Introduction
Loyd Blankenship (born 1965), better known by his pseudonym The Mentor, is a well-known computer hacker and writer. He has been active since the 1970s, when he was a member of the hacker groups Extasyy Elite and Legion of Doom.
Writings
Hacker Manifesto
He is the author of the Hacker Manifesto (originally titled The Conscience of a Hacker); the essay was written after he was arrested, and was published in the ezine Phrack. Since the essay's publication in 1986, it has been the subject of numerous panels and t-shirts.
Role-playing games
Blankenship was hired by Steve Jackson Games in 1989. He authored the cyberpunk role-playing sourcebook GURPS Cyberpunk, the manuscript of which was seized in a 1990 raid of Steve Jackson Games headquarters by the U.S. Secret Service. The raid resulted in the subsequent legal case Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service.