Re: hackerism?

[Jason Castonguay <castongj@wam.umd.edu>]

[: hacktivism :]

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Hi piLL,

On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, piLL wrote:

> Where is the line drawn between "hacktivism" and 'hackerism'?
> (hacking/terrorism)

Hack: An original, creative way of solving a problem, usually involving
technology.
Hacker: One who hacks.
Hacktivism: An original, creative form of activism, usually involving
technology.

Note: This is my definition. Not Eric Raymond's, not the popular press's,
and not Wired's, etc.
 
> hacking is generally considered to be malicious...or at least very annoying.

Depends on who you talk to. People who have a misconception of what
hacking is seem to fear it. I have talked to too many people who have been
harassed by the police, doctors, and teachers because of their 'hacker
status.' Hacking is as malicious as painting (or whatever art form(s)
you participate in). For example, recently there was an artist in New York
City who seemed to drum up some anger from some people. Do I consider all
artists to be offensive? No.
 
> how far are people willing to go in their cyber 'arm chair-activism'? > 
> do any of us expect to change anything, or just talk about how awful things
> are? (which is ok :)

I expect to change things. How much may vary. Please remember that
hacktivism may be different for different people. Hooking up a live
webcam at a protest, helping distribute computers to people who want them,
education/workshop programs, setting up a bandwidth co-op, setting up some
space for your community, defacing webpages, and shutting down
telephone/fax/internet communications are all forms of hacktivism. They
are all appropriate depending on the situation. Also note that this does
not mean that DoS'ing someone or changing a webpage to read "I got root.
You loosers!" is hacktivism.

> i just dont know how successful 'echelon dictionary campaigns' (and the
> like) are, but i personally would like to feel that we are making a
> difference if we are gonna act like thats what we are doing here.

Jam Echelon Day was about awareness more then flooding Echelon. It was more
of a media hack then anything else. A reasonably successful one at that.
 
> The way this stuff gets reported on TV, (like the echelon campaign) this is
> all just an 'Art Bell/X-Files trip' and we are a bunch of conspiracy theory
> geeks...

It is the media's interest to paint as much of a negative picture as they
can. Either they say something about the evil activist/hacker or the wacko
conspiracy freak. Such sensationalism sells advertising and discredits
those who decide to think for themselves.

> Don't forget, hacking can be as powerful in cyberspace as bombs are in the
> real world...
> 
> maybe 2 lists: hacktivism and hackerism :)

I don't understand what angle you are coming from. I can't go kill someone
by hacking, as I could with a bomb. If you mean that both can have a big
impact, both are a form of action.
 
> I hope i am not out of place for saying this, i am new to all this. I dont
> assume i even know what i am talking about! :)
> 
> i am no hacker, i am an artist concerned about the future.
> 
> piLL

These are all reasonable points that should be addressed. It is good
to have many points of view, as it prevents the group-think that one sees
more and more often (ie /.). If you want to learn more about the hacker
aspect of things, read some zines and meet some people in your area. I
grew up reading the Cult of the Dead Cow (www.cultdeadcow.com) and am
active in local my 2600 'group' as well as local Linux Users Groups. Make
sure you know what you are getting in to though. A lot of organizations
are either very immature or very elitist. Sometimes you might have to try
a few before you can find a good match.


- --
deathcubek of Maryland 2600

Jason Castonguay	castongj@bigfoot.com
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