Hacking and Politics: Why Talking About Both Matters

by Screaming Yellow Fish

I've noticed a trend of late in what seems to be a louder chorus of voices who run the gamut from annoyed to royally pissed-off at what is perceived to be the political tone of the magazine.  It seems to me that this has always been the focus as part of the "voice" of 2600, and as it has become louder, as well as the current political climate writ large, it has moved me to investigate and see for myself if I myself am biased and there is meat on this bone, or if the current climate is driving a deeper divide between us.

My original intent was to look at the editorial of the first magazine printed for each year.  Since I have just completed a cross country move and could not locate my 8.5" x 11" copies of 2600 from 1984 to 1986, I chose to start from 1987 Volume 4, Number 1 and continue on through 2021, Volume 38, Number 1.  Not unlike perusing YouTube or anything on the web, I became distracted by an article by none other than Cheshire Catalyst in the January 1987 issue ("TAP: The Legend is Dead").  Funny how I landed on that, as that article touches on many of the very points I have been pondering.

For those who don't have access to that article, allow me to synopsize.  Youth International Party Line (YIPL) was created by a group of anarchists (Cheshire's term by the way, no letters please for "why did you use that term" blah blah).  The "Party Line" part of the name was a reference to the term used when the phone company would connect parties in a networked call.  You can Google "party line" and "selective ringing," or just purchase the back issues for the article - it's well worth it.

I should point out that I find it fascinating that my 27-year-old son who possesses half a dozen cell phones; has dozens of aliases online; and communicates via Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok would never imagine that before 1969 it was illegal to attach your own devices to a phone line, that calls were metered, that there was a concept of "long distance" vs. local, that calls were sometimes operator assisted, etc.  He looks at a cell phone and asks, "Wait... you actually use that to make... phone calls?"

Back then, that was the impetus for exploring the phone network, as well as the seeds of the disdain for both the phone company and corporate America.  This is not a new concept by any stretch.

In 1971, Abbie Hoffman and "Al Bell" got the idea to create the YIPL newsletter to share information with the members of this technical underground in the same way that the Bell System published information to its own members.  It contained pretty random content, and contained anarcho-techno stuff (again, Cheshire's description) including lock picking, making pipe bombs, and other radical stuff.

Here's the kicker.  In 1974, Al Bell said to himself (and I am quoting from the article), "What's all this political shit doing in what should have been a technical newsletter?"  He left the Yippies, changed the name of the newsletter to TAP, and set up shop.

At this point, I read the rest of the article (the last time I read this was in 1987), and it started the wheels turning.  My original intent when I started out was to demonstrate that 2600 has always been, and largely still is, a mix of both technical and political content.  Imagine my surprise to find an article from 35 years ago from someone who I respect and admire greatly that actually offered up evidence that nope, this is not a new concept.

This got me thinking... what would I have said back then?  What would be my advice now?  I think it's often human nature when facing a problem to try and minimize options and to pare down the problem into nice neat packages.  Thing is people are messy.  We are not made of nice neat stuff.  We talk at each other instead of to each other.  We assume there is only option A or B, instead of looking beyond to options C, D, etc.

Here's the thing.  I am a tech head, nothing makes me happier than delving into the gritty details of cross-site scripting, ARP table poisoning, or NVM external memory access cycle times.  Thing is, there is no such thing as a freeride.

Do you think the price of the magazine you are holding in your hand is the cost of a subscription, or picking up a copy of the magazine at your local Barnes and Noble?  Try this scenario on for size.  Texas lawmakers successfully managed to ban abortion in the state of Texas by end running the Constitution.  Here's how they did it: The new law allows any private citizen to sue Texas abortion providers who violate the law, as well as anyone who "aids or abets" a woman getting the procedure.

Now let's suppose they decide to go after anyone who prints or publishes any "objectionable" content such as, say, The Hacker Quarterly.  First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press."  Texas lawmakers can't outright ban 2600.  They can enact a law that allows any private citizen to sue Texas bookstores, service providers, or anyone who violates the law, as well as anyone who "aids or abets" a "person" obtaining "The Hacker Quarterly."

Still think that politics doesn't apply to everyone who reads this magazine or surfs the site?

Ever since 2600 started publishing, I've read all kinds of attempts to define hackers or hacking or the hacker's ethic.  Most more or less seem to hit it on the mark, some more than others.  There have been some impressive articles published, including the continuing "Hacker Perspective" column.  I would like to offer this:

Above all else, the hacker spirit, or ethos is more than just the exploration and sharing of knowledge... it is about being the voice for those who otherwise don't, can't, or wouldn't have a voice.

We all need to stay engaged, lest we lose the place to talk about and share in the things we love to do.