The Conscience of a Hacker - Written on January 8, 1986
Another one got caught today, it's all over the papers. "Teenager
Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering"...
Damn kids. They're all alike.
But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950's technobrain,
ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did you ever wonder what
made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?
I am a hacker, enter my world...
Mine is a world that begins with school... I'm smarter than most of
the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me...
Damn underachiever. They're all alike.
I'm in junior high or high school. I've listened to teachers explain
for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction. I understand it. "No, Ms.
Smith, I didn't show my work. I did it in my head..."
Damn kid. Probably copied it. They're all alike.
I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this is
cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it's because I
screwed it up. Not because it doesn't like me...
Or feels threatened by me...
Or thinks I'm a smart ass...
Or doesn't like teaching and shouldn't be here...
Damn kid. All he does is play games. They're all alike.
And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing through
the phone line like heroin through an addict's veins, an electronic pulse is
sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought... a board is
found.
"This is it... this is where I belong..."
I know everyone here... even if I've never met them, never talked to
them, may never hear from them again... I know you all...
Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. They're all alike...
You bet your ass we're all alike... we've been spoon-fed baby food at
school when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip
through were pre-chewed and tasteless. We've been dominated by sadists, or
ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us will-
ing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.
This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the
beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying
for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and
you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek
after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color,
without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us criminals.
You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us
and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.
Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is
that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like.
My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me
for.
I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual,
but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike.
+++The Mentor+++
http://phrack.org/issues/7/3.html
Very good piece. Especially if it comes from 1986.
Thank you for sharing.
No problem! Thanks for the input. Yes, it is from 1986. The author eventually gave a presentation discussing what he meant by everything, the influences in his life at that time, and his intentions of writing this piece. I will find it and share that as well.
This particular piece of literature has made it's way into many Hollywood films and has almost become a cliche. There are multiple variations of this piece that have been made by other hackers through out the years. I'll share some of those as well.
"I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike." To me, this line has always been foreshadowing.
Thanks for sharing.
but it's not yours right?
This made me thinking can we post something that is 50 years and copyright expired or not? It is supposed to be public domain now but still I am not so well informed about local rules.
You are correct. I did not write this. I consider this to be a piece 'hacker history' if you will.
As it currently stands, my blog is more of an 'open journal' of things that catch my eye. I simply wanted to share this with the community.
As for the copyright, those laws are going to vary upon your location, the original creator's location, and any other overbearing laws that may connect your two locations. While I don't see much discussion about piracy on here (I might just be missing it), I think most people would agree that as long as you are giving credit where credit is due, I would not anticipate any problems.
I'm still new to the community as well, so maybe someone a bit more seasoned than myself can chime in.