'Hacker' has been a market since personal computing became a thing. How do you think people got parts back in the day? By being marketed to through magazines and user groups.
A computer parts company offers (what was was) an exclusive service; computer parts.
A blogging platform that heavily reinforces markdown is still a blogging platform.
The example given by the guy who replied to you was a good one. ThinkGeek. It's Sharper Image, but with a science spin. They often overcharge, but they do so because of who they market towards,and how they do so (with their form of propaganda)
I understand why these markets spring up, it's profitable. People WANT to self-identify as a hacker and thus gravitate to services that say they are spun for that 'kind' of person. I just happen to think that it's sleazy to take advantage of the trend lately to self identify as a hacker.
To clarify, I think it's sleazy to sell people products and then make ambiguous claims that a person of lesser intelligence may follow as fact.
Example : "See guys!? Major League Gamer Fatal1ty uses such and such hardware. Buy now!"
See how they never said that Fatal1ty is a good gamer BECAUSE he uses x & y hardware? They simply stated he uses it.
It's up to the victim to infer a correlation between game skill and hardware, but the marketer sets them up in a biased manner so as to manipulate what they infer.
THAT is what I have a problem with, and "a tool for [insert sect of people here]" exploits that the same way. "Hey guys, want to be a 'hacker'? Did you know 'hackers' use x & y? Buy now!"
They don't know what services or products they want, they simply read labels. I do, in fact, think it's wrong to exploit the mechanisms behind 'a fool and their money are soon parted.'.
I think you're misunderstanding what was meant by a "market"; the OP is saying that a consumerist market may be emerging to provide "stuff that a REAL hacker would own", like how ThinkGeek.com et al is the market for geeks.
