'White Hat' Worm, White hat perspective..

[MrT]

Originally posted here by nihil
This is your problem, my friend................you are misunderstanding the word "hacker".

I do believe I'm not, but if I'm. What is the "real" definition?

Originally posted here by nihil
If you sit down and draw yourself a decision matrix (logic box) I am sure it will become clearer?

I don't have time for that I'm still on lvl 88, only 2 more years of my life till lvl 89!
And my parents said I would grow up to nothing in my life...I showed them

[nihil]

I do believe I'm not, but if I'm. What is the "real" definition?

Don't you read other people's posts?

In the old days it just meant a highly skilled individual. If we use that definition, then you have three basic sorts:

..................

I don't have time for that I'm still on lvl 88, only 2 more years of my life till lvl 89!

A decision matrix for your problem consists of six boxes in the case of hackers, and four boxes in the case of software.............you dont have time to draw ten little boxes, define your parameters, and give them a yes/no?.............. .hell, I wish I were that busy

Oh Well

[MrT]

I'm sorry, but you din't state that's the definition you use.
I think this thread is getting a little worthless and turning into more of a IM conversation.
As long as I got my article across to at least one person, all this was worth my time.

I'll just end with this....I pity the fool who is busier than me.

[TheSpecialist]

In the old days it just meant a highly skilled individual. If we use that definition, then you have three basic sorts:

Define the old days? Most people who are old enought to remember some first generation computers would remember anything except things being made into such a big scene or frikin' users striving to be something, just being called something that sounds cool, gaining some form of self importance through it all.

I would rather forever be an unknown, nameless, faceless, unskilled, generic computer enthusiast. But for most people on the web, the "l33t h4x0rz", I guess nothing is good enought to fill-in their void... this inferiority complex that each and every one seems to have.

[nihil]

Define the old days?

Well, certainly in the days of DOS a "hack" was a "workaround", and a hacker was someone who was good at providing workarounds. Another expression was "DOS jockey". They were not elitist terms, just an expression of respect for the depth of an individual's knowledge and skill.

The term itself is certainly pre-WWII.............."he could't hack it" certainly goes back to the 1930's

[gothic_type]

One definition of hack and hacker is pretty much what nihil said:

hack: a complicated workaround which serves a purpose, but the majority of people cannot understand
hacker: someone who creates this workaround and who knows whatever they are doing so well that they can create this "hack"

And like nihil said, it doesn't need to have anything to do with computers. I believe there's some interesting articles on wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org) about the subject if anyone's interested.

ac