Security News > 2021 > March > So it appears some of you really don't want us to use the word 'hacker' when we really mean 'criminal'

Last week, we argued over whether or not the media, including El Reg, should stop using the word hacker as a pejorative.

The original meaning of hacker and hacking, in the context of computing, didn't denote criminality nor ill-intent, and referred to an avoidance of a standard solution.

Chris G sympathized with the for argument, though thought it would be "Easier to invent a new word to describe cuddly hackers" than try to reclaim hacker.

The for motion - the media should stop using the word hacker as a pejorative - wins.

What does this mean for us journalists? Is this where we're supposed to say the poll's outcome was the result of a sophisticated hacker attack? Ah, if only it were that easy.

We'll take the voting on board, have a confab, and you never know: hacker and hacking as a shorthand for criminality might be put on the banned list, slotted in somewhere near "Holistic," "Digital transformation," and "Brandwidth." .

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/03/09/debate_hacker_result/