense.<p>Hacker is a word that always had several interpretations. And, in fact, the <i>network intruder</i> one is of the oldest.<p>In fact, cracking, in software, <i>is</i> a very specific thing: bypassing copyrights/copy protections/limitations.<p>If you don't like what Hacker has meant and still means, don't apply it to yourself.
I have seen the term "hacking" been used to describe using a device via its interface, as intended..<p>Starting my car with a key is not hacking, starting my neighbors car with his key is neither. Obtaining the key without consent, might be. But that again could in fact be social engineering.<p>In comparison, using another (master)key that happens to fit would be akin to "cracking". If one engineered the key himself, thàt (along with the required investigative research work) might be hacking.
Listen please: the original meaning of "cracker" is someone who defeats locally installed software protections through patching/modifying the compiled program code. "Cracker" as a term is historically unfit for describing online exploits. Look up "SKIDROW" or "Phrozen Crew" or "Razor 1911" for examples of groups that (at least originally) worked/works primarily as crackers.
Finding a word other than "cracker" to designate people using computers for illegal purposes would be a useful exercise. Otherwise a lot of entirely legitimate activity gets tarnished and if you describe yourself as "hacking" then ordinary folks get the wrong impression.
Rather make a petition to stop people with no real technological skillsets glorifying themselves as "hacker" every chance they get. Be it on HN, their own blogs or facebook.<p>Making wordpress themes isn't hacking, no matter how hard you want to ride the web 2.0 train.
I first heard of pg through a slashdot article on his book <i>Hackers and Painters</i>. I remember lots of people writing that that word "hacker" was utterly lost and should be retired. The mere existence of the petitioner in this article—Hacker Rank—a company that is taken seriously by the tech industry shows how wrong those commenters were. That the site I write this comment on—Hacker News—is so heavily trafficked by creative builders rather than malicious intruders is icing on the cake.<p>It's hard to change the meaning of a word, but in this one case a reclamation is well underway.
Isn't the definition of hacker infact a cracker?<p>I don't think a community (not HN, just in general) can just coin a term and expect to change the definition for all.
Thing is that 'cracker' is already two things - a flat savoury biscuit, and something you pull at christmas. Hacker only has one popular meaning.
How to accomplish this: need some group to determine and call themselves 'hackers' and sue everyone for actually associating with crackers by calling them hackers. Hence it'd be politically incorrect to call them hackers. Done!
Am I the only one not concerned about a word having two (or more) connotations? It seems common in English...<p>Sometimes I say "painter" and I mean a guy who paints walls, and sometimes I mean a guy who paints pictures.
At first I thought this is the most pointless petition ever. But then I realised the whole point of it is to promote their website. It's kind of sad to see petitions being used in this way.
While we are at it, we can tell modern religious literalists that 'Baal' means Lord, and that El and YHVH are different Gods as well, and that all three once competed for followers.
Don't sweat it and let context guide you. It's not as if hackers are some kind of minority group that needs protection. Moniker, no moniker, who cares.
I would like to sign a petition not to use 'Hacker' to hype basically anything. Shorter even banks will look for "Hacker" accountants.
Hackers can be either white hats or black hats (or something in between: grey hats). The moral ambiguity is part of what makes the appellation interesting.<p>This whole attempt to make "cracker" happen feels like a bunch of people desperate to call themselves "Hackers" and feel cool, but without scaring off boring BigCorp employers.