Re:The gift of it's your problem now
by kelnos on Thursday December 30, 2021 @10:48PM
(#29744660)
I mean, it depends?
If you give me covid, and you did so intentionally or negligently (as in, you knew you had it and yet did not isolate or at least tell me you have it so I can decide not to meet with you), then yes, that absolutely is your responsibility. But if you contracted covid from a trip to the grocery store, were asymptomatic, had no idea you had it, and I got it from you, I certainly wouldn't hold you responsible.
The software-with-backdoor bit is similar. Did you put the backdoor there, and then give me the software with the intent to later use the backdoor against me? That may not be your "problem", but it's certainly your responsibility. Or did a contributor sneak a backdoor into the software, but, despite your best efforts, you missed it? I'd be upset, and might trust your technical judgment less, but I would hold the contributor responsible, not you.
> In reality, all actions carry various kinds of responsibilities.
Yeah. Going back to the covid example, I could imagine an intermediate situation where you didn't know you were infected, but for the past months you'd been engaging in all sorts of risky behaviors: not getting vaccinated, no social distancing, no masking in crowded indoor places, hanging out with unvaccinated people in close quarters, etc., then I'm probably not going to react as severely as if you deliberately gave it to me, or knew you had it and didn't warn me, but I'm certainly not going to hold you blameless either.
If you give me covid, and you did so intentionally or negligently (as in, you knew you had it and yet did not isolate or at least tell me you have it so I can decide not to meet with you), then yes, that absolutely is your responsibility. But if you contracted covid from a trip to the grocery store, were asymptomatic, had no idea you had it, and I got it from you, I certainly wouldn't hold you responsible.
The software-with-backdoor bit is similar. Did you put the backdoor there, and then give me the software with the intent to later use the backdoor against me? That may not be your "problem", but it's certainly your responsibility. Or did a contributor sneak a backdoor into the software, but, despite your best efforts, you missed it? I'd be upset, and might trust your technical judgment less, but I would hold the contributor responsible, not you.
> In reality, all actions carry various kinds of responsibilities.
Yeah. Going back to the covid example, I could imagine an intermediate situation where you didn't know you were infected, but for the past months you'd been engaging in all sorts of risky behaviors: not getting vaccinated, no social distancing, no masking in crowded indoor places, hanging out with unvaccinated people in close quarters, etc., then I'm probably not going to react as severely as if you deliberately gave it to me, or knew you had it and didn't warn me, but I'm certainly not going to hold you blameless either.