I don't mean proficient, I mean elite, exceptional, legendary.
But you stated earlier:
> How were they "pure bread hackers"? Was Gates especially proficient with code? I've never heard that. From what I read, they were the enemies of hackers. This really seems like looking back with rose-colored glasses.
Did you contradict yourself? Also, how do you measure "elite, exceptional, legendary"? Someone not qualifying for that wouldn't be a real coder in your book?
If you win the gotcha game, what do you win? We can attack each other's words or we can try to understand each other. I think my words can be interpreted as I intended:
I think 'pure breed hacker' means much more than 'real coder' or 'can write competent 1980s-level production-quality code'.