Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, February 12, 1985
OPINION
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Cyanide pills won't chase
the nuclear blues away
For all you de
featists out there
who feel nuclear
war is imminent,
Bernard Roth of
the University of
Texas has the an
swer: if the bombs
start dropping,
simply pop a cy
anide capsule sup- .
plied by the Uni
versity. Roth feels
Loren Steffy
this enables the
individual to “be prepared” in case a nu
clear attack occurs.
What a wonderful way to deal with
the social problems facing this country.
If a situation becomes too grim, we’ll
just dig into the medicine cabinet and
weasel our way out of it.
Unfortunately, life is not that simple.
If everyone followed Roth’s idea, nu
clear warheads would still exist, but only
corpses would be around to launch
them. Perhaps that’s an effective solu
tion, but it doesn’t do a whole lot for the
betterment of society.
Roth claims that his pill proposal is a
metaphor for nuclear arms, and in a
way, he’s right. Both the pill and the
bomb represent failure. The bomb rep
resents the First failure — the inability of
two nations to cooperate even when the
fate of their entire world is at stake. If a
mushroom cloud starts rising on the ho
rizon, Reagan’s game of “our arsenal is
bigger than yours” will become unim
portant. Both countries, no matter
which attacks and which retaliates, will
already have lost.
The cyanide capsule plan proposed
by Roth represents a second failure in
the event of the First. If we screw up and
fail to resolve our differences diplomati
cally, then we’ll give up. We won’t keep
trying, we’ll just quit, despite the rest of
the world.
The answer is communication, not cy
anide. Only through discussion, not de
struction, can the United States and
Russia solve the conflicts plaguing the
relationship between our nations. The
thought of cooperating with the Soviets
may leave a bad taste in some people’s
mouths, but so does cyanide.
The United States and the Soviet
Union may start the war, but millions of
people in other countries will get caught
The Battalion
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ty
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LETTERS:
‘Sheltering Arms’
staff express thanks
EDITOR:
Sheltering Arms is a Twin City Mis
sion program that provides emergency
shelter for abused and neglected chil
dren.
On behalf of the children and staff of
the shelter, I would like to express our
gratitude to Delta Zeta (Lambda Xi
Chapter) for their generous contribu
tion of $ 1,000 to Sheltering Arms.
Our budget is limited and cash funds
are always needed to help with the daily
operation of the shelter. We have cared
for many children in recent months and
could not possibly provide for all needs
without such caring people.
Being close-minded
is never admirable
Joyce Sparks
Administrator, Sheltering Arms
‘Straights’ shouldn’t
judge homosexuals
EDITOR:
It saddens me when “straight” people
absolutely declare that homosexuality is
wrong. What is wrong to some people
may not be wrong to another. These ab
solutists tend to view homosexualtiy in
terms of their own heterosexualtiy.
They do not understand homosexualtiy
because they are not gay and to them it
is wrong. But to a gay person, hetero
sexuality is as much a mystery as homo
sexuality is to a straight person. A gay
person does not choose to be gay any
more than a straight person chooses to
be straight. Could it be that heterosex
uality is “wrong” for a gay person.
So before you condemn homosexual
ity from a heterosexual standpoint, put
yourself in the position of a gay. What if
the majority of the world were homo
sexual and you, as a heterosexual, were
condemned by gays from a homosexual
standpoint and labeled “unnatural?” Af
ter all, homosexuality is as completely
“natural” for a gay person as heterosex
uality is for a straight person.
Glenn Murtha
Class of’86
Some minorities take
advantage of rights
EDITOR:
Lately there has been a sudden in
crease in the number of civil rights vio
lations — not in hiring practices or vot
ing, but in some very puzzling ways I
find hard to understand. Take for in
stance the situation last year when a
Houston police officer found himself
about to be run down by a car. He shot
and killed the driver, a minority, and
avoided being hit. Consequently, he was
accused of violating the man’s civil
rights.
More recently is the all too familiar
case of Bernhard Goetz. His would-be
muggers are now charging him with vio
lating their civil rights.
In order for these men to have vio
lated any civil rights, their actions would
have to have been racially motivated.
Clearly they acted in self-clefense with
no disregard for anyone’s civil rights. It
appears that in some cases minorities
are abusing this tactic by making outlan
dish charges. When will this abuse of
our legal system end?
