HACKER [originally, someone who makes furniture with an axe] n. 1. A person who enjoys learning the details of programming systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. 2. One who programs enthusiastically, or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming. 3. A person capable of appreciating hack value (q.v.). 4. A person who is good at programming quickly. Not everything a hacker produces is a hack. 5. An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; example: "A SAIL hacker". (Definitions 1 to 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.) 6. A malicious or inquisitive meddler who tries to discover information by poking around. Hence "password hacker", "network hacker". -- The Original Hacker's Dictionary
Edit: I didn't downvoted you, I think people were a bit unfair, but I wanted to point that the word hacker already had a variety of meanings even 30 years ago.
> I wanted to point that the word hacker already had a variety of meanings even 30 years ago.
I agree with this, but the snippet from the book suggests it's the other way around--that "hacker" used to mean criminal and has only now begun to mean positive things.
Edit: I didn't downvoted you, I think people were a bit unfair, but I wanted to point that the word hacker already had a variety of meanings even 30 years ago.