I wonder what would happen if Master Foo met the BOFH ..
Master Foo and the Script Kiddie (2003)
31–40 of 44 posts
Re: Master Foo and the Script Kiddie (2003)
#32It's crazy how cringey "leet speak" looks now. Even words like "woot"
Re: Master Foo and the Script Kiddie (2003)
#33Read the whole Master Foo archive here: https://soda.privatevoid.net/foo/
I've always known these as Hacker Koans. > “These enlightened ones,” he protested, “gave us the Great Way of Unix. Surely, if we mock them we will lose merit and be reborn as beasts or MCSEs.” I love how enduring is Microsoft's reputation in some circles.
It was the certs specifically. Anyone could get one if they had a couple hundred bucks and could cram a bunch of facts. MCSE required more exams, but still you were basically just memorizing stuff and taking tests. Yet for a time (during the 90s-2000s IT boom) anyone could get hired if they had certs. The more acronyms after your name, the better.
Sort of like the people today who take a 2-week JavaScript course and then get hired for 6 figures, but at least the people with the certs had to take some exams.
Re: Master Foo and the Script Kiddie (2003)
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
The moral of the story is not about cracking or getting arrested. It is a metaphor for the danger of taking shortcuts, just like certain other shortcuts in programming that are currently popular and also come with their own version of 1337 language. And about the tools that enable ScriptKiddies or their modern equivalents to achieve some fast results, for which they have to pay later.
Yeah, no, I get that, it's just not how anybody who actually broke into computers would think about this.
Enlighten us oh wise one then, how would they think?
But I assume you mean the moral of the story is to never break into computers?
I think you are wrong about that. I see the moral as, don't break into computers for the lulz. Especiall not, if you don't know what you are doing. The master clearly can break into systems. But doesn't do it. He feels no need to take stupid risks to proof his skills.
Re: Master Foo and the Script Kiddie (2003)
#35This would have been cringe even in 1996.
Not sure if you meant that year literally but I've 1996'd the title for now
Re: Master Foo and the Script Kiddie (2003)
#36Another thing in a similar vein is The Codeless Code: http://thecodelesscode.com/contents
And remember that the images have mouseover texts and names (especially clan names) occasionally have some backstory... before you get through the first 100 and then discover this.
http://thecodelesscode.com/names/Elephant%27s+Footprint+Clan
> Specialists in the persistence tier, where the Temple’s most precious resource is managed—by which I mean data, not alcohol, although they have a fair amount of that as well to cope with the stress of Temple life. Despite this, the clan has strict rules regarding inebriation. A monk is absolutely not allowed to code while drinking unless he really, really wants to. Any monk caught violating this rule is punished by having to buy the next round.
> The clan takes its name from the immense ivory-panelled server cabinet which houses the Temple’s most venerable DBMS hosts. This cabinet is known affectionately as the Great White Elephant, no doubt for its flawless memory. However it is worth noting that elephants do sometimes forget, which is why the Temple has hot replication to a colocation site which houses the Emergency Backup Elephant.
Re: Master Foo and the Script Kiddie (2003)
#37These are still online at their original location: http://catb.org/~esr/writings/unix-koans/ >
These are…abstract.
http://catb.org/~esr/writings/unix-koans/two_paths.html
Can’t figure out the point
Re: Master Foo and the Script Kiddie (2003)
#38Re: Master Foo and the Script Kiddie (2003)
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, no, I get that, it's just not how anybody who actually broke into computers would think about this.
Enlighten us oh wise one then, how would they think? But I assume you mean the moral of the story is to never break into computers? I think you are wrong about that. I see the moral as, don't break into computers for the lulz. Especiall not, if you don't know what you are doing. The master clearly can break into systems. But doesn't do it. He feels no need to take stupid risks to proof his skills.
I'm not "wise", I was just there at the time. Nobody ever looked at an easy to pop system and thought "oh, if I rexd into this host, the FBI is going to come knocking on my door". The prevailing spirit of the time was pretty close to "the only way to get anyone to show up at your door is to steal and use credit card numbers".
The story isn't about breaking into computers; it's drawing an analogy, of a careless action and an undesired consequence. My problem with it is that it's an undesired consequence of the variety dreamt of by Unix systems administrators of the time (we're gonna catch those rascally hackers and they're gonna get it!) and seen in the real world ~never. That doesn't make the moral of the story wrong (be careful), just cringe.
Re: Master Foo and the Script Kiddie (2003)
#40These are still online at their original location: http://catb.org/~esr/writings/unix-koans/ >
These are…abstract. http://catb.org/~esr/writings/unix-koans/two_paths.html Can’t figure out the point
My reading of that is "The unix way is that software should be simple and elegant. The unix way is also that software should work, even if that means pragmatically eschewing elegance and simplicity. You must find a balance between these two things".
The last abstract-sounding bit, "When the eagle flies, does it forget that its feet have touched the ground? When the tiger lands upon its prey, does it forget its moment in the air?", I take as meaning:
"The air is beautiful and pure, free of pragmatic reality and time constraints and so on. The ground is the pragmatic reality. You must keep both in mind, and write beautiful code at times, and also sometimes write awful code to deal with reality at times".