Warped definition of "Hacker". WTF?

[TheDan]

Using the word "an" in front of any word that starts with an "h" like "history" instead of only words that start with a vowel sound like "hour" and "honor" is totally grammatically incorrect.

Wait... So it's supposed to be "an hour" and "an honor"? I've always used "a honor" and "a hour"

 

[TERRor]

There are "White Hat" hackers and "Black Hat" Hackers. White hat's are the one's that our very own .gov uses to stop malicious attacks coming from places like China, Vietnam, North Korea, Iran, etc. White hat's also look for security flaws and exploits in production software and inform the companies so those flaws can be patched.

Black Hat's are the ones who cause harm.

There is a difference.

 

[Rum Runner]

Wait... So it's supposed to be "an hour" and "an honor"? I've always used "a honor" and "a hour"

I am not sure if you are serious or not, so I will assume you are just in case it helps.

A vs AN:
If the word that follows starts with a vowel sound then you use AN otherwise it is A. The thing that trips most people up is a word like honor or hour. They don't start with a vowel, but unless you have some strange accent, the H is silent when you pronounce them. So, it is an honor and an hour.

Within the last 5-10 years, it has become more popular to use AN in front of any word starting with an H like historic. However, when you pronounce historic the H is NOT silent. So saying something like this is wrong: "The signing of today's bill represents an historic event."

Acronyms tend to get screwed up too, but the same rules apply. It is all about the next sound.

So the following are correct:
a historic event
an orange shirt
an hour or two
an NFA* item
a SAAMI* recommended maximum pressure
a UFO was seen


*These ones are tricky because sometimes people list the letters in an acronym like NFA that people pronounce enn eff eh, Yet sometimes people pronounce acronyms like the were words like SAAMI is usually pronounced like sammy as opposed to being spelled out like ess eh...

 

[nalioth]

There are "White Hat" hackers and "Black Hat" Hackers. White hat's are the one's that our very own .gov uses to stop malicious attacks coming from places like China, Vietnam, North Korea, Iran, etc. White hat's also look for security flaws and exploits in production software and inform the companies so those flaws can be patched.

Black Hat's are the ones who cause harm.

There is a difference.

Said naming conventions are a recent addition, and have come about due to the misuse of the word "hacker".

A vs AN:
If the word that follows starts with a vowel sound then you use AN otherwise it is A. The thing that trips most people up is a word like honor or hour. They don't start with a vowel, but unless you have some strange accent, the H is silent when you pronounce them. So, it is an honor and an hour.

<snip>

So the following are correct:
a historic event

Really? When did "i" stop being a vowel?

 

[Rum Runner]

There are "White Hat" hackers and "Black Hat" Hackers. White hat's are the one's that our very own .gov uses to stop malicious attacks coming from places like China, Vietnam, North Korea, Iran, etc. White hat's also look for security flaws and exploits in production software and inform the companies so those flaws can be patched.

Black Hat's are the ones who cause harm.

There is a difference.

I have never heard those terms, but my google fu says they are popular. Damn I must be getting old. Anyway, I can totally see where you are going there. Of course the emergence of hackers had to create those who try to stop the hackers who in turn have to have the same skill set. And just like china has government employed hackers it would be naive to think that we don't. And those people should be respected. I just don't like associating anything positive with the term. I would prefer something like hackers and counter hackers.

 

[TrailDust]

I take no sense of ill will from Wolfwood or sense of attack from Traildust.

That's why I love you, man, in that admiring John Wayne sort of way.............

 

[Wolfwood]

I have never heard those terms, but my google fu says they are popular. Damn I must be getting old. Anyway, I can totally see where you are going there. Of course the emergence of hackers had to create those who try to stop the hackers who in turn have to have the same skill set. And just like china has government employed hackers it would be naive to think that we don't. And those people should be respected. I just don't like associating anything positive with the term. I would prefer something like hackers and counter hackers.

that is a very similar school of thought to what i have become accustomed to.

i guess it is just hard for me to wrap my mind around your H vs CH ... i would automatically be thinking the counter hackers are the bad guys lol.

white hats and black hats seem to be pretty obvious...

anyway, im still shocked this got brought up on this forum... as it's own thread. i guess i started it huh?

lol.

i wonder if we ever did battle Rum Runner? from '95 to i guess a few years back i have been an active internet vigilante.

though i doubt it. i mainly went after kiddie pr0n servers (for some reason the ones in CA are super easy to locate.) but a little "spy vs spy" action... (i was the white spy ofcourse. lol)

 

[Rum Runner]

No chance.
As dumb as I was, kiddie porn was never on the list. Some of the best and worst were the ANSI artists. Animated porn on a monochrome amber or green screen was always interesting to say the least. Once we got color screens and 256-color images, we thought it was amazing. It was kind of fun tho, sitting there for like 1/2 hour waiting for the image to download never knowing if it was going to be awsome, horrible, or just gross. I think about that stuff and it must be how my mom feels when she talks about growing up and using an outhouse. Comparing ANSI or even 256=color GIFs to streaming high def porn is just beyond words.

