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Ask HN: Is Haxor really derogatory anymore?

1 points by kator ↗ HN
It seems early use of the term Haxor was a l33t play on making fun of people who cheat or hack games. But it seems I'm hearing this term more used in different contexts now.

What do you think a Haxor is?

3 comments

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genuine
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=haxor

  N 1. someone who kicks mass amounts of ass by using his
    mad computer skills to alter an online game, or by making
    a program to further manipulate the game, and kick more massive amounts of ass.
  N 2. The art of hacking
  N 3. A script kiddy who is a self-proclaimed hacker, 
    because he defines himself as a "hax0r" and speaks 
    in "l33t"
  Note: Most hackers rarely use leet, it is often a 
  trademark of programmers who are either inexperienced, 
  or want to be hackers. One who is haxor rarely goes 
  by "haxor" or any other derivitave. It is a title given
  by another.
As for "hacker", the definition that comes up in Google is wrong:

  hack·er  
  /ˈhakər/
  Noun
  
  1.An enthusiastic and skillful computer programmer or user.
  2.A person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data.
Instead, read this by Eric Raymond: http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html

Sometimes an HN definition of hacker seems to be "web developer" or "tech wannabe entrepreneur" (or perhaps a brogrammer pretending to be one), but that is inaccurate.

kator
Less about how to become a hacker.. I'm ok in that department.. :-)

More curious how people see the term 'Haxor' I know what it says in urban dictionary, but it seems a bit out of date IMHO..

genuine
> Less about how to become a hacker.. I'm ok in that department.. :-)

To understand the definition of "hacker", you should read that page by Eric if you haven't. Did not mean to imply anything else.

Haxor has gotten adopted by wannabe black hats/level 2 script kiddies, but that doesn't matter any more than "hacker" tends to get redefined on HN as "web developer". It is less helpful to understand what haxor means, and more important to learn what being a hacker really means: to exploit technology in a way that takes it beyond its original understood capability, and hopefully to achieve mastery of it.