Re: [Sheflug] Re: suse7.0

[Alastair Donlon <nospam [at] netsoc.ucd.ie>]

Someone's been having you on, Richard.

Geek has _never_ been commonly used to refer to _either_
homosexuals or criminals. It's a word which has been around
in America since at least the sixties (truly before the start
of the internet) and has always meant someone who 'didn't quite
fit in' socially. Often used by kids to tease the kids who were
seen as swats.

Before that, it was used as the name of a type of act you'd
see in one of those travelling freak circuses. Not very nice,
but nothing to do with homosexuality or criminals. Origianlly,
it comes from an old german word for 'fool'.

When the Internet _did_ get started, geek came to be used to
refer to the technical people because they were the ones
who were referred to as geeks in school (typically being
good at maths and physics). During the eighties, when the
computer boom started the word gradually became subverted
from meaning someone who doesn't quite fit in, to meaning
someone with a very high technical skill but very few
social skills.

A little derogatory, maybe. But not a reason to take
offense.

A.D.

On Tue, Sep 26, 2000 at 09:48:29PM +0100, Richard wrote:
> Barrie
> 
> Barrie Bremner wrote:
> 
> >  So, excuse me in advance if I say any word that has a different meaning
> > to the norm.
> 
> Well, i've used the internet since before it started.  When I was
> introduced the "geek" was just that sort of person.  Someone who
> screwed the internet for money from foreign countries.  They were
> normally very different from the rest of us and had hidden agendas
> like..  sort of "lets kill the police office down the road".  I'm sure
> you know what I mean ?
> 
> Anyway, the press and CIA/FBI etc came along and did what they do and
> made it look like none of it had ever happened.  Sort of....  oh aye !
> Wot Berlin wall ??
> 
> In the present day we would seem to be surrounded by uninformed people
> who are not aware of the real facts of what's wot.  I remember reading
> on an internet discussion list some years ago the words which went
> something like this.. "so when these people have finished then no one
> will know the truth" ?  I often sit here and wonder about all kinds of
> things :)
> 
> 
> Thanks
> 
> -- 
> Richard
> Sheffield UK
> 
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