Jargon File:
I started to browse the glossary accessible in the jargon file. I never thought that there are lots of expressions and words defined by hackers which are quite large. Looking here and there, the word “filter” caught my eyes. I was curious to learn what the difference is between my understanding and hackers’ definition of this word. Not only this word but also most of the words I browsed and had a look, were difficult and sort of technical for me to understand. Here you see the meaning of “filter” found in jargon file:
- filter: n.
[very common; orig. Unix] A program that processes an input data stream into an output data stream in some well-defined way, and does no I/O to anywhere else except possibly on error conditions; one designed to be used as a stage in a pipeline (see plumbing). Compare sponge.
If I understood correctly, filter processes the given data to provide well-defined data as a result. This meaning of filter sounds positive whereas my understanding of the word was more about removal of data which had more negative expression. Now, I am wondering whether the word carries more positive or harmful value!
Hacker ethic
Searching the word “hacker” in Wikipedia results in:
- Hacker (computer security) or cracker, who accesses a computer system by circumventing its security system
I think that the real meaning of hacker has changed nowadays. Most of the time (maybe except the real hackers) the meaning for hacker equals to cracker. It is a pity that the meaning has changed for people and they usually do not have any idea what the hacker culture and ethic are, additionally they might call hackers as nerds! Since the hacker ethic is not known for people at the present time; although, the ethic itself is still appreciated by many professionals in the field. Out of hacker ethic defined by Himanen, hacker network ethic (nethic) remarkably effects on decentralization of information by promoting the open source concept.
Interactive Media 