3363ewf@houxm.UUCP (09/16/83)
After my attempt to correct people on the use of the word
hacker, i.e., nothing to do with computers, I received
many replies saying basically that if a word is generally
accepted to mean something it is ok to use it for that meaning
even if it is not shown in a dictionary. Well, the
"generally accepted" meaning of the word hacker seems to be
a computer break in artist as construed by the general public.
Yet many computer people feel that this is not right. Seems
to me that by the replies I got from computer people we must
accept the definition as most people understand it-- a computer
break in artist. All hackers in the computer sense should now
report to their local police dept.
Gene Foster
houxm!3363ewf