I’ve read few articles that disturbed me as much as Michiko Kakutani’s selective survey of the “cyber-lexicon” or whatever else the writer chooses to call it. She paints a stereotypical and almost entirely inaccurate picture of “geeks”, using terms she mined from various dubious sources (quoting axe-grinder Paulina Borsook on just about anything is a sure sign that you’ve got an agenda). I’ve never seen most of the terms she cites used in online conversation, much less in real life. Her unnuanced analysis should be an affront not only to the people that she insults directly, but to any thinking person. She totally misrepresents the usage of the terms that actually are in common parlance, completely missing the self-efacing manner in which they’re often used. I could go on a lot longer about specific problems with the article, but I’ll just close by saying that it’s really a shame to see this kind of hit and run writing in the New York Times. Of course, ESR’s rebuttal in Salon isn’t really any better. News flash to ESR: there are plenty of geeks and hackers who aren’t libertarians.