Hacker groups are informal communities that began to flourish in the early 1980s, with the advent of the home computer.
Prior to that time, the term hacker was simply a referral to any computer hobbyist.
This was a heyday of hacking, at a time before there was much law against computer crime.
Hacker groups provided access to information and resources, and a place to learn from other members.
[1] The names of hacker groups often parody large corporations, governments, police and criminals;[2] and often used specialized orthography.