- Hacker Manifesto
"The Conscience of a Hacker" (also known as "The Hacker Manifesto") is a small essay written
January 8 1986 by a hacker who went by the handle (orpseudonym ) of The Mentor (bornLoyd Blankenship ). It was written after the author's arrest, and first published in the underground hacker ezine "Phrack " in Volume One, Issue 7,Phile 3 of 10. Today it can be found on countless websites.It is considered a cornerstone of
hacker culture , and it gives some insight into thepsychology of early hackers. It is said to have shaped the hacker community's view of itself and its motivations. "The Manifesto" states that hackers choose to hack because it is a way for them to learn, and because they are often frustrated and bored by the limitations of standard society. It also expresses thesatori of a hacker realizing his potential in the realm of computers.To this day, the "Manifesto" acts as a guideline to hackers across the globe, especially those new to the field. It serves as an ethical foundation for hacking, and asserts that there is a point to hacking that supersedes selfish desires to exploit or harm other people, and that technology should be used to expand our horizons and try to keep the world free.
The article is quoted in the
1995 movie "Hackers", although in the movie it is being read from an issue of the hacker magazine "2600", not the historically accurate "Phrack ". It is also reproduced inside the CD case of the computer game "Uplink"."A Hacker Manifesto" is also the name of a book written by media studies professor
McKenzie Wark .The Mentor gave a reading of "The Hacker Manifesto" and offered additional insight at H2K2.
ee also
*
Timeline of computer security hacker history
*Phrack External links
* [http://www.phrack.org/issues.html?issue=7&id=3&mode=txt The original article "The Conscience of a Hacker"] on [http://www.phrack.org/ phrack.org archive]
*ElfQrin [http://www.elfqrin.com/docs/hakref/interviews/eq-i-mentor.html interview with The Mentor (July 31, 2000)]
* [http://www.h2k2.net/panels.html#mentor The Mentor at H2K2]
* [http://www.neme.org/main/291/hacker-manifesto McKenzie Wark - A Hacker Manifesto]
* [http://www.totse.com/en/hack/introduction_to_hacking/manifsto.html TOTSE archive]
* [http://www.mithral.com/~beberg/manifesto.html The Hacker Manifesto]
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