Ask HN: Is it right to call yourself a Hacker?

Good: Answer with a verb, "I program computers."

Better: Answer with a verb for myself and a noun for the result, "I program web applications."

Even Better: Answer with a verb for myself, a noun for the result, and another noun for my customer, "I program web applications for doctors."

Best: Answer with a verb for myself, a noun for the result, another noun for my customer, and another noun to describe my customers' benefits, "I program web applications that help doctors give better care to their patients."

Now I just say that I'm in software, and it turns out that's enough 95% of the time.

The responses posted here so far make it sound like the solid majority. Yet there must be more people on here who, like me, just happen to do a lot of programming in the course of pursuing other goals.

In short, I tend to tell people "I do xxx, which involves writing a lot of code" (rather than saying "I'm a programmer"). For this reason, I often find the self-representation here a bit strange. I tend to think of programming as just a tool to get work done, rather than the work in of itself. A lot of HN comments read to me as if a carpenter described his job as "swinging a hammer."

It shows that I have a sense of humor about my job (a job that to many people is inscrutable).

Many people in our own field don't know the difference between a web designer/developer/programmer/UI/UX/DBA, and I figure that I'll take a crack at whatever needs to get done, so why be limited to a label?

I feel like hacker has too many negative connotations outside our tiny community that 'gets it', especially since I live in DC, which is more traditional about this stuff.

You certainly don't want to have to describe yourself too much. The more you try to describe, the less credibility you'll have. In my opinion, programmer is wonderfully enchanting to people who are not versed in... hacker lingo.

About self-applying, imo this is ok if you can tell me about your last hack when I ask you about it.

..."Obviously you’re not a golfer."

It doesn't apply only to the word "hacker", though. Many labels don't mean much until you've really earned it and been validated by peers.

That or you end up sounding like Lex from Jurassic Park who "prefer(s) to be called a hacker".

And wait for the awesome to hit them.

If I know the audience will understand it properly, I'll call myself a "geek". Otherwise, I'll just call myself a "computer systems administrator".