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Comment by worldvoyageur | Hacker News Reader

TL/DR (but read the link, it's worth it): MIT's Pirate Certificate became available in the Fall of 2011. MIT students who successfully complete Archery, Fencing, Pistol (or Rifle) and Sailing get the certificate.

It was intended as a fun way to incentivize students meeting the physical education component of their degree requirements. The certificate does not entitle the student to engage in piracy.

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> The certificate does not entitle the student to engage in piracy.

Aye, but a pirate requires no charter to sail the 7 seas

But what about the oceans?

Of course typically (in the bluebeard era) pirates actually did have a charter, or really a Letter of Marque from the crown. One country's "pirate" was another country's outsourced naval agent. This was true also in the barbary states (hence the song of the US marines) and the straights of malacca et al.

The ones today in the horn of africa though, AFAIK, are indeed free agents.

There's a reason for the existence of the word 'privateer' and the distinction between privateer and pirate.

The distinction being that if you are on the side that issued the letter of marque they were "privateers" while if they were attacking you they were "pirates"

Not dissimilar to freedom fighter/terrorist back in the day.

That still applies.

> MIT's Pirate Certificate became available in the Fall of 2011.

Officially, yes, but as far as I know, it has existed there for much longer.

I'm class of '05 and remember it being something you could get.

How about Privateering then? Fair enough if I can’t get a letter of marque, but I want booty and rum!

I think "booty and rum" sums up what most of us got out of college.

That and the certificate.

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