

The non-technical hacker - lenkendall
http://www.wwtid.com/2012/10/31/a-non-technical-resource-to-hacking-the-web/

======
unimpressive
"The term “hacker” has morphed in meaning over the years. It started off as a
way to describe folks trying to circumvent computer security (and it still
is), then it became more of a pop-culture reference to web developers in
general (still is), and today a term that’s frequently appending other types
of specialties and industies."

Stopped reading here. But then read it anyway, so I could see where it was
going.

I think that; if you go ahead and read a book like _Hackers: Heroes of the
computer revolution_ you'll find that the only definition in the article that
_wasn't_ there at the start (Or at least implied, replacing the 'web
developer' Jab with 'good computer programmer'.) is the security one.

A lot of the coolest hacks done by MIT hackers on their surface had nothing to
do with computers, besides a computer being tangentially involved.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_%28programmer_subculture...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_%28programmer_subculture%29)

~~~
ZephyrP
Lets not be so quick to forget that the term hacker originally meant...
someone messing around with other people's computer systems without their
permission before it took on the benign connotation among computer
enthusiasts[1]. The antedating of the term hacker is really quite something.

[1] [http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-
bin/wa?A2=ind0306B&...](http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-
bin/wa?A2=ind0306B&L=ads-l&P=R5831&m=24290)

~~~
unimpressive
It originally meant a lot of things.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phreaker>

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_%28term%29#Overlaps_and_...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_%28term%29#Overlaps_and_differences\[1\])

[1]: "The main basic difference between programmer subculture and computer
security hackers is their mostly separate historical origin and development.
However, the Jargon File reports that considerable overlap existed for the
early phreaking at the beginning of the 1970s. An article from MIT's student
paper The Tech used the term hacker in this context already in 1963 in its
pejorative meaning for someone messing with the phone system.[10] The overlap
quickly started to break when people joined in the activity who did it in a
less responsible way.[28] This was the case after the publication of an
article exposing the activities of Draper and Engressias." - Wikipedia; Tue
Nov 6 16:27:58 PST 2012

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Pewpewarrows
As someone who works in the security industry, I can tell you that we really
get a kick out of every coffeeshop Rails or JavaScript developer who throws
together a quick demo over a weekend and calls it "hacking."

I'm well aware of the history of the subculture and that the term precedes
infiltration of computer systems. But that doesn't make every night that you
stay up late programming a "hacking" session.

~~~
omnisci
But what if you have a cool hair style and listen to electronic music at the
same time!? I thought that was the definition of a h4x0r. :)

------
SnowLprd
Clicking on the link to an article titled “The Non-technical Hacker” results
in “Error establishing database connection.” An example of truth in
advertising?

~~~
lenkendall
After this started getting upvoted my blog went down...odd timing.

~~~
dpritchett
Try this: <https://www.cloudflare.com/features-cdn>

Edit: More specifically, try it from the Bluehost cPanel:
<https://my.bluehost.com/cgi/help/cloudflare>

~~~
lenkendall
I installed cloudflare and de-activated the twitter widget that was being
attacked. It fixed the issue. Thanks so much for your help!

------
topbanana
My children are hackers then apparently

~~~
DeepDuh
That's an interesting thought actually. Maybe hackers are those who 'kept
their child inside'?

~~~
dpritchett
" _In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind
there are few._ "

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshin>

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aortega
I like the old-school definition. When I hear somebody calling himself a
hacker, it looks to me like when a teenager powder its face and call himself a
vampire. Kid, you are not a vampire. Vampires are horrible creatures that
sucks blood. Developers are not hackers, hackers enter your computer to steal
stuff from you, and love it. (that said, I'm posting in a site calling "hacker
news" heh)

~~~
pdonis
_hackers enter your computer to steal stuff from you, and love it_

Those are crackers, not hackers.

<http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html#what_is>

 _(that said, I'm posting in a site calling "hacker news" heh)_

That's because pg understands the correct use of this terminology.

~~~
aortega
>Those are crackers, not hackers.

No, crackers are people that bypass software copy protections.

Arguing about non-formal language definitions is absurd anyway.

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lenkendall
My blog went down after this started to spread... hmmm.

"Error establishing a database connection"

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dpritchett
Google cache:
[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:LwOvI6a...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:LwOvI6aCLKkJ:www.wwtid.com/2012/10/31/a-non-
technical-resource-to-hacking-the-web/)

------
lenkendall
Confirmed with bluehost:

"It looks like the reason you are running into these problems is due to the
CPU throttling that your account is intermittently undergoing."

------
teekarja
Thanks for the laughs :>

<http://wavesum.net/lol.png>

