2600: The Hacker Quarterly

2600: The Hacker Quarterly is an American publication devoted to technical experimentation, hacker culture, telecommunications, computing, networking, and digital civil liberties. Founded in January 1984 by Eric Corley and David Ruderman, the magazine emerged from the phone-phreaking and bulletin-board-system communities at a time when personal computers, telephone networks, and early online services were becoming increasingly accessible. Its name refers to the 2600-hertz tone associated with the exploration of telephone switching systems by phone phreaks in the 1960s and 1970s. The magazine is published seasonally, generally on the first Friday after the change of season, producing issues around January, April, July, and October. Much of its material has historically been submitted by readers, giving the publication a participatory character rather than the structure of a conventional technology trade magazine. Topics have included telephone switching, computer and network security, Internet protocols and services, hardware and software experimentation, privacy, surveillance, telecommunications policy, and news affecting the computer underground. The publication uses the term “hacker” broadly, generally emphasizing technological curiosity, modification, investigation, and the ability to understand systems beyond their intended consumer-facing use rather than equating hacking automatically with criminal conduct. Eric Corley, who writes and broadcasts under the name Emmanuel Goldstein, became the magazine’s principal editor and public representative. The pseudonym references the resistance figure in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, a work whose publication date also helped frame the magazine’s early identity. David Ruderman left direct involvement several years after the launch, while Corley continued the publication through 2600 Enterprises, Inc. 2600 developed beyond print into a wider community infrastructure. It organizes open monthly meetings in numerous locations around the world, bringing together people with varied levels of technical experience. The meetings are presented as accessible gatherings for discussion, experimentation, and social exchange. In 1994, marking the magazine’s tenth anniversary, the organization launched the H.O.P.E. conference, or Hackers on Planet Earth. H.O.P.E. has featured talks, workshops, performances, demonstrations, and discussions involving security researchers, hackers, journalists, activists, whistleblowers, and countercultural figures. The conference has been held in Manhattan, including at the Hotel Pennsylvania, the Puck Building for its 1997 edition, and later the New Yorker Hotel. The brand has also operated in radio, film, and book publishing. Corley hosts the technology and culture programs Off the Hook and Off The Wall, which have been distributed through radio and online channels. 2600 Films produced Freedom Downtime, a documentary about hacker Kevin Mitnick, the Free Kevin movement, and the surrounding hacker community. A large retrospective volume, The Best of 2600: A Hacker Odyssey, collected selected material from the magazine and was published in 2008. A major part of 2600’s public identity has been its advocacy of free expression, privacy, and resistance to expanded digital surveillance. The organization became involved in litigation concerning the publication and distribution of DeCSS, a tool used to access content protected by the DVD Content Scramble System. In Universal City Studios v. Reimerdes, 2600 and associated parties challenged restrictions connected with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s anti-circumvention provisions, making the case an important episode in debates over software publication and technological speech. The magazine has also faced less consequential legal disputes, including a 2012 copyright claim over an ink-spatter image later shown to derive from material released into the public domain; the claimant subsequently withdrew the claim and apologized. Today, 2600 remains a niche but influential technology-media brand whose value lies as much in its community and civil-liberties orientation as in its print product. It occupies a distinctive position between a magazine, an activist publication, a technical archive, a conference organizer, and a meeting network. Its readership and contributors have helped preserve a participatory tradition in hacker culture while its later work has addressed contemporary concerns such as surveillance, censorship, computer security, and the social consequences of networked technology.

2600: The Hacker Quarterly began in January 1984, when personal computing and telephone experimentation were becoming central to an emerging technical counterculture. Its founders, Eric Corley and David Ruderman, drew on the traditions of phone phreaking, early bulletin-board systems, and informal exchanges among people interested in understanding communications infrastructure. The title references the 2600-hertz signaling tone associated with historic exploration of telephone switching systems. The launch also coincided with the publication of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and the breakup of AT&T, giving the magazine a particularly resonant place in the period’s conversations about technology, institutions, and control. The publication’s format was deliberately participatory. Articles and reports were frequently supplied by readers, and the magazine covered subjects ranging from telephone networks and switching systems to computer security, Internet protocols, online services, hardware modification, and software experimentation. Rather than treating “hacking” exclusively as a synonym for cybercrime, 2600 generally used the word to describe intensive technical curiosity and the creative or investigative manipulation of systems. This framing allowed the magazine to discuss controversial technologies and practices while maintaining a distinction between technical activity and criminal intent. Ruderman ended his direct involvement several years after the magazine’s creation. Corley continued as editor and publisher through 2600 Enterprises, Inc., using the pen name Emmanuel Goldstein. The name, borrowed from Orwell’s fictional political dissident, became closely associated with the magazine and with Corley’s public work. 2600 established a regular seasonal publishing rhythm, with issues typically appearing around January, April, July, and October. The organization expanded its presence through recurring local meetings. These gatherings were advertised in the magazine and designed to be open to people regardless of age or technical expertise. The meetings helped turn the publication into a distributed community rather than a solely print-based product, supporting discussion, collaboration, and the exchange of practical knowledge in multiple countries. In 1994, for the magazine’s tenth anniversary, 2600 launched H.O.P.E., short for Hackers on Planet Earth. The conference developed into a major gathering for hacker culture, combining technical presentations with workshops, concerts, demonstrations, and political discussion. It was held in Manhattan, historically at the Hotel Pennsylvania, with the second event in 1997 taking place at the Puck Building. Later editions were associated with the New Yorker Hotel. Speakers and participants have included security specialists, journalists, software-freedom advocates, hackers, whistleblowers, artists, and countercultural activists. This range reflected 2600’s broad understanding of hacking as a technical and social practice. Freedom of expression and digital-liberties advocacy became increasingly prominent in the organization’s public identity. 2600 participated in legal proceedings surrounding DeCSS, software that could be used to access DVD content protected by the Content Scramble System. Universal City Studios v. Reimerdes placed the publication in a major dispute over whether publishing or linking to technological information could be restricted under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The litigation became part of the broader debate about software as speech, anti-circumvention rules, copyright enforcement, and the constitutional limits of technology regulation. The brand also developed into other forms of media. Corley hosted Off the Hook and Off The Wall, radio programs distributed through terrestrial stations and online channels. 2600 Films produced Freedom Downtime, a feature documentary addressing Kevin Mitnick, the Free Kevin campaign, and the social world around computer hackers. In 2008, Wiley published The Best of 2600: A Hacker Odyssey, an extensive compilation of articles from the magazine. Not all legal issues surrounding the publication involved technology policy. In 2012, an image-licensing agency asserted a copyright claim regarding an ink-spatter image used on a 2600 issue. Investigation indicated that the underlying artwork had been created by Finnish artist Jukka Korhonen and released into the public domain. The agency withdrew the claim and apologized. 2600 continues to function as a seasonal magazine, meeting network, conference organizer, media producer, and civil-liberties platform. Its subject matter has evolved from telephone phreaking and early computer systems toward Internet security, surveillance, privacy, censorship, and the political consequences of digital infrastructure. The publication’s continuing significance comes from its combination of reader participation, technical inquiry, community-building, and a persistent defense of open access to information.

