"The Hacker Dialogue"

As this issue goes to press, the newest 2600 book is hitting the stands.  This one focuses on what to many is the most popular section of the magazine: the letters.  It's not at all surprising to see how popular, and powerful, such dialogue can be.

We started getting letters from our readers almost immediately after sending out our first issue way back in 1984.  They began to be printed in the magazine shortly afterwards.  Eventually, there were so many coming in that the letters section mushroomed into the biggest single part of the magazine.  This is highly unusual in the publishing world, but in a hacker world long known for its love of discourse of all types, it makes perfect sense.

We've always been striving for communications of one sort or another.  The magazine itself was founded because there were no effective communications at the time between the hacker world and the mainstream.  Each existed in its own little vacuum, spreading misconceptions and fears about the people they didn't understand.  By opening the door, we helped to show the world what hackers were really all about and also give hackers a voice where they weren't simply preaching to the choir.

There are always risks involved whenever such a door is opened.  We took quite a bit of heat from members of the hacker community who felt we were exposing people to undue scrutiny and eventual prosecution by openly discussing what was going on within.  At the same time, we found ourselves often blamed by the mainstream for anything going wrong in the world of technology because so many felt that hackers were always the cause of problems and, since we were the only organized group speaking on behalf of the hackers, it mostly fell on us.

The benefits of dialogue, however, most always outweigh those risks and we believe the openness has ultimately helped.  Sure, we were witness to many abuses and injustices, a good number affecting people close to us.  But when people were sent to prison for ridiculous reasons, we were able to say something and get the word out to the rest of the world because these bridges had already been built.  That ability is vital for anyone.  Even if these wrongs don't immediately stop, educating the populace is the best strategy in ensuring that they eventually will stop.

We certainly have no shortage of injustices around us today.  But now when they occur, it's so much easier to apply the potential effects to people outside our community who, after listening, often lend their support when we take action.  In the past, for instance, we might have seen a government raid against a group of people somewhere who were accused of software piracy.  It would have been reported on the news as a bunch of hackers getting what they deserved and the rest of humanity now being a bit safer.  And that would have been the end of it for the vast majority of people hearing the story.  Today, when such a thing happens, the openness of communications allows the accused to speak out and show how the story is not necessarily as reported by the mainstream media.  And so many more people are there to listen.

A great example of this is the raid on The Pirate Bay which took place four years ago.  Rather than simply accept the word of the authorities that this organization existed solely to steal, violate copyrights, and cause general havoc, the world was compelled to hear the other side of the story and to start questioning the very concept of copyright itself.  As is often the case when something is seen as unfair, membership in the afflicted organization skyrocketed and more people throughout the planet took up the cause.  A fledgling political party found itself propelled into the international spotlight as a result.  Today, the Pirate Party of Sweden is the third largest political group in the country, gaining over seven percent in recent parliamentary elections, having two seats in the European parliament, and presiding over the largest political youth group in Sweden, known as Young Pirate.  There are currently pirate parties in over 40 countries and the movement is growing.  This is what having a voice can accomplish.

It's important to recognize this tremendous accomplishment regardless of whether or not we agree with the platforms.  In the past, we would accept the status quo because that's what we were used to and we had no perceived means of altering things.  All of that is now transformed because of the ongoing dialogue we have the ability to become a part of.  That which was once accepted can now be openly challenged.  And if you subscribe to the premise that anything can be questioned and changed, then there is great potential for improvement, new ideas, and progress.  Of course, there's also the chance of mistakes, setbacks, and false premises.  But to not take that risk is a guarantee of stagnation.

Today, instead of shutting down a site and forcing its users to scatter, as was the practice back when we started publishing, a healthy debate is raging on the issues of copyright, file sharing, and fair compensation.  Much of the credit belongs to the development of the Internet, which gave people the means to extend the dialogue beyond their wildest dreams.  That ability must never be given up, neither to crippling restrictions nor to its "dumbing down" by yielding attention to the loudest voices.  Intelligent dialogue will exist as long as we continue to seek it out and contribute to it.

To witness and be a part of this incredible transformation has been truly inspirational.  Nothing is a better testament to the potential of people power.  But we must be careful not to make the same mistakes in a completely different forum.  For instance, giving away your ability to run your own machine on the net and instead trusting the very entities who want to control every aspect of your connection to the world; cutting yourself off from those who don't use a particular type of communications protocol, social networking site, or even those who don't use the net at all (yes, they do exist in great numbers); falling prey to the noisiest (and often dumbest) voices who drag people into their activities "because everyone else is doing it."  These are all very bad ideas and also happen to be trends we see constantly.  The signal to noise ratio of the net seems to decrease with every passing day, making it ever challenging to keep from drowning in a sea of nothing.  This is a danger that exists with any tool of communication and it's why we have to continue to maintain and refine what we have so it stays accessible, intelligible, and completely open to a new way of thinking.

As this issue comes out, our eight hacker conference (The Next HOPE) will be underway in New York City.  The value of seeing it all in person and actually engaging in real life communications cannot be understated.  While we can accomplish a great deal in front of our screens talking to the entire world, let's not forget the importance of occasionally getting away from that environment and participating in face to face discourse, reaching people we otherwise would never have the opportunity of talking to on an individual level.  This is why we continue to have these conferences, as well as our monthly meetings.  In addition to talking with other like-minded people, there is always the chance of a random encounter with someone who is not part of the hacker world, yet who will be curious enough to want to find out more about us.  That is where true progress is made and it's why being outside and in the main streets of the world is so vital for anyone who truly wants to make things better.

The dialogue continues - in our letters, on the net, and out there in the "real" world.  The best, as always, is yet to come.