The above photo was taken in the backyard of my house sometime around 1995 at one of the infamous 617 barbecues known as Grillathon. There are some people in that pic who are now rather famous in certain circles. There are a LOT of people who where at the BBQ who have gone on to bigger and better things within the infosec industry. There are even more people from the same 617 area who now head security departments at fortune 100 companies, hold high level positions at DOD, who hold millions of dollars of VC money in the palm of their hand.
Some have embraced their past, they openly admit who they associated with, and wear it almost as a badge of pride. Others actively hide away from it. They want no mention of their past associations or that they even once used a handle. <gasp> I’m not talking about admitting to past crimes or other transgressions. There is no need to say you pownd an entire country in 1998 (who didn’t), no, I’m just talking about admitting who you were, and who your friends were. I don’t understand why this scares some of us so much.
It is one thing to not advertise certain facts but its another to actively go out of your way to dissociate with your past, and it pisses me off. We all know who you are and who you were, do you?
Speaking of 617, you may have noticed Lady Ada (Limor Freid) on the cover of Wired this month (April 2011). One of dozens of people from the late nineties 617 BBS scene to go on to huge success. I’d love to make a list of people who where in the scene then and where they ended up but I suspect it would upset a lot of the people who are hiding their past.
I might do it anyway. I would be afraid of leaving people out, remind me who was around 617 back then and where they are now. If you were around back then and think making such a list would be a bad idea, let me know that to. I may not listen to you, but I might. Depends on how pissed I get about it.