common behavior

although hackers are substantially different people with unique personalities, they mysteriously all seem to lead similar lifestyles. clothes can range from your typical nerdy suit with pocket protectors and suspenders as if their mom still dresses them, to a gothic/techno-rave homemade looking getup. considering hackers exist all over the world, you can't really place their style of clothing into a particular group; the most famous however is hoodies and shades, kind of like a gangster as it makes one appear very incognito (even though the paleness from lack of sunlight gives them away).

your typical hacker will drive a cargo van, live in their mom's basement (or alone), listen to video game music rather than regular music (even though more and more popular music has been making its way into video games), and will likely have their room decorated with something very cultural or sci-fi, whether it be japanese manga/anime, action-figures, or the like.

geeks don't like sports whether a result of a traumatic childhood memory or just because of the physical activity involved. even sport themed video games rarely get any attention from this crowd. fantasy and first-person-shooter games are much more appealing.

flat foods seem to be quite popular, such as cheese, hot pockets, pop tarts, toast, and pizza, anything microwavable. there are quite a few theories as to why this is so, and the majority seems to agree it is because geeks are just lazy and want something easy to make. although i could have sworn i heard somewhere that it goes way back to a specific tyrant in the early days of the computer business who shall remain nameless, who overworked his programmers, and some joke/rumor spread around that he slipped food to them underneath of the doors. both explanations are perfectly feasible. caffeinated beverages are also a must, as insomnia and countless hours of coding need fuel. a famous saying is "sleep is for the weak."

a hacker rarely speaks unless they have to, and they type as little as possible by abbreviating or using acronyms. it reserves strength, and is good for multi-tasking. the geek mind thinks out of the box, automation, the less work the better. it is always better to use e-mail or txt messaging over your voice, even if it's to communicate with someone sitting right next to you. electronic messaging is the next best thing to telepathy (even though i hear they have some people playing video games with microchips in their brains now, craziness). a hacker may also very well be bilingual; they are extremely cultural people, but just because someone is a geek doesn't mean they know every other geek in the world, so don't ask.

geeks more or less either fade in or stand out, but mostly fade in. hackers do tend to avoid drawing any unnecessary attention to themselves. it is perfectly okay for hackers to mock themselves, amongst themselves, but for anyone else to do it could be considered offensive. i wasn't exactly flattered by the fact that one time when the electricity went out, when all the lights come back on everybody was looking at me… okay yes i was.

hackers like to hang out at bookstores in the coding section, and at radio shack. some experts say that anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of electronics can obtain the sufficient materials needed from radio shack to assemble an extremely complex bomb. not that a hacker likes to build bombs or anything, but it's an excellent place to experiment with and learn about electronics.

one last point: don't be surprised if a hacker isn't very trusting of you no matter how long you've been friends. paranoia is crucial, which we will cover in chapter 8. overall, to obtain the status of geek, you have to want it, and you have to earn it. it is not something that can really be taught, it is only something you can learn for yourself, although i can attempt to help guide you. as stated within the ten laws, geeks are willing to help to an extent; however, rather than asking "how can i do such n'such?" you should be asking "how can i help myself?"