[hackerspaces] Out with the "hackers"... In with the "makers" and the "fixers"

Volatile Compound volatilecompound at gmail.com
Tue Nov 29 06:05:07 CET 2011


On 11/28/11 8:57 PM, B F wrote:
> First two pages of a Google search on "hacker" (no hyperlinks included
> -- you can find these yourself on Google).  There may be a  few
> positive uses of the word in this list, but they're hard to find among
> the negatives.

Nothing new here.  It's been happening since at least the '80s.

> Say what you will, this is what the world conceives
> hackers to be.  You folks can try to buck this trend, but I have
> better ways to spend my time than to defend a word that is of no
> importance to me.

For a word of little importance to you that you have no interest in 
defending, you certainly seem to be willing to spend a great deal of 
time attempting to eradicate it from the local jargon.

If the connotations of the word 'hacker' in the term 'hackerspace' make 
you uneasy, then perhaps hackerspaces just aren't your thing.  Which is 
fine; we get that they're not for everyone, and that's why there are 
other societies and associations out there which may be more relevant to 
your particular needs.  But don't expect the word you don't care for (or 
about) to go away any time soon.

- skroo.


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