Grrl Still Kickin'

I happened upon what has to be one of the first females on the Internet in 1996 - Bonnie Burton. She seemed to be experimenting with a more serialized format for her online musings - an online diary. I wasn’t sure I wanted to try that just yet on my personal domain that everyone had access, so I opened up accounts at Tripod and began posting random teenage angsty posts. They had phenomenal traffic, which at the time meant double digit visitor numbers.

• Get used to late-night calls and early morning texting. Hackers live in their own time zone when most people are asleep. They do their best work when everyone else have shut down for the day.
  
  
• Remind him that going to a 2600 meeting does not count as a date.
  
  
• Many hackers preach the motto "All information must be free and accessible," but don't assume he means he'll be an open door of communication in regards to your relationship.
  
  
• Repeat to yourself at least once a day that it's perfectly fine that you're human and not handcuffed to your computer. Hackers have a way of treating their girlfriends as would-be fembots. Be yourself.
  
  
• Don't be angry if your hacker boy spends loads of time on his computer instead of with you. He'll do this a lot because that's what hackers do. (duh). To hackers, computers and time are relative.
  
  
• Stock your fridge with Red Bull, various easy-to make foods, and Japanese candy. If you really want to impress your boy give him an endless supply of Club Mate and high-end beer. Of course, anyone usually loves a real homecooked meal. So break out the cookbook for special occasions.
  
  
• Some hackers live in their own little world full of 1s and 0s. It's a binary world, and if you want to be near them, the quickest way is to get online and learn more about their world. Be open to learning about his world, and trusting enough to let him into yours.