A 13-year old was suspended for 3 days from school for trying a DOS command (built into the system) to send a 1-word message (consisting of “Hey!”) to all the computers on his school’s network. A Computer instructor at his school , Mrs. Sweeney, called it “hacking” and apprently convinced the principle that an example should be made.

In a letter written to Dave Lieber (the writer of the article in Dallas-Ft.Worth Star telegram, Sweeney wrote:

“Hacking into a system should be highest on the list of tampering violations. I believe the other students are now aware that the district takes this seriously and will not tolerate such misuse of our equipment.

“I invite you, parents, our state representatives, and anyone else that thinks The first problem here is that Sweeney, a computer teacher, apparently doesn’t understand the term hacking. Hacking is not using a built-in command to send a message. Hacking is defined in two general ways: 1) use of a computer to break into someone else’s computer system, and 2) the sophisticated techniques used by an adept computer programmer.they know how a teacher or a district should react to ANY situation to come live with us for a while — be a substitute teacher for a few weeks and learn the real world of public education.
“Beverly Sweeney.”

Lieber responded in his article:

The first problem here is that Sweeney, a computer teacher, apparently doesn’t understand the term hacking. Hacking is not using a built-in command to send a message. Hacking is defined in two general ways: 1) use of a computer to break into someone else’s computer system, and 2) the sophisticated techniques used by an adept computer programmer.

I want to expound a bit here. “Breaking In” did not even occur. The student’s “transgression” exisits only on the level of a “snicker” or a noise made in class to which most teachers would simplyrespond with a look or a calling of the student’s name as a warning to “stop it”. I once did a similar thing using a Windows based network messaging program about 10 years ago, in a place of business with about 400-500 people on the network. I didn’t get fired, or ven reprimanded. The network people called and asked, and I said that I didn;t realize how completely the message would be broadcast (which was, to everyone). That was enough. I didn’t do it again. We laughed about it. They may have taken some steps to gaurd against similar utilities being able to “broadcast” from a client workstation in the future. This was an obvious case of a “Computer Teacher” (whose use of “hacking” and “breaking in” gives me much pause to wonder if I would want my “tax dollars” paying for such puny computer knowledge and understanding in a “Computer Teacher”.

via Dowdell at Macromedia