A Hacker 'Hero' Has Been Banned From Cyber Conferences After Decades Of Inappropriate Behavior (buzzfeed.com)

Several readers share a report: John Draper, a prankster hero to an early generation of hackers, used his status at cybersecurity conferences to arrange private meetings with teenage fans and a reporter where he touched them inappropriately, multiple men have told BuzzFeed News. The allegations are the latest in what has become in recent weeks an explosion of sexual misconduct reports that have roiled a seemingly endless list of industries, from Hollywood to the news media to the Alabama Senate race. As in many of those other cases, Draper's actions were well known to at least a core of people who had regular contact with him. Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak told BuzzFeed News that Steve Jobs once told him that Draper, an early associate, once asked Jobs to sit on Draper's back in the 1970s, an offer Wozniak said Jobs declined as being "out of the ordinary." But in the hacking world, where unusual behavior is accepted and often celebrated, there were few official steps taken to prevent Draper's overtures to unsuspecting fans. Volunteers who worked the annual DEF CON hacking conventions in Las Vegas recalled that one of their responsibilities was to separate Draper from his teenage followers. Draper's behavior drew attention at other conventions as well, where he was a frequent presence. Brandon Creighton, a long-standing volunteer at hacker conferences who was familiar with rumors about Draper, recalled escorting him from a private party after ToorCon in San Diego in 2007, though exactly why was not clear.

Comments

Re:Are we crossing into Witch Hunt territory here?

[93 Escort Wagon]

Some people still don't get it...

The problem is - when the person "asking" is in a position of authority, the person being asked doesn't always "feel free to say 'no'". And often the person "asking" uses their position to imply there will be negative repercussions if the other person does say no, or (as appears to be the case with Roy Moore) to use their position to bully the other person into silence.

Re:Are we crossing into Witch Hunt territory here?

[cayenne8]

The problem is - when the person "asking" is in a position of authority,

So, in other words, a person should not be able to try to hook up or date anyone below their "strata"?

That sound suspiciously like the caste system and we see how well that works out in place like India, eh?

Look...real aggression is one thing, rape is rape, etc....but geez, the definition of this is going down to ridiculously low levels.

As a guy, we all (mostly) know that hooking up with a lady is a numbers game. You flirt with and make passes, whatever you want to call it, with as many attractive women as you can, and out of that, you'll get hits.

You get rejections too....but hell, is it now that any girl you hit on and get rejected, means this was an "unwanted sexual assault" on her???

Re:Don't hit on people out of context?

[RedK]

If you're at a hacker convention that is not the appropriate time to hit on a women (or a man). That's why the good Lord made singles bars. You're professional environment is not a dating site. How hard is that to understand?

There is literally no right or wrong time to meet a significant other. In fact, a convention where people of similar interest gather, is probably a time when you'll meet people, exchange with them, and form bonds. Some of the those bonds could lead to friendships and more. Dating and meeting people is not an activity in and of itself. It happens organically during social activities of all sorts, of which your job, schooling, shopping are all a part of. To try and paint any non-professional bonds that happen in professional settings as wrong is simply to ignore human nature.

That being said, harassment and assault should not be tolerated. But you're saying that flirting, or simply having a nice chat with someone you feel you're connecting with should be banned, which is downright ludicrous.