Mark Browning
Class of ’88
Computer jargon MS
misused by press
By A7
The Mer
Student Con
There appears
to be a recent
trend among hack _ . , T -
journalists to pon- ^ For um
tificate wisely on Readers Forum
events using seem- Reader’s Forum
ingly high-tech ______
words in an au
thoritative fash
ion. In short, they
use words that
in the middle. Since we carry the great
est nuclear weapons in the world on our
shoulders, we are also the bearers of the
greatest responsibility where the use of
those weapons is concerned.
The threat of a nuclear holocaust
may be hard to swallow, but so are cy
anide tablets. Popping a pill and turning
our backs on society won’t change any
thing. Social problems aren’t like a both
ersome little brother, we can’t ignore
them and hope they go away. We must
confront the situation and solve the
problem.
Loren Steffy is a sophomore journa
lism major and a weekly columnist for
The Battalion.
EDITOR:
I disagree with Mr. Bastion: being
close-minded is never admirable. Many
“established facts” have proven wrong.
Spontaneous generation, the sound bar
rier, and the inherent inferiority of non
white races are only three examples.
Two plus two equals four is basic
arithmetic, but in more advanced math
ematics the answer may not be so sim
ple. Similiarly, there may be absolute
truth, but you are deluding yourself if
you think you have found it, even in the
Bible. The revealed word of God is also
translated, interpreted, and edited.
If you close your mind to the possibil
ity that you are wrong, then you have
stopped searching for truth. There is
nothing admirable about that.
Kevin McLeod Bailey
Class of ’87
The following definitions of “HACK
ER” were published in “the HACKER’S
DICTIONARY,” by Guy Steele et ah,
copyright 1983, published by Harper &
Row, New York. Steele states that the
book is a revision of the “jargon file”
maintained jointly by hackers in com
puter laboratories at Stanford, MIT,
Carnegie-Mellon, Yale, Princeton, and
Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The
following seven definitions appear on
pages 79-80.
“HACKER noun.
1. A person who enjoys learning the
details of computer systems and how to
stretch their capabilities — as opposed
to most users of computers, who prefer
to learn only the minimum amount nec
essary.
2. One who programs enthusiasti
cally, or who enjoys programming
rather than just theorizing about pro
gramming.
3. A person capable of appreciating
HACK VALUE.
4. A person who is good at program
ming quickly. (By the way, not every
thing that a hacker produces is a hack.)
5. An expert on a particular program,
or one who frequently does work using
it or on it. Example: “A SAIL hacker.”
(This definition and the preceding ones
are cor
congregate.)
related, and people who (ill)
“The Em erg
Over the
6. An expert <>f am kind. Oner.; SCON A h:
be an Astronomy hacker, forexampi Hyde, vice
fairs. “As SC
7. A malicious or inquisitive me: we ve taken
:ope," he sa
Choosing
1980 SCON
irst major s
they themselves do not understand,
and, worse still, attempt to define these
words for their “less well-informed”
public.
In the Texas A&M University Battal
ion of 30 January, 1985, in the lower
half of the front page, an article was
published titled “LIBRARY PAT RONS
SUFFER FROM BREAKDOWN.” The
second paragraph defined computer
hackers in a negative fashion that has
become far too prevalent with today’s
poorly informed and largely computer-
illiterate press corps. It said: “A hacker
is a person who illegally invades a com
puter system and alters data within the
computer’s memory.”
who tries to discover in formate
poking around. For example, a)
sword hacker” is one who tries,
ceptive or illegal means, to d
other people’s computer passwords! Hyde says
“network hacker” is one who ire chosen each
learn about the computer networkjJP P rev
sibl\ bec ause he wants to improve topic sugges
possibly because he wants tointerfercf
one can tell the ditterence onlylxj A
context and tone of voice). /r/wvi
It is truly unfortunate uuu
I.h pic-ss ( Iioom s to emphasize
negative aspects of hacker as contain
in the seventh definition. ThishaslJ
a matter of concern in the “ha*. A
community, but there is no organa I AUSTIN
well-funded lobby that can preventijip Mattox
flagrantly negative usage, [hecor: c | lar g es °f
versy over the definition of “hacker* I" a ' rn ' n ^.* ie
. ness politics
This was followed by a paragraph
that paraphrased a statement by the
Sterling Evans Library Director, Irene
Hoadley. I, personally, prefer to assume
that this misguided definition was in no
way attributable to that person, as I am
certain that she would never make that
particular error in usage. Editorial re
view of the article also failed to elimi
nate this grievous characterization of
“hackers” as subhuman deviates with
questionable ethical values.
i | l * sitcaa politics
recent!) recciw-d imu h nme, attcntk jnnocemby
and editorial comment in thecoinpT^
“I am ext
rized electronic media, or the net*!