• 2012

  Image copyright claim is withdrawn

  [1]2600: The Hacker Quarterlyen.wikipedia.org

  A claim concerning an ink-spatter image on a Spring 2012 issue is withdrawn after the artwork’s public-domain origin is identified.

• 2008

  Retrospective book is published

  [1]2600: The Hacker Quarterlyen.wikipedia.org

  The Best of 2600: A Hacker Odyssey collects selected magazine material in a large hardcover volume.

• 1997

  Second H.O.P.E. conference moves to the Puck Building

  [1]2600: The Hacker Quarterlyen.wikipedia.org

  The second H.O.P.E. event is held at Manhattan’s Puck Building rather than the Hotel Pennsylvania.

• 1994

  First H.O.P.E. conference

  [1]2600: The Hacker Quarterlyen.wikipedia.org

  2600 establishes Hackers on Planet Earth, extending the publication’s community into a recurring conference.

• 1987

  David Ruderman leaves direct involvement

  [1]2600: The Hacker Quarterlyen.wikipedia.org

  Co-founder David Ruderman ends his direct role in the publication several years after its launch.

• 1984

  Magazine launches

  [1]2600: The Hacker Quarterlyen.wikipedia.org

  The first issue of 2600 appears in January, establishing a seasonal publication focused on telecommunications, computers, and hacker culture.

A participatory hacker-culture and technology publication combining practical technical discussion with advocacy for privacy, free expression, civil liberties, and open inquiry.

• Print magazine · 1984

  2600: The Hacker Quarterly

  The core seasonal publication, generally released around January, April, July, and October. It combines reader-submitted and editorial material about telecommunications, computer systems, network services, security, privacy, digital rights, and hacker culture.

• Conference · 1994

  H.O.P.E. (Hackers on Planet Earth)

  A recurring hacker and technology conference founded by 2600 in 1994. Its program has included technical talks, workshops, concerts, demonstrations, political discussions, and appearances by researchers, activists, journalists, and whistleblowers.

• Book · 2008

  The Best of 2600: A Hacker Odyssey

  A substantial compilation of selected articles from the magazine, assembled as a retrospective record of 2600’s technical and cultural coverage.

• Documentary film

  Freedom Downtime

  A 2600 Films documentary concerning Kevin Mitnick, the Free Kevin movement, and the communities and controversies surrounding computer hacking.

• Radio and online program

  Off the Hook

  A technology and hacker-culture radio program hosted by Emmanuel Goldstein and broadcast through WBAI as well as online distribution channels.

• Radio and online program

  Off The Wall

  A related radio program hosted by Emmanuel Goldstein and associated with WUSB and online availability.

• 2008

  Publish a retrospective article collectionProduct launch

  Background

  The magazine had accumulated more than two decades of technical and cultural material that could be presented to readers in a consolidated format.

  Action taken

  2600 published The Best of 2600: A Hacker Odyssey through Wiley.

  Aftermath

  The book provided a durable retrospective record of the publication’s archive and community perspective.

  Source

• 1994

  Expand from magazine publishing into a conference communityStrategy

  Background

  The publication’s tenth anniversary provided an opportunity to build a broader forum for technical exchange and hacker culture.

  Action taken

  2600 established the H.O.P.E. conference, supplementing the magazine and local meetings with a larger recurring event.

  Aftermath

  H.O.P.E. became a prominent gathering featuring presentations, workshops, performances, and civil-liberties discussions.

  Source

• Challenge anti-circumvention restrictions through DeCSS litigationOther

  Background

  The distribution of DeCSS raised questions about whether publishing software and technical information could be restricted under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

  Action taken

  2600 became involved in Universal City Studios v. Reimerdes alongside digital-rights advocates and challenged restrictions associated with publishing the tool.

  Aftermath

  The courts upheld the relevant anti-circumvention provisions, making the dispute a significant episode in the debate over software speech and digital copyright.

  Source

1. 12600: The Hacker Quarterlyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Official 2600 website2600.com