Anyway, the other reason there is no chance is that in November of 1992 I did a complete 180 in my life. That was only one of the things I left behind. Literally left everything behind to start a new life as a new person in a new location with a new attitude and new values. There were a few backslides, but all in all I am truly lucky and I am much happier. I just hope my kids never find out, ya know?

As for hacker...I dunno. The term is always gonna leave a bad taste, I think. No disrespect intended.

 

[Wolfwood]

have to admit, even though some of the stuff was in the gray area legally, it was always nice to see it in the news later when the FBI nailed those pervs to the wall.

 

[TheDan]

Within the last 5-10 years, it has become more popular to use AN in front of any word starting with an H like historic.

That's not new. That's old... very old.
[video]http://youtu.be/NP8bWU6zIos[/video]

...and yes, I was being serious. Never really thought too hard about it. I don't devote very many brain cycles to spelling and grammar. I figure as long as my general point has come across, the goal of communication is met.

 

[prometheus]

Wait... So it's supposed to be "an hour" and "an honor"? I've always used "a honor" and "a hour"

Uhh... did you really just ask that question??
Y

 

[Angered_Kabar]

I didn't bother to read the rest of this thread so I apologize if we've been through this.

Phreakers are the guys that exploited phone systems. Like getting free long distance, getting free access to voice mail systems owned by people that didn't realize it.

Hackers have said they've been around since the 50s I think. They would preform pranks during college football games and some pranks might be rather famous. I don't remember the specifics but one game had a balloon magically appear from the field at the 50 yard mark until it popped in a cloud of white smoke. Weeks earlier they dug a hole and ran a hose from a vacuum cleaner to the field underground and covered it up somehow. Then when the halftime show started they plugged the vacuum cleaner in. It's that kind of clever attitude that let hackers approach computers and come up with some really neat ideas and silly names for the programs they created.

There was this experimental operating system at MIT decades ago where every user had full privileges. You could destroy all the data in a couple keystrokes if you wanted to. You could improve the software or write new software if you wanted to. There was a program that came with the operating system by standard that let you spy on what someone else was doing. It was called OS for Output Spy. Someone created a program that stopped OS and named it JEDGAR for J. Edgar Hoover. The term 'Luser' comes from here. Someone kept replacing 'User' in the online documentation with 'Loser' and that pissed some people off so they changed it back to 'User'. Eventually someone replaced it with 'Luser' and the term stuck.

Then there is this text editor that's evolved into something so massive it can be your therapist and check your email. It's called EMACS. A bunch of people created their own versions of it through the years and one was called EINE (EINE Is Not Emacs). Someone branched from EINE and called it ZWEI (ZWEI Was EINE Initially).

This stuff is what hackers did.

 

[M. Sage]

I didn't bother to read the rest of this thread so I apologize if we've been through this.

Phreakers are the guys that exploited phone systems. Like getting free long distance, getting free access to voice mail systems owned by people that didn't realize it.

Hackers have said they've been around since the 50s I think. They would preform pranks during college football games and some pranks might be rather famous. I don't remember the specifics but one game had a balloon magically appear from the field at the 50 yard mark until it popped in a cloud of white smoke. Weeks earlier they dug a hole and ran a hose from a vacuum cleaner to the field underground and covered it up somehow. Then when the halftime show started they plugged the vacuum cleaner in. It's that kind of clever attitude that let hackers approach computers and come up with some really neat ideas and silly names for the programs they created.

There was this experimental operating system at MIT decades ago where every user had full privileges. You could destroy all the data in a couple keystrokes if you wanted to. You could improve the software or write new software if you wanted to. There was a program that came with the operating system by standard that let you spy on what someone else was doing. It was called OS for Output Spy. Someone created a program that stopped OS and named it JEDGAR for J. Edgar Hoover. The term 'Luser' comes from here. Someone kept replacing 'User' in the online documentation with 'Loser' and that pissed some people off so they changed it back to 'User'. Eventually someone replaced it with 'Luser' and the term stuck.

Then there is this text editor that's evolved into something so massive it can be your therapist and check your email. It's called EMACS. A bunch of people created their own versions of it through the years and one was called EINE (EINE Is Not Emacs). Someone branched from EINE and called it ZWEI (ZWEI Was EINE Initially).

This stuff is what hackers did.

Yep.

In computer terms, "hacking" originally meant modifying a computer program to suit your needs better.

The dangers of malicious hacks is pretty overrated, mostly because people don't understand how things work.

 

[Texas1911]

You're all wrong!

 

[Fisherman777]

and a nerd is anyone who argues about, or gives a shit what hacker, cracker or phreaker mean.

THANK YOU!!!

 

[Wolfwood]

You're all wrong!

you are right dood.

a hacker is a golf player who really sucks.

 

[codygjohnson]

a hacker is a golf player who really sucks.

an axe-wielding maniac in a slasher flick.

 

[Wolfwood]

or jakash sitting at home watching slutload.

oh wait, thats a jacker.

 

[codygjohnson]

or jakash sitting at home watching slutload.

oh wait, thats a jacker.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaay faster than motherless.

 

[Wolfwood]

hfs