{{Short description|Group of computer hackers}} {{Computer hacking}} '''Hacker groups''' are informal communities that began to flourish in the early 1980s, with the advent of the home computer.

==Overview== Prior to that time, the term ''hacker'' was simply a referral to any computer hobbyist. The hacker groups were out to make names for themselves, and were often spurred on by their own press. This was a heyday of hacking, at a time before there was much law against computer crime. Hacker groups provided access to information and resources, and a place to learn from other members.<ref name="thomas">{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Douglas |title=Hacker Culture |year=2003 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-3346-3 |page=90 }}</ref> Hackers could also gain credibility by being affiliated with an elite group.<ref name="thomas"/> The names of hacker groups often parody large corporations, governments, police and criminals;<ref name="crackdown">{{cite book |last=Sterling |first=Bruce |title=The Hacker Crackdown |publisher=IndyPublish.com |year=1993 |isbn=1-4043-0641-2 |location=McLean, Virginia |page=61 |chapter=Part 2(d) |author-link=Bruce Sterling |chapter-url=http://www.chriswaltrip.com/sterling/crack2d.html |access-date=2023-06-13 |archive-date=2005-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050407005839/http://www.chriswaltrip.com/sterling/crack2d.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and often used specialized orthography.<ref name="crackdown"/>

==See also==<!-- Per WP:SEEALSO, do not add red links to this list. --> *List of hacker groups

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Underground computer groups Category:Hacker groups