Tadi malam, gak sengaja lagi nonton empat mata, di situ ada Roy Suryo dan seorang mantan ‘Hacker’, sang mantan ‘Hacker’ mendemokan bagaimana dia meng ‘Hack’ Bluetooth salah seorang penonton. Yang sedikit nyangkut di otak saya, dia menyatakan bahwa hacker adalah seorang yang suka masuk kekomputer orang lain, kita semua paham dan sadar, bahwa definisi Hacker dan Cracker sudah membaur, orang bilang kegiatan ngehack sama dengan ngecrack, padahal beda!!. Umumnya orang tidak tahu, bahwa ngehack dan ngecrack adalah tidak sama, tapi karena orang pada umumnya sudah kenal dengan istilah hacking akhirnya mereka menyamaratakan. Dari penjelasan di jargon file definisi hacker dan cracker beda. Dan ini lah adalah surat dari Richard M Stallman , CEO of FSF , yang dikirim ke Wall Street Journal mengenai pemberitaannya yang sering menggunakan kata - kata “Hacker” pada “Cracker” .

This letter is not meant for publication, although you can publish it if you wish. It is meant specifically for you, the editor, not the public.

I am a hacker. That is to say, I enjoy playing with computers — working with, learning about, and writing clever computer programs. I am not a cracker; I don’t make a practice of breaking computer security.

There’s nothing shameful about the hacking I do. But when I tell people I am a hacker, people think I’m admitting something naughty — because newspapers such as yours misuse the word “hacker”, giving the impression that it means “security breaker” and nothing else. You are giving hackers a bad name.

The saddest thing is that this problem is perpetuated deliberately. Your reporters know the difference between “hacker” and “security breaker”. They know how to make the distinction, but you don’t let them! You insist on using “hacker” pejoratively. When reporters try to use another word, you change it. When reporters try to explain the other meanings, you cut it.

Of course, you have a reason. You say that readers have become used to your insulting usage of “hacker”, so that you cannot change it now. Well, you can’t undo past mistakes today; but that is no excuse to repeat them tomorrow.

If I were what you call a “hacker”, at this point I would threaten to crack your computer and crash it. But I am a hacker, not a cracker. I don’t do that kind of thing! I have enough computers to play with at home and at work; I don’t need yours. Besides, it’s not my way to respond to insults with violence. My response is this letter.

You owe hackers an apology; but more than that, you owe us ordinary respect.