I'm not sure if "author" here refers to the HN comment author or Munroe, but the latter is hard for me to view as "knowing better than to ever create anything", given authoring 1000+ webcomics and all.
No, getting your app launched does not make you a hacker. Being the CEO of a startup does not make you a hacker. Writing a website does not make you a hacker. In fact, in my opinion, these things are against the very spirit of the hacker.
A hacker is someone who creatively solves a problem, usually in an unexpected way. Sometimes, this is "hacking" together parts of smaller systems to create something novel and unique. The religious text of such hackers, the Jargon File, says so. Hence, why the above are not hackers. Gluing frameworks together does not make a hacker. Hijacking your CANBUS system to make your car better does. In fact, it would seem commenters here despise the idea of the hacker... there are so many posts that are either ambivalent or downright malicious towards people suggesting using a different language, trying a different technique, or whatever. To use the authors term the dominant mentality is unfortunately one of "what does this do for me" or "how can I make money with this". It seems like every young developer I talk to is obsessed with making the next big app in $FRAMEWORK or whatever. It's getting harder to find people who write code for the love of the art.
The author is correct except in his use of the term hacker. I find it distasteful to attribute the average MBA-cum-developer a title as important as hacker. The snark is deserved. Our field has been hijacked by normies. This post is an important reminder of that.
Whenever I ask “why did you build this?”, the answer “just for fun” is one that I find admirable. Replies like this just punish curious conversation between hackers.
Life is too short for this kind of snark.