From: peter@taronga.com (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Re- Legion of Doom
Date: 1 Sep 92 03:10:34 GMT
Organization: Taronga Park BBS

In article <1992Aug31.153846.5272@tic.com> erikb@tic.com (Chris Goggans) writes:
>Having fallen under the umbrella covering every one of the three
>words above, I'm wondering how Peter derives his own little
>personal definitions.

Experience, introspection, observation. Hackers are creative, not simply
curious.

>Cracker:  In an almost paranoid scramble to disassociate themselves

It's not paranoia when someone really is out to get you.

>          from individuals who currently are referred to as "hackers"

Just the ones who aren't. Most of them have a bag of tricks they've
picked up from other phreaky types. No curiosity of their own.

>          mainstream computer users, and those who think they are beyond
>          reproach, have coined this term to describe individuals who
>          breach computer security.

Yep.

>          This is a rediculous term since
>          the only people who can make the true distinction between
>          hacker and cracker is one who is already familiar with the
>          community, and the people responsible for associating the
>          word hacker solely with crime, ie: media, have absolutely
>          no clue, and would never make the distinction.

That's where the education comes in. Many media people are quite trainable,
and can be taught fairly sophisticated tricks in exchange for a few morsels
of food.

>          It is
>          of relevance to note that this word popped up only a short
>          while ago.

Not really. Originally it applied to pirates who actually *cracked* games.

Hackers were the ones *creating* the games.

>I wonder how many people who perpitrate the hacker v. cracker thing
>were GIVEN access to the machines they wanted to learn.

Good computers with sophisticated operating systems that we would have
given our eye teeth for 20 years ago are so cheap it's ridiculous. You've
got it so easy... we had to beg for access. I went without so much as a
programmable calculator for 4 years (from the age of 12 to the age of 16)
because there just wasn't anything available.

>Probably
>all of them.  Were we able to switch places in time, and I was
>expressing the desire to learn 20 years ago, and they were merely
>in their 20's now, I would probably have a hard time figuring out
>why these damn kids have to go and mess with things, forgetting
>that when I got into computers, there were so few that if you
>were smart enough, you got access to them legitimately.

And today there are so many that they're practically crackerjack prizes.
If you don't like DOS (and who does, who has the hacker nature) you can
get Coherent, or an Amiga, or some old tired UNIX iron that's not being
used any longer... and has more horsepower than the 11/70 I shared with
65 other simultaneous users in 1979.

What's your beef? What could you possibly want? You want on the net? There
are dozens of people like me only too happy to give you a feed. I had to
scrounge around all over the place to get datafact and the digital imaging
lab at baylor hooked up to usenet, and that was only 6 years ago. You want
some hot iron? You can get a 386 box and FREE UNIX for a pittance. There
are people selling 3b1s all over the place. You want cutting edge? I've
never had access to cutting edge hardware in my life. You want a challenge?
Just ask me... I've got a stack of unfinished projects as high as my neck.
Just what is it you're pissed about?

>I further wonder how many people still say gay when they mean happy.

Well, the gay '90s are still the 1890s...
-- 
                                                                `-_-'
                         Have you hugged your wolf today?        'U`

Peter da Silva, Taronga Park BBS, Houston, TX  +1 713 568 0480/1032
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk,alt.allsysop,alt.bbs.ads,co.general,nyx.mis