<>t ( omputei i/rd bulletin hoardsvw^uer, the
across A met k u. 1 hr I ollowing is are®*’ 2 - to re J
sage from a inrmhri of the selifijgfQfp s tate
claimed hacker community, which. Thurman,
gests a different label for those off
illegally invade computer systerast Thurman
alter data within the computer’s nations from
orv presided ov<
bei jury p
From: WOODY (Lindsay W<xdy ednesday
San Diego, CA 92104)
This is not a purely regional issue.
The “War Games” movie received a
huge amount of publicity, and caused
the frequent abuse of the term hacker,
as have recent articles in “National En
quirer,” “Newsweek” and “Time.” T he
case could be made that this meaning of
the term is an evolving and acceptable
usage. Perhaps it is the sensational tab
loids such as “National Enquirer, Ti
me” and “Newsweek” that shape our
American language to the exclusion of
all other sources. Those who began us
ing the term within the context of com
puters, however, would take exception
to these negative connotations, and have
been trying for several years to stop the
uninformed from using that term in the
recent and derogatory fashion.
Date: 8:32 p.m. Wed. Nov.2,1
Subject: worms & hackers
The state
ness, Housi
McDade, wl
evidence bej
The 1981 edition of “Webster’s Third
New International Dictionary (Un
abridged) proffers three main defi
nitions of hacker, mostly as one who
“hacks.” On page 1018 there appear
some seven main definitions of the word
“hack,” with numerous nuances listed
under each main definition. None seem
to concern themselves contextually with
computers. It would, however, seem ac
ceptable to say that “Hack hackers hack
computer hackers,” which could mean
that “Hack (mediocre or uninspired)
hackers (writers whose writings aim
mainly at commercial success rather
than literary quality) hack (make trite
and commonplace by frequent and in
discriminate use) computer hackers (the
injured parties).
We, the practitioners of the M 111
.uid n<>iun.tli< ions .ut of “hackirijjp'’’ saic * ai
ought to coin a name for those who5 Monday Wlt
liciously penetrate other computer?
terns. This would give the pressana:
to scream when some nerd has be
messing up or otherwise illegal!)us
someone else’s system. A suitaBleni
from our viewpoint should be ana!
which doesn’t have any apparenus
nection to legitimate computer use
Also, it should have an inherentlyi
reputable connotation so that it w«
less likely be worn as a badge ofhos
by those in our field who think i
have accomplished something note*
thy by their (puerile) actions.
The name 1 propose for this grouf
low-life people is “worm.” This tern
suitably disreputable and analogous
the actions of the group. “Worms'ii
ready applied to types of computer'll
grams developed by various coin®
for the purpose of causing opponet
computer systems failures during
of international crisis or warfares,
this particular case the “worms” are
(sub-)human.
If you think “worms” is a gooi
for these people, then use it bete
ourselves and in conversations witbt
press. Maybe it will catch on.
Woody
end of forwarded message—
There are also numerous referer* 1
to the use of the word hacker ini
early historical documentsofcompuff:
(1960-1980). These earlier referem
can be found in such relics of the pas! 1
“Dr. Dobbs’Journal of ComputerCi
thenics and Orthodontia, or Riinns
Light Without Overbyte,” which
one of the earliest published journal)
computer lore. Study of the fewsifl
ing copies of these journals inditf
that the term had evolved in a nor.-f-
cious and very positive fashion, s'
hackers were regarded as high priestii
gurus, and sometimes even with at
tain degree of reverence. Historians
the modern era will no doubt trace
etymology of the term and remark
the abrupt changes in usage thaU
cured in 1983 and later. I suggesti
these changes were in large part due
the influence of the “War Games”mo'
on the misguided hack writers.
w
We a
AH at
1 hope that the use of the tef
WORM may replace the negative use 1
the word “hacker” in this univetf
community. A proposed bill curreit
before the Texas Legislature uses veil
different terms for those who gain
authorized access to computer system
and alter data without the consentoftl ;
owner. In the Texas Penal Code,
are called criminals, miscreants and b
ons.
Paul M. Sittler
Dept, of Veterinary Public Health