
Phrack Issue #68 - infinity
http://www.phrack.org/issues.html?issue=68
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peterwwillis
The 'Lines In The Sand' piece reads like someone who is enamored with being a
'bad boy' and that breaking the law is just really cool and if you want to be
a cool black hat hacker you should basically try to cause as much mayhem as
possible, fuck anyone else (but also be in complete solidarity with the black
hat brethren who should totally go to jail for you without question).
Apparently you can't even hack for a living because that would be selling out.
I guess it's just not cool to get paid for doing the thing you'd do for free
anyway.

The author is proud, vain, simple-minded, selfish, jaded, misguided, and
totally enamored with his/her ideal 'scene' where they get to be the coolest
person in the room because they can be an outlaw. You can't just reject all
forms of society and pretend to live in your own little world where everything
revolves around you and what you want.

We have to accept certain things we don't like because it's the contract we
make with our fellow human beings to live together. Yes, i'll pay my taxes.
Yes, I will stop at red lights. And no, you cannot steal from me or destroy my
property just because you think it's lulzy or because you justify it as part
of some cause you have. Something is wrong with this person that they have
absolutely no remorse for any collateral damage suffered by his/her actions
toward his/her noble cause.

Also, seriously, having a beef with an irc server is like having a beef with a
specific bar or restaurant. Just don't go in there if you don't like it.

The 'Happy Hacking' article should just be renamed 'Why Selling Out Isn't As
Fun And Cool As Black Hat Hacking'. I'm pretty disappointed in Phrack for
publishing crap like these articles.

~~~
richardk
As a student taking a CS degree for fun, I think the 'Happy Hacking' article
is fairly insightful. Not of the best quality, perhaps, but insightful none
the less.

~~~
peterwwillis
A good article would have taken the actual source material "The Happiness
Hypothesis" and not filtered it through antisec/anticorp propaganda. It's nice
that they pointed out the general idea that doing what you love as your job
doesn't always work out, but jesus fucking christ, there's so many jobs out
there I can guarantee you there's a way to do what you love and make money off
it and not grow to hate it. Nothing is set in stone.

~~~
richardk
Sure, I just get the feeling that you're lucky to find such jobs (jobs where
you can do what you love and still love doing it).

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tbeseda
For those, like myself, unsure about the significance of this post, this
digital magazine has an infrequent and lengthy release cycle. The last issue
is from 2010.

~~~
zobzu
I'm surprised how the younger generation does not seems to know all these
things. It's not like if they weren't well-known.

Sometimes I hear "what's 2600?" " _why_ is it called 2600?" from "security
professionals". Woot.

~~~
lawnchair_larry
I doubt it is related to being the younger generation. I think it is more to
do with Hacker News not having many "hackers" ;)

~~~
jcr
You might be right that there aren't many "hackers" on HN, but a lot of it has
to do with how you define the term.

As for not knowing eclectic but important bits of history like "2600" or even
who "Lawnchair Larry" was, experience takes time, and knowledge takes effort.
A good example is that most people don't know all of the available terminal
commands available on a UNIX(-ish including MacOS/iOS/Android) system, let
alone know the reasoning or history behind all those "funny" command names.

BTW, I always get a giggle out of your HN user name even though the poor
disturbed fellow who tied umteen helium balloons to a lawnchair and shutdown
airspace of Los Angeles for a few hours eventually committed suicide after
receiving his "Honorable Mention" on the Darwin Awards.

~~~
gbrindisi
> You might be right that there aren't many "hackers" on HN, but a lot of it
> has to do with how you define the term.

Exactly.

Here on HN the confusion is worsened because the definition of "hacker" has
shifted from ~"security expert" to ~"technical enterpreuner".

Nothing wrong in redefining terms but we shouldn't be surprised if outside
here hacker has another meaning.

~~~
caf
~"security expert" has never been the canonical definition.
<http://catb.org/jargon/html/H/hacker.html>

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Brad_Smith
This makes me so happy. Reading old copies of Phrack in the early to mid
nineties is one of the major things that fueled my passion for technology. I
remember at the time feeling like I was arriving too late - that all the cool
stuff had already happened. If I only knew...

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jmspring
I'm glad to see a magazine, even sporadic, that has been around on and off
since my days BBSing. It is fun to go back and read old articles in Phrack,
2600, and others...

I hope to see more.

------
jbverschoor
Would love to see a new issue of hacktic.nl

~~~
biggus_dictus
Maar ik kan niet lezen Nederlands.

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Mizza
PHUCK YEAH.

You wanna talk about news for hackers, and not this Bay Area, VC-manipulated,
water-downed, same-ol' bullshit? Phrack is real talk. If you want to travel
outside of California and actually call yourself a hacker, you're gonna need
to read this and as much of the archive as you can. Phrack 0wnz.

~~~
skrebbel
Good point. Also, why are you on this site? You can't get much more "Bay Area,
VC-manipulated, water-downed, same-ol' bullshit" than HN.

~~~
Mizza
I like both!

I live in the Bay now, and I am running a start-up project. I think that
startups are good!

I'm just coming from a culture where hacker means something very different. In
California, it seems to just mean "developer," and HackerNews should probably
just be called DeveloperNews, but really it's too late for that now, and not
really even worth talking about. Words can mean different things regionally,
and that's okay. That's the only point I was trying to make.

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sanswork
I just found my hard copy of issue 57 that they printed out for hal2001 while
sorting out old books. :) that was a great con.

~~~
sanswork
Here's a pic of the cover <http://sitethree.com/phrack.jpg> sorry for the
twitter image link but easiest way with my iPad.

(Updated link)

~~~
werid
easiest, but useless, since your account is protected.

~~~
sanswork
Ah damn I'll switch to laptop and fix this sorry.

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Inufu
wait, why can I download the .tar.gz of Issue 67, but not 68? (I get a file
with just "nice try ;-)" )

~~~
gnu8
Perhaps they've sold out and your only options are to read it on their web
site or purchase an Amazon DRMed eBook version.

~~~
Inufu
Haha, how can you be sold out of an eBook? Besides, it's a free download.

~~~
gnu8
An eBook is an abstract thing you can't be sold out of, but integrity and
desire to disseminate information freely are.

~~~
quinndupont
Well said.

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caudipublius
Thank you: The Phrack Staff.

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channi
Eventually it is out....woohoooo...was waiting for it for soooo long...:):)

