Just Say No - Hackdot

Re:Just Say No by sevensor on Friday April 28, 2017 @11:44AM (#14220351)

That's an interesting point. I wasn't reading this as a binding legal framework. That would be a recipe for disaster. This document is full of sound ethical advice. It's not unreasonable to say that you're morally responsible for the code you write. If you work for a bad company that does bad things, I'm going to judge you for that, just as I expect to be judged. And this document sets up a reasonable standard by which we can judge software developers.

But legally? That's a whole other can of worms. Giving this document the force of law would just make it easier to shift the blame in a crooked organization onto the people writing its software. At most, I could see affirmation of this document and an oath to abide by it as the basis for membership in a voluntary professional organization.

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Re:Just Say No by dsacco on Friday April 28, 2017 @02:04PM (#14221670)

Yes, but who is doing the judging, and how? What does taking "moral responsibility" mean?

Laws are not perfectly correlated with morality (regardless of your ideology), but they at least provide a methodology of implementation and disciplinary action.

If I stand to gain from unethical software, and the worst thing that happens to me is some vague entity with no power holds me in disrepute, why do I care? It's not an effective code at all, it just feels good for its proponents.

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Re:Just Say No by dvtv75 on Friday April 28, 2017 @08:46PM (#14224329)

> Yes, but who is doing the judging, and how? What does taking "moral responsibility" mean?

Hasn't this already been solved? Take a leaf out of Engineering or Medical licensing.

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