There is an interesting essay, A Political History of SF, on a Live Journal. Can someone enlighten me on the authorship? Is this the voice of Eric Raymond? (That's what it seems to be.) Is this an updated version? Or an earlier version of the essay?

Speaking of Raymond, poking around his site, I came across his essay How to Become a Hacker. The FAQ towards the end is hillarious:

Q:    Would you help me to crack a system, or teach me how to crack?

A:    No. Anyone who can still ask such a question after reading this FAQ is too stupid to be educable even if I had the time for tutoring. Any emailed requests of this kind that I get will be ignored or answered with extreme rudeness.

Q:    How can I get the password for someone else's account?

A:    This is cracking. Go away, idiot.

Q:    How can I break into/read/monitor someone else's email?

A:    This is cracking. Get lost, moron.

Q:    How can I steal channel op privileges on IRC?

A:    This is cracking. Begone, cretin.

Q:    I've been cracked. Will you help me fend off further attacks?

A:    No. Every time I've been asked this question so far, it's been from some poor sap running Microsoft Windows. It is not possible to effectively secure Windows systems against crack attacks; the code and architecture simply have too many flaws, which makes securing Windows like trying to bail out a boat with a sieve. The only reliable prevention starts with switching to Linux or some other operating system that is designed to at least be capable of security.

Q:    I'm having problems with my Windows software. Will you help me?

A:    Yes. Go to a DOS prompt and type "format c:". Any problems you are experiencing will cease within a few minutes.