Tribbel, Try going through it yourself sometime, You will find that its only natural to develop a little hyper-sensitivity to social structures.

The term 'Hacker', as the The Cow describes it, Originated, as far as anyone can tell, from MIT. The Hacker's Dictionary can give a far better description of the history than I can, but it is a bit like a combination of Jester, social commentator, and perhaps (but not necessarily) computer literate. It's a noble title, and while it won't give anyone any special powers, titles are important for the fact that they communicate who you are or who you want to be. Think Dr, or even Sir (in the British system). Tribbel misses the point when he talks about people describing themselves as hackers. They misuse the word, and it's doubtful anyone uttering such a statment would live up to the term.

As far as if you are a hacker or not? Do other people consider you a hacker? Really one cannot declare themselves a hacker. It's a title that must be bestowed. Personally(IMHO), I would describe you as a proto-hacker (or larval stage hacker). You show much potential, and you certainly aren’t a normal (l)user.