What’s a Hack?

Thanks to everyone for reading, suggesting sites, and requesting hacks. We’re thrilled and inspired to see the support, enthusiasm, and curiosity we’ve received in the short period of time we’ve been running Hackszine.

Though most readers get what we’re up to, we’ve also seen a vocal minority who seem to think (or hope) we’re offering something we’re not, so I’d like to take a moment to reiterate the purpose of this site, with a finer point on what you can expect to see us post and what sort of requests you should assume we’ll ignore without comment.

The professed goal of the Hacks series in general, and now of Hackszine in particular, has always been to reclaim the term “hacking” for the good guys–innovators who explore and experiment, unearth shortcuts, create useful tools, and come up with fun things to try on their own. As mentioned in my welcome post, “to hack something is to make it work the way it should — for you.”

In that spirit, this reader request is the sort of thing we love to receive and are happy to respond to. By contrast, this one is not:

I just need to Hack a single Yahoo ID’s password. Either by providing a link (url) to the victim or by any means. I don’t have physical contact with the victim’s computer. But I am able to provide any kind of webpage url to the victim.

In fact, if your request uses the word “victim” at all, that should probably be a red flag. We’re not going to help you hijack your ex’s Friendster account, delete your enemy’s MySpace page, spy on your teacher’s email, or any other such dirty deeds. These aren’t “hacks” in the sense we’re promoting the term.

So, before you click that Request a Hack link in the sidebar, ask yourself if what you’re about to request is the sort of thing you’d like someone doing to you. If the answer is “no,” don’t bother going any further. But if you’re looking for ways to get the most out of your own things, life, or world, we’re here to help.