hack mode

hack mode

(jargon)Engaged in hacking. A Zen-like state of totalfocus on The Problem that may be achieved when one is hacking(this is why every good hacker is part mystic). Ability toenter such concentration at will correlates strongly withwizardliness; it is one of the most important skills learnedduring larval stage. Sometimes amplified as "deep hackmode".

Being yanked out of hack mode (see priority interrupt) maybe experienced as a physical shock, and the sensation of beingin hack mode is more than a little habituating. The intensityof this experience is probably by itself sufficientexplanation for the existence of hackers, and explains whymany resist being promoted out of positions where they cancode. See also cyberspace.

Some aspects of hackish etiquette will appear quite odd to anobserver unaware of the high value placed on hack mode. Forexample, if someone appears at your door, it is perfectly okayto hold up a hand (without turning one's eyes away from thescreen) to avoid being interrupted. One may read, type, andinteract with the computer for quite some time before furtheracknowledging the other's presence (of course, he or she isreciprocally free to leave without a word). The understandingis that you might be in hack mode with a lot of delicatestate in your head, and you dare not swap that context outuntil you have reached a good point to pause. See alsojuggling eggs.