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

[Mars brown]

Well... how about making some "HACKING IS NOT A CRIME" stickers like the
skateboarding stickers we used in the 80's.
Kinda the same delima... skaters were ruffians and hooligans in the public
eye.

Actually - if this is such a issue that is cared about so much - why don't
we all (especially the more established and attention worthy spaces) make
it part of their mission to clear up the name?
Great promotional material there... I can easily see the local news media
covering some interviews since it uses such a hot keyword like "HACKER"
oooh aaah -  especially since it's a news worthy twist on the word -
educating - relating - and general having non-malicious fun tinkering with
computers/electronics/stuff.... and all in a creative and exciting way!

Honestly - it blew me away when I first discovered the new use of the word
-

in the 80's - a hacker was a (general public eye) socially disgruntled
malicious individual with elements of sociopathy and the power to express
it all in a culture very new to dependencies on digital things.  Relatively
little media coverage was present... and if you were not a hacker
(negative) - you were a computer geek.

in the 90's was the first time I ever heard of different colored hats....
white / black / grey... but still it was referencing only
security/countersecurity of networks and data and such (mostly...
disclaiming to prevent petty arguements)
If you wanted to find any software or tools for hacking - they weren't
called makerbot cupcakes, beagle data analyzers, arduino/processing,
hammers and modified toys...
NOPE - we used software called SATAN, Cain and Abel, Back Orifice...
and had global organizations to publish sensitive data that the FBI
subscribes to - and that was the scene...
Even our local 2600 - which was mostly white with a couple of shades of
grey - our big y2k conference (not about y2k) had tshirts printed of some
picture of pompei type of catastrophe with the words underneath "That whole
Y2K thing?  That was us."
That was the embracing of the whole counterculture aspect even though none
of us were malicious.. (or if we ever where we kinda grew up)


Basically the word hacker means something to the public eye... who even
coined the term?  Was it a news reporter in the tone of keying a label
first?  like naming the serial killer?
That's what a hacker is to some people... the name of a serial killer.
OH WELL...

It means something else now to alot of us and I think it's great...
It distinguishes a hackerspace from a makerspace to me in that I know if I
go to a meeting - I'll be assured it's more digital and electro dohickery.
A makerspace is fantastic too.. but it's not as specific - and whereas
sometimes I'm into macrame - it's nice to have a place that's pretty much
100% technocyberdelichyperactivity with similarly interested people...

But the term hacking and hacker was the single and only verbage that USED
to be related to the whole scene... and that was a counterculture scene.

Hackerspaces are not counterculture at all.... but it uses the single word
that defined a Techno Counterculture individual.
It's maybe a shame that the media didn't grab onto Cyberpunk - but if they
did - wouldn't we call ourselves cyberpunks?  (rhetoric... not queue for
arguement)
I think part of the reason the term hacker appeals is the old world
image.... the midnight hacker.... but aren't we really more of midnight
engineers?
That btw was the name of a magazine in the 90's i used to read that was ALL
about what gos on in hackerspaces.  It didn't mention HACK though...
that was 2600 - the HACKER quarterly.  Good magazine (midnight engineer)...
i remember the article regarding removing black epoxy on IC's that were
meant to close source the use of a simple  CMOS chip in some product.

So we're stuck with HACKER in the name hackerspace... it has some
historical connotations...
Let's make lemonade and use it to attract people from being afraid of
electronics... or rather magic for most of the public...
It seems like we could use some public redefining of "hacker" as a vehicle
to educate and incubate interest in what we all are aparently pretty
passionate about!

BTW - what did happen to the evolution of the term hacker in the 2000's...
all i remember was everyone wardriving, packetsniffing, and oldskoolers
makiing fun of 31337 krypt skiddies while working for the man for 6 figure
salaries.  Oh the H4X0R... it was H4X1N6 then....

Anyhow... sorry for the long comment... hope it doesn't just help fuel
wheel spinning. and bickering... let's think positive after accepting any
negative and become active to change if it matters to ya!



On Sun, Nov 27, 2011 at 12:53 PM, Rubin Abdi <rubin at starset.net> wrote:

> I try my best to not have my vocabulary refined and dictated by
> mainstream media. One of the general goals of Noisebridge is to educate,
> part of that is to reclaim the term hacker as our own.
>
> While visiting Pumping Station: One about a year or so ago, a discussion
> got thrown around regarding doing exactly what you're proposing. Some
> members felt the catch phrase "Chicago's Hacker Space" (or was it "Your
> Chicago's Hacker Space" don't remember) was spreading the wrong message.
> Anyhow the discussion went in circles for that night and no one really
> won (where I see this thread going). I see now they're catch phrase is
> "Make. Hack. Craft." which I think is great and works for both crowds.
>
> Additionally to people "making" and "creating" stuff at Noisebridge, we
> also totally hack things in the conventional sense.
>
> If I gave up and let mainstream media and the general public direct me
> in what words to use when describing who I am because I didn't want to
> spend the time to educate them, I would have a white armband on with
> blue stitching labeling out "TERRORIST FAGGOT IMMIGRANT HIPPIE COMMUNIST
> CAMEL JOCKEY RAPIST HACKER". I would throw STEAM PUNK in there (there's
> a true story behind that) but that might seem a bit ironic for the wrong
> reasons. :)
>
> --
> Rubin
> rubin at starset.net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
> http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.hackerspaces.org/pipermail/discuss/attachments/20111129/a6fecb80/attachment-0001.html>