Except amongst dog afficionados, i.e. professional dog breeders and those Westminster(sp?) Kennel Club types.

Allowing pop-culture language to take over the specialized vernacular of a special interest group is as foolish as to expect the general public to directly adopt the language of a special interest group. By muddying the meaning of the word "hacker" and letting "cracker" fall into obscurity, you're making efficient communication more difficult.

If Slashdot wants to be "corerct for nerds" the differences between hacker and cracker should stand. If just pop-culture is desired, hacker is good by itself.