[nzlug] New term: tinkerer

[Craig Box]

On Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 9:44 AM, Andrew Errington <
a.errington at lancaster.ac.uk> wrote:

> No, IMHO "hacker" is the right word.  I don't care if it's been co-opted
> by the media.  I am a hacker.  I hack on stuff until it works.  Sometimes
> I tinker with stuff, but to "tinker" implies no defined goal.  Hacking is
> the process of making something, either from nothing, or from something
> else.  Tinkering is just fiddling with something for the sake of it,
> almost akin to "pottering".


Then come up with a new word, and explain to the police (or your Mum), who
don't understand the difference, why you claim to be a 'hacker'.  And have a
half hour "No, I don't really mean that" conversation.

Or get a new word.

While I agree that Excel (as a word) doesn't suggest spreadsheet and Acrobat
doesn't suggest document viewer, so name things what you like, how the hell
does a regular person pronounce GNU anyway?  Nintendo were ridiculed for
naming their console the Wii, something pronouncable in almost every
language, and they're now laughing all the way to the bank.