I understand a hard fork is a controversial move, however in my opinion the alternative of the hacker getting away with one third of the DAO funds is untenable. Fork antagonists purport that forking can create a precedent for centralised change rather than letting the ecosystem evolve, however not forking and allowing such theft is turning a blind eye to crime and creating a precedent that the crypto community is a haven for criminal action, which is one of the objections governments
have about crypto currencies.

If the hacker returns the funds or if another solution is found then a fork will not be necessary. For now however it is the only option on the table other than allowing criminal actions with no repercussions.

I have just become am cognisant of the fact that a fork could hurt the exchanges, I'm not entirely sure how as yet, but we need to explore all options. All viewpoints have to be put forward so good decisions can be made.