[Noisebridge-discuss] What is the true hacker ethic?

[Mitch Altman]

By doing what we're doing at Noisebridge we're contributing to our community -- both the hacker community, and the community at large.  We teach what we know, we share what we know, we learn from others, and in so doing, give others the opportunity to learn and grow and make cooler, better choices with their lives (as they define "cool" and "better").

 

 

This is what motivates me to do pretty much all that I do.

 

 

No utopias, here.  What one person defines as "cool" or "better" may be "icky" or "bad" for someone else.  I think we all need to allow each other, and the community at large, to explore freely what they believe (right now) to they think is "cool" and "better", so that they can grow as human beings -- and we can all learn from each other as we grow (which isn't always easy -- but always way rewarding).

 

 

Mitch.

 

 


 
> From: jim at well.com
> To: geoff at geoffschmidt.com
> Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:23:18 -0700
> CC: noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> Subject: Re: [Noisebridge-discuss] What is the true hacker ethic?
> 
> 
> 
> for me, 
> * a "hacker" applies an unconstrained and artful 
> approach to problem solving; 
> * a "cracker" is a hacker who breaks into systems; 
> * an "employee" in a technical field may be a 
> hacker at heart and to some degree in action, but 
> is constrained in what to accomplish and how; 
> * a "slave" is more constrained than an employee. 
> 
> the "contributor ethic" description below is 
> highly appealing, though idealistic and in that 
> way should be eternally suspect. 
> 
> as to promotion, discard discussion of bad 
> guys and be active in being and supporting the 
> "contributor ethic". tie in with the various 
> "open" efforts such as open source, linux and 
> freeBSD, the OLPC XO effort. 
> education of children, especially female
> children, in "third world" countries seems our 
> only hope for the planet. that effort depends 
> on open communications. reach out to support 
> such efforts. build hacker spaces and their 
> interconnections. teach calculus and geometry 
> and essential deconstruction skills to 
> five-year olds. write software that does so. 
> 
> 
> On Sat, 2009-06-13 at 21:06 -0700, Geoff Schmidt wrote:
> > Hacker culture has spread far and wide. Today I was thinking about the 
> > hacker ethic: the idea or value that unifies hacker culture. It 
> > occurred to me that different people see the hacker ethic in different 
> > ways.
> > 
> > ** "Outsider" version of the hacker ethic **
> > 
> > We will do whatever is necessary to do to (metaphorically) break into 
> > the citadel where the information is kept. We will grab whatever we 
> > can and flee back to the tribe. There we will celebrate a successful 
> > heist from the Man. Sometimes we get plans for a self-reproducing 
> > plasma cutter.. sometimes we get obsolete Bell System technical 
> > manuals of no objective value whatsoever. Either way the raid was 
> > important and we celebrate it and add another story to our growing 
> > historical tradition.
> > 
> > We are like a Matrix-style resistance movement struggling to survive 
> > on the fringe of society against the growing power of the Machine. For 
> > the future of mankind, we have to defend the tribe and our traditions.
> > 
> > ** "Contributor" version of the hacker ethic **
> > 
> > It is really great to completely figure something out. And if we are 
> > curious and focused, we should be able to completely figure anything 
> > out, on our own initiative and under our own power. Based on the 
> > things we figure out, we can make real contributions to the human 
> > race: things that move the world forward. And because our allegiance 
> > is to understanding and truth, we will be ruthlessly self-critical of 
> > our abilities and contributions. To stay objective and avoid jealousy, 
> > we'll have to base our self-esteem on our shared commitment to truth 
> > rather than on our personal accomplishments.
> > 
> > Instead of seeing ourselves as Prometheus, we see ourselves as the gods.
> > 
> > --
> > 
> > Now, here's what I think: the Outsider hacking ethic is a fun game 
> > when you're 16, but it's total bullshit when you're 21. We should 
> > strive to be Contributors, and where we find Outsiders, we should 
> > change their minds. And we will change their minds by helping them 
> > have faith in their abilities, and by holding them to higher 
> > expectations.
> > 
> > If you agree with me, what do you think we can do to encourage the 
> > Contributor ethic in the broader DIY/underground community?
> > 
> > geoff
> > _______________________________________________
> > Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
> > Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> > https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
> > 
> 
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