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Hacker FAQ:




So You Have Yourself a Hacker, or, _The Hacker FAQ_

The following list is an attempt to cover some of the issues that will invariably
come up when people without previous experience of the hacker community try to
hire a hacker. This FAQ is intended for free distribution, and may be copied as
desired. It is in an early revision.

This document is copyright 1995 Peter Seebach. Unaltered distribution is
permitted.


Questions and Answers:

Section 0: Basic understanding.

0.0: Won't my hacker break into my computer and steal my trade secrets?

A: No. Hackers aren't, contrary to media reporting, the people who break into
computers. Those are crackers. Hackers are people who enjoy playing with
computers. Your hacker may occasionally circumvent security measures, but this
is not malicious; they just do it when the security is in their way, or because
they're curious.

0.1: Was it a good idea to hire a hacker?

A: It depends on the job. A hacker can be dramatically more effective than a
non-hacker at a job, or dramatically less effective. Jobs where hackers are
particularly good are: Systems administration Programming Design Jobs where
hackers are particularly bad are: Data entry

More generally, a job that requires fast and unexpected changes, signifigant
skill, and is not very repetitive will be one a hacker will excell at.
Repetitive, simple jobs are a waste of a good hacker, and will make your hacker
bored and frustrated. No one works well bored and frustrated.

The good news is, if you get a hacker on something he particularly likes, you
will freqently see performance on the order of five to ten times what a "normal"
worker would produce. This is not consistant, and you shouldn't expect to see it
all the time, but it will happen. This is most visible on particularly difficult
tasks.


Section 1: Social issues

1.0: My hacker doesn't fit in well with our corporate society. She seems to
do her work well, but she's not really making many friends.

A: This is common. Your hacker may not have found any people around who get
along with hackers. You may wish to consider offering her a position
telecommuting, or flexible hours (read: night shift), which may actually improve
her productivity. Or hire another one.

1.1: My hacker seems to dress funny. Is there any way to impress upon him the
importance of corporate appearance?

A: Your hacker has a very good understanding of the importance of corporate
appearence. It doesn't help you get your job done. IBM, Ford, and MicroSoft have
all realized that people work better when they can dress however they want. Your
hacker is dressed comfortably. A polite request to dress up some for special
occasions may well be honored, and most hackers will cheerfully wear clothes
without holes in them if specifically asked.

1.2: My hacker won't call me by my title, and doesn't seem to respect me at
all.

A: Your hacker doesn't respect your title. Hackers don't believe that
management is "above" engineering; they believe that management is doing one job,
and engineering is doing another. They may well frequently talk as if management
are beneath them, but this is really quite fair; your question implies that you
talk as if engineering is beneath you. Treat your hacker as an equal, and she
will probably treat you as an equal - quite a compliment!


Section 2: Productivity.

2.0: My hacker plays video games on company time.

A: Hackers, writers, and painters all need some amount of time to spend
"percolating" - doing something else to let their subconscious work on a problem.
Your hacker is probably stuck on something difficult. Don't worry about it.

2.1: But it's been two weeks since I saw anything!

A: Your hacker is working, alone probably, on a big project, and just started,
right? She's probably trying to figure it all out in advance. Ask her how it's
going; if she starts a lot of sentances, but interrupts them all with "no,
wait..." or "drat, that won't work", it's going well.

2.2: Isn't this damaging to productivity?

A: No. Your hacker needs to recreate and think about things in many ways. He
will be more productive with this recreation than without it. Your hacker enjoys
working; don't worry about things getting done reasonably well and quickly.

2.3: My hacker is constantly doing things unrelated to her job
responsibilities.

A: Do they need to be done? Very few hackers can resist solving a problem
when they can solve it, and no one else is solving it. For that matter, is your
hacker getting her job done? If so, consider it a freebie or perk. Although it
may not be conventional, it's probably helping out rather a lot.

2.4: But my other workers are offended by my hacker's success.

