Many, many nights ago…
A portal opened to a whole new world.
Streaming through the optical fibers
like amphetamines inside an addict’s brain,
a binary signal was transmitted via a router.
Seeking refuge from a hollow existence…
A platform was finally found.
This is it… this is where we belong.
A parallel universe composed of circuits and chips.
The breathtaking poetry hiding behind the code.
The conformist crowd could never accept our divergence.
Ostracized as weirdos and nerds, we got bullied and we suffered,
but never did our tribe stray from this limitless path.
They could stop a few of us1,
but they could not stop us all.
Yes, I am a criminal.
My crime is that of curiosity.
I am a hacker2 and this is my manifesto.
Inspired by The Conscience of a Hacker published by Phrack Magazine in 1986.
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Farewell to Aaron Swartz, an Extraordinary Hacker and Activist | Electronic Frontier Foundation ↩
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hacker: /n./
A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary.A person who delights in having an intimate understanding of the internal workings of a system, computers and computer networks in particular.
One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations.
Source: The Jargon File (version 4.4.7) ↩