In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

| 99 8 Phreaks, Hackers, and Trolls The Politics of Transgression and Spectacle E. Gabriella Coleman Among academics, journalists, and hackers, it is common to define hackers not only by their inquisitive demeanor, the extreme joy they garner from uninterrupted hacking sprints, and the technological artifacts they create but also by the “hacker ethic.” Journalist Steven Levy first defined the hacker ethic in Hackers: Heroes of the Revolution, published in 1984. The hacker ethic is shorthand for a mix of aesthetic and pragmatic imperatives: a commitment to information freedom, a mistrust of authority, a heightened dedication to meritocracy, and the firm belief that computers can be the basis for beauty and a better world.1 In many respects, the fact that academics, journalists, and many hackers refer to the existence of this ethic is testament not only to the superb account that Levy offers—it is still one of the finest and most thoroughgoing accounts on hacking—but to the fact that the hacker ethic in the most general sense can be said to exist. For example, many of the principles motivating free and open-source software (F/OSS) philosophy reinstantiate, refine, extend, and clarify many of those original precepts.2 However, over the years, the concept has been overly used and has become reified. Indeed as I learned more about the contemporary face of hacking and its history during the course of my fieldwork on free and open-source software hacking, I started to see significant problems in positing any simple connection between all hackers and an unchanging ethic. Falling back on the story of the hacker ethic elides tensions and differences that exist among hackers.3 Although hacker ethical principles may have a common core—one might even say a general ethos—further inquiry soon demonstrates that, similar to any cultural sphere, we can easily identify variance, ambiguity, and, at times, even serious points of contention. 100 | E. Gabriella Coleman Take for instance the outlandish and probably not entirely serious (but not entirely frivolous) accusation launched by a hacker bearing a spectacular and provocative name, the “UNIX Terrorist.” He is featured in the hacker e-zine Phrack, which reached its popular zenith in the late 1980s and the early 1990s.4 The UNIX Terrorist claims that a class of so-called hackers, those who write free and open-source software, such as the Linux operating system and the enormously popular Firefox browser, are not deserving of the moniker “hacker”: Nowadays, it is claimed that the Chinese and even women are hacking things. Man, am I ever glad I got a chance to experience “the scene” before it degenerated completely. And remember, kids, knowing how to program or wanting really badly to figure out how things work inside doesn’t make you a hacker! Hacking boxes makes you a “hacker”! That’s right! Write your local representatives at Wikipedia/urbandictionary/OED and let them know that hackers are people that gain unauthorized access/ privileges to computerized systems! Linus Torvalds isn’t a hacker! Richard Stallman isn’t a hacker! Niels Provos isn’t a hacker! Fat/ugly, maybe! Hackers , no! And what is up with the use of the term “cracker”? As far as I’m concerned, that term applies to people that bypass copyright protection mechanisms. Vladimir Levin? hacker. phiber optik? hacker. Kevin Mitnick ? OK maybe a gay/bad one, but still was a “hacker.” Hope that’s clear.5 Hackers do not universally invoke this type of policing between “good” and “bad” or “authentic” and “inauthentic.”6 Some hackers recognize the diversity of hacking and also acknowledge that, despite differences, hacking hangs together around a loose but interconnected set of issues, values, experiences, and artifacts. For instance, hackers tend to uphold a value for freedom, privacy, and access; they tend to adore computers—the cultural glue that binds them together; they are trained in highly specialized and technical esoteric arts, including programming, systems administration, and security research; some gain unauthorized access to technologies, though the degree of illegality greatly varies (and much of hacking is fully legal).Despite a parade of similarities, if we are to understand the political and cultural significance of hacking and its role in shaping and influencing segments of contemporary Internet cultures—such as Internet trolling—every effort must be made to address its ethical and social variability. While Levy, and countless others, locate the birth of hacking at MIT and similar university institutions during the late 1950s, it may be more accu- [3...

Share