If not now then when?

The Difference Between Redditors and Hackers

I used to like reddit a lot. Not like I'm old school or anything, but over the last year and a half I've gone through all the phases: "oh this is cool" → "omg I'm totally addicted" → "where's the fresh content?" (current phase).

What has filled that void for me is hacker news. The content there is stimulating and fresh, plus the audience is completely different (read: mature). I'm not sure if reddit has always been this way and I was just oblivious to it until now, but it's like the internet wasteland in there. All the current events are slightly older than I think they should be, the pictures are 99% recycled internet rubbish, the videos are 99% recycled internet rubbish, and then there's the "omg the world is out to get us" kind of idiotic crap that seems to be highly encouraged.

For me, nothing sums it up more succinctly than two (#1 upvoted on their respective sites) different comments on the same article. It is an article about a student at Boston College being investigated for computer crimes. The specific article is actually not so much about the investigation, but more about the EFF fighting to get the student cleared of any charges, have all of his computer equipment returned, and any evidence that is found on said equipment be inadmissible in court. Sounds like pretty clear "oh no the government is attacking us computer people" kind of thing, right? That is until you actually read the original warrant (the EFF has politely made available to us), which paints an entirely different picture than we are originally led to believe.

But that's not why I'm writing this. I don't really care about the case, or the student. I care about having quality online content with contributors who put thought into what they're saying.

Enough of reading a fucking sensational headline and spitting out the first thing that comes to your mind.

I didn't mean for this to turn into a big rant, but I guess it did. I wanted to just show these two quotes and then be done.

hacker quote on above mentioned article, it is the number one upvoted reply:

Has anyone actually read the warrant application? The allegations were made by a close acquaintance of the accused who directly observed him changing grades for students and cracking into other systems; the emails in question were traced back to the accused's hostname.

The EFF article completely mischaracterizes a 90% legitimate warrant.

redditor quote on the same article, it is the number one upvoted reply:

"a black screen with white font which he uses prompt commands on" HAHAHA! Oh Noes! We haz a haX0r!

Enough of this. Do not pay attention to sensational headlines and soundbites taken out of context. They are testing you, to see if you are paying attention. Let's show them that we are.