1. If you don't have religion, where do you find your sense of community?

Comment #156394 by legionlabs on April 7, 2008 at 12:55 pm

Family and friends are important to me, however I find that the hacker subculture is an excellent extended community. No matter where I am in the world I am not alone, having access to effectively instantaneous communication with a large group of interesting and rational people. Many of them are fellow scientists or self-educated to an equivalent or higher level.

As a community that exists over a text-only medium, racism is a non-issue. There is a distinct lack of authority figures, and the anonymity of the internet combined with a high level of technical expertise empowers us to decide for ourselves what is right in the modern world. It is my opinion that most hackers freely choose to labour towards rather noble goals. It's almost utopian.

Unfortunately, poor news reporting has labelled us all after a few criminals that abuse the freedoms they have (fateless cowards!). Now you may be viewed with moderate suspicion for having technical interests outside of your field of expertise. Images of "mad science" are often invoked.

Overall my experience has at its centre a hilarious irony: As a scientist/hacker I feel I'm met with unfair suspicion for the knowledge I hold... and as an atheist for that which I do not.