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Williams, Sam

"Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software"

The most noteworthy version, itself dating
back to the pressure-filled world of MIT student life
in the 1950s, is "I hate this fucking place." In 1990,
however, the Museum used the acronym as a basis for a
journal on the history of hacks. Titled, The Institute
for Hacks Tomfoolery and Pranks, the journal offers an
adept summary of the hacking.
"In the culture of hacking, an elegant, simple creation
is as highly valued as it is in pure science," writes
Boston Globe reporter Randolph Ryan in a 1993 article
attached to the police car exhibit. "A Hack differs
from the ordinary college prank in that the event
usually requires careful planning, engineering and
finesse, and has an underlying wit and inventiveness,"
Ryan writes. "The unwritten rule holds that a hack
should be good-natured, non-destructive and safe. In
fact, hackers sometimes assist in dismantling their own
handiwork."
The urge to confine the culture of computer hacking
within the same ethical boundaries is well-meaning but
impossible.


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