Free as in Freedom. Richard Stallman’s Crusade for Free Software

Some might view the decision to use GNU/Linux for later versions of the same operating system as arbitrary. I would like to point out that it was in no way a prerequisite for gaining Stallman’s cooperation in the making of this book. I came to it of my own accord, partly because of the operating system’s modular nature and the community surrounding it, and partly because of the apolitical nature of the Linux name. Given that this is a biography of Richard Stallman, it seemed inappropriate to define the operating system in apolitical terms.

In the final phases of the book, when it became clear that O’Reilly & Associates would be the book’s publisher, Stallman did make it a condition that I use “GNU/Linux” instead of Linux if O’Reilly expected him to provide promotional support for the book after publication. When informed of this, I relayed my earlier decision and left it up to Stallman to judge whether the resulting book met this condition or not. At the time of this writing, I have no idea what Stallman’s judgment will be.

A similar situation surrounds the terms “free software” and “open source”. Again, I have opted for the more politically laden “free software” term when describing software programs that come with freely copyable and freely modifiable source code. Although more popular, I have chosen to use the term “open source” only when referring to groups and businesses that have championed its usage. But for a few instances, the terms are completely interchangeable, and in making this decision I have followed the advice of Christine Peterson, the person generally credited with coining the term. “The `free software’ term should still be used in circumstances where it works better”, Peterson writes. “[`Open source’] caught on mainly because a new term was greatly needed, not because it’s ideal”.

Appendix B. Hack, Hackers, and Hacking

To understand the full meaning of the word “hacker”, it helps to examine the word’s etymology over the years.

The New Hacker Dictionary, an online compendium of software-programmer jargon, officially lists nine different connotations of the word “hack” and a similar number for “hacker”. Then again, the same publication also includes an accompanying essay that quotes Phil Agre, an MIT hacker who warns readers not to be fooled by the word’s perceived flexibility. “Hack has only one meaning”, argues Agre. “An extremely subtle and profound one which defies articulation”.

Regardless of the width or narrowness of the definition, most modern hackers trace the word back to MIT, where the term bubbled up as popular item of student jargon in the early 1950s. In 1990 the MIT Museum put together a journal documenting the hacking phenomenon. According to the journal, students who attended the institute during the fifties used the word “hack” the way a modern student might use the word “goof”. Hanging a jalopy out a dormitory window was a “hack”, but anything harsh or malicious-e.g., egging a rival dorm’s windows or defacing a campus statue-fell outside the bounds. Implicit within the definition of “hack” was a spirit of harmless, creative fun.

This spirit would inspire the word’s gerund form: “hacking”. A 1950s student who spent the better part of the afternoon talking on the phone or dismantling a radio might describe the activity as “hacking”. Again, a modern speaker would substitute the verb form of “goof”-“goofing” or “goofing off”-to describe the same activity.

As the 1950s progressed, the word “hack” acquired a sharper, more rebellious edge. The MIT of the 1950s was overly competitive, and hacking emerged as both a reaction to and extension of that competitive culture. Goofs and pranks suddenly became a way to blow off steam, thumb one’s nose at campus administration, and indulge creative thinking and behavior stifled by the Institute’s rigorous undergraduate curriculum. With its myriad hallways and underground steam tunnels, the Institute offered plenty of exploration opportunities for the student undaunted by locked doors and “No Trespassing” signs. Students began to refer to their off-limits explorations as “tunnel hacking”. Above ground, the campus phone system offered similar opportunities. Through casual experimentation and due diligence, students learned how to perform humorous tricks. Drawing inspiration from the more traditional pursuit of tunnel hacking, students quickly dubbed this new activity “phone hacking”.