WHY THE LABEL *UNDERGROUND*?
ANSWER 4: For some, the term underground connotes malice and a dark side of human activity. For others, including the CuD editors, it denotes alternative to conventional media. An electronic digest is an alternative to hard-copy forms of information sharing. Like the “underground,” or “alternative” press of the counterculture of the 1960s or “underground music” or radio of the 90s, the “computer underground” refers to types of behavior or characteristics of a subculture that are unique, cohesively identifiable, possessing norms, roles, and social expectations that define participants, and are considered socially marginal by the dominant culture. Like the term “hacker,” there were originally no negative connotations associated with “underground” when the term was first used. The name “Computer underground Digest” was suggested with a bit of irony prior to the first issue (how, after all, can a conventional digest that is publicly accessible be “underground?”). The name also is a play on
