
                             DEAD SMOKING PUNX
                               :BRINGS YOU:
                            DSP MINIMAG ISSUE 6
                                 'HACKERS' 

                              By: Johnny Rotten



HACKERS

     Hackers are the elite corps. of computer designers and programmers.
     They like to see themselves as the wizards and warriors of tech.
     Designing software, and creating alithrograms, can involve bravura
     intelection, and tinkering with them is as much fun as fiddling
     with engines.  Hackers have thier own culture, thier own language,
     and in the off hours, they can turn thier ingenuity to sparring with
     enemies on the nets, or to the midnight stroll through the systems 
     they could never enter, were they not so very clever.  Dark-side
     hackers, thrashers, slip into systems for the smash and grab, but
     most hackers are in it for the virtuoso ingress.

THE HACKERS ETHIC

     I dont know if there is actually a hackers ethic as such, but taking
     a look at the words of Richard Stallman, it sure seems there is, of
     sorts an ethic.  

     ".... the beuracracy should not be allowed to get in the way of
     doing anything useful.  Rules did not matter, results mattered. 
     Rules, in the form of computer security, or locks on doors, were 
     held in total absolute disrespect. We would be happy at how quickly
     we would sweep away whatever little bit of beauracracy snuck into
     our way, how little time it forced you to waste.  Anyone who dared
     lock a terminal in his office, say, because he was a professor and
     thought himself to be more important than other people, would likely 
     find his door open the next morning.  I would just climb over the 
     celing, or under the floor, move the terminal out, or leave a note
     with the door open saying what a big inconvinience it is to have to 
     go under the floor, "so please do not inconvinience people by locking
     the door any longer."  Even now, there is a wrench at the MIT 
     seventh floor AI lab, entitled "the seventh floor, master key".
     To be used in case anyone dare lock up any of the fancy terminals."


HACKING AND CRACKING

     The term Hacker has come to be associated exclusively with breaking
     security.  That isnt what it is at all, but hackers were able to state
     thier total contempt for security people, because security is one form 
     of beuracracy.  First generation hackers would break security, because
     it was the easiest way to do somthing useful. Now a lot of kids do it
     'cuz its naughty.../<00_/'
     Though its true that showing you can break security thats said to 
     be unbreakable, is a nice hack, the origional hackers did not break 
     security because it was '/<0o_/' or Naughty, they did it because 
     somebody had locked up a tool that they needed to use, in a manner 
     of speaking.


BEYOND HACKER MACHISMO

     I want to get beyone all the bit twiddling, dealing with the machinery.
     Thats just hacker's machismo. I mean, theirs is hard won knowledge, 
     yeah, but the real objective is not talking to this retarded machine.
     Its dealing with the higher conceptual levels of what you want to do.


WHY I HACK

     The Hackers Conference is to me what punk music once was.  It embodies
     all of the reasons whyi got into music.  It is breaking rules. It has
     a very broad horizon.   Whats acceptable to do and whats meaningful
     to do, and it requires an almost religions comitment to acquiring
     special knowledge.  Ive known people who are the equivilent of Eric 
     Clapton on the computer because they have trancended techniqe.




CONCLUSION

     Anyway, i hope this phile has been somewhat enlightening, It came
     out of pure boredom.  If anyone out there has any comments, 
     or questions, membership NFO, etc, Call and mail me.


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