Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, but it's a term that's used differently by the mainstream than by hackers, so you'd be constantly explaining yourself to avoid misperception. Constantly explaining what you mean is fatally geeky. It's better to use a word people don't know and only explain if they ask.
it's a term that's used differently by the mainstream than by hackers Exactly like "geek". It used to be an insult.
For the mainstream, the prototype hacker is someone who does something nefarious over the internet with no regard for any damage he or she might do. That's not the same prototype we have in mind when we say "hacker." We include those guys with a certain amount of reluctance and distaste. To us, the prototype hacker is somebody like Richard Stallman, the Richard Feynman of Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman or What Do You Care What Other People Think, or the folks who perpetrated the classic MIT hacks (http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/misc/best_of.html). Most people wouldn't even understand why we include those guys unless we explained.