There was so much wrong with this thread, though there were also some pretty decent points at the same time. Decent thread overall.
Anyway, to begin with, you can be a professional "hacker" and/or programmer... take a look at those who are certified programmers, and certified security testing specialists. They are professionals. Would you not consider those who do penetration testing for government sites professional hackers?
Definition of hacking:
"To use a computer to gain unauthorized access to data in a system."
Thus, technically RATing is hacking, just a pathetic and unrespectable method of hacking.
I would also consider pentesting hacking, just an ethical way of doing so, but that is more of an opinion of mine.
Anyway, decent thread, though fix up the issues.