A: Do you really need to have workers around who would rather be the person
getting something done, than have it done already? Ego has very little place in
the workplace. If they can't do it well, assign them to something they can do.


Section 3: Stimulus and response

3.0: My hacker did something good, and I want to reward him.

A: Good! Here are some of the things most hackers would like to receive in
exchange for their work:

1. Respect. 2. Admiration. 3. Compliments. 4. Understanding. 5. Discounts on
expensive toys. 6. Money.

These are not necessarily in order. The 4th item (understanding) is the most
difficult. Try to remember this good thing your hacker just did the next time
you discover he just spent a day playing xtrek. Rather than complaining about
getting work done, write it off as "a perk" that was granted (informally) as a
bonus for a job well done. Don't worry; hackers get bored quickly when they
aren't doing their work.

3.1: My hacker did something bad, and I want to punish him.

A: Don't. 30 years of psychological research has shown that punishment has no
desirable long-term effects. Your hacker is not a lab rat. If you don't like
something your hacker is doing, express your concerns. Explain what it is that
bothers you about the behavior.

Be prepared for an argument; your hacker is a rational entity, and presumably had
reasons. Don't jump on them too quickly; they may turn out to be good reasons.

Don't be afraid to apologize if you're wrong. If your hacker admits to having
been wrong, don't demand an apology; so far as the hacker is concerned, admitting
to being wrong *is* an apology, most likely.

3.2: I don't get it. I offered my hacker a signifigant promotion, and she
turned it down and acted offended.

A: A promotion frequently involves spending more time listening to people
describing what they're doing, and less time playing with computers. Your hacker
is enjoying her work; if you want to offer a reward, consider an improvement in
title, a possible raise, and some compliments. Make sure your hacker knows you
are pleased with her *accomplishments* - that's what she's there for.

3.3: My company policy won't let me give my hacker any more raises until he's
in management.

A: Your company policy is broken. A hacker can earn as much as $150 an hour
(sometimes more) doing freelance consulting. You may wish to offer your hacker a
contracted permanent consulting position with benefits, or otherwise find
loopholes. Or, find perks to offer - many hackers will cheerfully accept a
discount on hardware from their favorite manufacturer as an effective raise.

3.4: I can't believe the hacker on my staff is worth as much as we're paying.

A: Ask the other staff in the department what the hacker does, and what they
think of it. The chances are that your hacker is spending a few hours a week
answering arcane questions that would otherwise require an expensive external
consultant. Your hacker may be fulfilling another jobs' worth of
responsibilities in his spare time around the office. Very few hackers aren't
worth what they're getting paid; they enjoy accomplishing difficult tasks, and
improving worker efficiency.


Section 4: What does _that_ mean?

4.0: My hacker doesn't speak English. At least, I don't *think* so.

A: Your hacker is a techie. Your best bet is to pick up a copy of TNHD (The
New Hacker's Dictionary). It can be found as
ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/jarg310.txt.gz (last I checked) or from a good
bookstore. If you have trouble understanding that reference, ask your hacker if
she has a copy, or would be willing to explain her terms. Most hackers are
willing to explain terms. Be ready for condescension; it's not intended as an
insult, but if you don't know the words, she probably *has* to talk down to you
at first to explain them.

It's a reasonably difficult set of words; there are a lot of them, and their
usage is much more precise than it sounds. Hackers love word games.

4.1: I can't get an estimate out of my hacker.

A: Your hacker hasn't figured out how hard the problem is yet. Unlike most
workers, hackers will try very hard to refuse to give an estimate until they know
for sure that they understand the problem. This may include solving it.

No good engineer goes beyond 95% certainty. Most hackers are good engineers. If
you say you will not try to hold him to the estimate (and mean it!) you are much
more likely to get an approximate estimate. The estimate may sound very high or
very low; it may be very high or very low. Still, it's an estimate, and you get
what you ask for.




last updated 11/04/2023 at 21:10:58