I’ve always stereotyped Hackers as being these creeps who “troll” people from the safety of their computer screens in an attempt to amuse or benefit themselves. After reading Wark’s manifesto, it became apparent to me that his idea of a hacker is a little different than mine. He perceives the hacker as one who betters those around him or those who are in lower in class than those who are in control. Upon reading this I could not help but think of the hacker groups like “Anonymous” and how they attack high authorities and spread information for the masses. But there are also groups that terrorize and harm in case of the Sony servers attack from Lizard Squad a few years ago.
To Wark Hackers seem to exist without a knowing purpose or suffer a “crisis of identity”. He paints them as these lost souls who lack a consciousness when in my opinion hacking arises out of a demand for control or change. For instance in gaming culture, hacks tend to arise out of either selfish acts (invulnerability in an online shooting game) or bringing freedom or information to others (such as expanding on a games maps or mechanics).
I think when someone decides to hack they have a intention in mind and its not so mindless as Wark seems to make it. Hackers tend to find others that are like them as opposed to discovering a “collective interest in discovering a relation among hackers”. Hence why hacker groups and forums exist like Anonymous and Lizard Squad. These groups are individual hackers who come together with similar ethos and ideas but may not have an “an open and ongoing future”. Not having a in sight future, for any niche group, that welcomes collaboration is not an uncommon factor though. Of course you will have hackers competing for higher recognition or stakes but that can be said about any fledgling anti-establishment movement. It must be given time in order to see its true intentions.
