I agree with ghenry's comment. I think you're misunderstanding the term "script kiddie." As far as I'm concerned, the type of behavior usually associated with that term -- i.e., running exploit scripts without any skill or even passing knowledge of what's going on -- is nothing but negative.

Ignoring that, I think the question you're asking is whether newbies, cargo cultists, or other "poor coders" are a benefit to the community. That's a more interesting question, and I think the answer is yes. Whether they are contributing positively now is not what I'm concerned with; I think there is the potential for them to contribute in the future. I know this from experience. Not only from my own experience, but from observing the path others have followed, as well.

There definitely seems to be a trend with people who stick around long enough. The social pressure put forth by the Perl community seems to be towards self-improvement and increased quality, even if it's often balanced by a fairly strong praticality. So I think anyone who sticks around and pays attention enough will eventually get pulled into the fold, and what you call "script kiddies" -- even if that's not the correct or normal use of the term -- seems to fit this theory.

In reply to Re: Script kiddies and the like: beneficial or disadvantageous? by revdiablo
in thread Script kiddies and the like: beneficial or disadvantageous? by blazar

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