From LISTSERV@UTKVM1.UTK.EDU Fri Aug 22 12:15:46 1997 Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 11:00:33 +0000 From: "L-Soft list server at Univ. of Tenn., Knoxville (1.8b)" Reply-To: HACKPROJ-request@UTKVM1.UTK.EDU To: Cheshire Catalyst Subject: Welcome To The Hacker Project List-Serv PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY List Manager: Sean Huss Title: Graduate Teaching Associate The University of Tennessee, Knoxville e-mail: sthuss@utkux.utcc.utk.edu General Information on List-serv and Project: This list-serv is part of a larger research project focusing on the practices, motivations, and identities of hackers. The project is designed to test many of the explicit/implicit assumptions and portrayals of hackers in various media sources (national magazines, newspapers, news reports, and movies). The purpose of this project is to address three related issues: 1) potentially misleading media portrayals of hackers; 2) the reliance on such media portrayals in the creation and enforcement of law; 3) the relationship between the first two elements. All information will be archived and used in my Master's Thesis on media portrayals of hackers. The information collected and used in the Master's Thesis will include no personal information which may identify you (such as name, etc.). All reports generated will be made available to you once all analyses are complete. Once again, no final reports will include any information which identifies you individually as a participant. More On the Project: This research project differs from previous investigations into hackers and hacking in several ways. This list-serv is intended to allow participants to construct definitions of "hacker" and "hacking," rather than engage in research which specifies definitional categories from the beginning. You will specify motivations and categories for these motivations. You will also discuss what it means to be a hacker and the importance of hackers. Finally, you will discuss the presence or absence of stigma and prestige as it relates to a hacker identity, and in which social contexts these elements apply. A combination of definitions, motivations, and elements of identity will then be linked to a larger social context to illustrate how your personal experiences as a hacker and social issues interact. I also will present preliminary findings from data collected earlier this summer through surveys, open-ended interviews, and content analyses of news reports. You will be asked to comment on these findings and add clarifications to make the data fit better with your understandings of what it means to be a hacker. No personal information beyond general background, age, and experiences will be presented openly. The information collected will be of a general nature regarding your opinions on various topics. In the instance of a specific question directed to you, you will be contacted off list and given an encryption key for your response. Once primary data collection is complete (late Fall 1997), this list-serv will continue to operate for as long as you wish to discuss hacker related topics. Human Subjects Information: Human subjects requirements dictate that all persons participating in the list-serv during data collection be 18 years of age or older. In addition, as this is an open list, confidentiality and anonymity cannot be guaranteed. Your participation in this list-serv will constitute your implied consent to participate in the study. Participation is voluntary, and if at any time you wish to discontinue your participation in this study, contact me off list, and unsubscribe. You may resubscribe once data collection is complete. Thanks for your participation in this study. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me. Hopefully we can work together to better educate the world about hackers. Sean