[prvit]

>(or rather: fun factor after a couple of years passed and folks stopped being annoyed or down right furious at the perpetrators)

Poor sports, I’ve always struggled to understand people who’d partake in hacking competitions and then get upset because someone got onto their computer and took all the flags.

[PragmaticPulp]

> Poor sports, I’ve always struggled to understand people who’d partake in hacking competitions and then get upset because someone got onto their computer and took all the flags.

The sport is about everyone racing to solve the same puzzles. If one team is sabotaging the puzzles in the process, it's a different kind of competition than the players expected. Frustration is warranted.

It would be like signing up for the 100m dash but then having your competitors throw obstacles into your lane. That wasn't the intent of the competition.

[prvit]

>it's a different kind of competition than the players expected

CTFs are (usually) hacking competitions for hackers, what else would you expect?

[PeterisP]

It's like saying in biathlon (skiing+shooting) how can you arrive at the finish second if you have a working gun?

Rules are rules, there's a clearly defined scope of where the fighting happens and where it does not.

[prvit]

> It's like saying in biathlon (skiing+shooting) how can you arrive at the finish second if you have a working gun?

It’s really not.

[saagarjha]

CTFs are not free-for-all competitions, they are clearly time-bounded and designed for enjoyment. Having a team show up with a zero day chain for Linux that they designed for a year spoils the enjoyment of everyone else.

[prvit]

rming the CTF infra spoils the enjoyment of everyone else, winning because you’re the best and showed up with a cool exploit chain isn’t spoiling anything for anyone.

[saagarjha]

Right, so my point is that hacking everyone playing the CTF or the infrastructure is similar to running rm. Using a zero day on a challenge to get a flag is often allowed and even seen as amusing.

[prvit]

> Right, so my point is that hacking everyone playing the CTF or the infrastructure is similar to running rm.

It’s really not. rm is destructive, hacking competitors or infra to collect flags isn’t.

[thornewolf]

"Poor sports, I've always struggled to understand people who'd partake in a foot race and then get upset because someone walked out of bounds to skip part of the race"

Simply because the context is hacking does not mean that performing additional hacking outside of the context of the competition is in the same spirit. Breaking the rules isn't hacking better than another team, it's breaking the rules.