As much as I might have shown some pride in calling myself a hacker in
1980 when the term was coined to mean an honorable explorer of the limits
of computer capability, the fact is that to the real world hacker=criminal,
and as much as I lament the word's original meaning having been lost,
there ain't a snowball's chance in hell it's coming back. In the real
world, sci-fi means science fiction--nothing more, nothing less--and
always will. If there's a distinction to be made, we need to give up on
this one, get over it, and move on.
Unless of course, like those who still use "hacker" in the old sense,
one is doing so precisely to avoid open communication but as an ego-
stroking device for an exclusive community.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC