Comment by zozbot234

> You downloaded programs that ran on your computer. There was no cloud to speak of.

You can still do this, there's probably a FLOSS package for your favorite thing floating around. It might even be packaged by your distro and be just an 'install' command away. Not everything runs on the cloud.

> Entire code bases are upended by entirely arbitrary sets of rules set by people who arent hackers at all. These people are simply social-science sit ins who want to elbow in on a lucrative industry.

If you're curious about exploring computers, doing worthwhile things with them and expanding your skills, you're a hacker. There are no inherent skill requirements, the whole thing is based on personal attitudes and observed results. You don't have to be a "rockstar coder", though it doesn't hurt either.