Motivations of Hackers
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Many people think of hackers as science geeks who illegally break into computers and steal information. Although this type of activity represents one small aspect of what some hackers actually do, it fails to convey the spirit and intent of hacking and the motivations that impel people to do it. Bona fide hackers are not destructive, so they do not destroy or damage valuable data, nor are they trying to steal billions of dollars from Swiss bank accounts. On the contrary, hacking is by nature a parasitic activity, where the hacker needs the host system in order to get the information he wants:àin procuring access to a system, the hack does not aim at destroying the host on and which it operates. To do so would mean nothing less than a form of suicide. This exigency, which is fundamental to all parasitic endeavors, has been codified in one of the (un)official hacker commandments: ôthou shalt not destroyöàHacking is content to be neither a friend nor an enemy. Either position serves to reconfirm and justify the system in which and on which it operates (Gunkel 7). Hackers are a community of people with their own attitude and culture whose real intent for most hacks is to find out how something worksùand have fun doing it. They are the people who, when young, were found by their mothers taking apart the family toaster or their fatherÆs Timex watch, just to figure out what makes it work. As adults, hackers are drawn to computers for similar reasons. Computers are fun
. . .
nd out how it worked (Levy 9).
Levy also recounts details of a prank that illustrates that hackers have a sense of humor (Appendix).
Because of their shared zeal for taking things apart, their common ideology, and their unique counterculture, hackers have a lot in common and tend to band together. A symbol of this unity, the Hacker Emblem, stands for hackersÆ ôgoals, values, and the hacker way of livingö (ôHacker Emblemö). The emblem, shown below, is a representation of a glider formation from British mathematician John HortonÆs Game of Life, a cellular automaton he invented in 1970 (ôConwayÆs Game of Lifeö).
The emblem, which is not copyrighted or trademarked, can be used on a web page by inserting the XHTML code:
(ôHacker Emblemö).
In his article ôHow to Become A Hacker,ö Eric Steven Raymond provides added insight into the hacker attitude, which he suggests is comprised of five principles:
1. The world is full of fascinating problems waiting to be solved.
2. No problem should ever have to be solved twice.
3. Boredom and drudgery are evil.
4. Freedom is good.
5. Attitude is no substitute
. . .
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Approximate Word count = 4410
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page)
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