Slashdot Mirror
How Do Developers Handle Moral Dilemmas?
DwightFagen asks: "I'm curious to know how developers in the Slashdot community handle situations in which they are given a project that rubs against their moral borders. I was recently hired as a Flash developer for a design and development company and am just beginning my second project. This particular assignment is to build the video portion of an online magazine. This magazine deals with various topics and is by no means a pornographic site (although some content may border on that), but it seems one of its key tenets is to be untethered by social moral values. Though I do not believe such things should in any way be censored or banned from the internet, I do not wish to actively support something I believe to be an exploitation of human beings. What would you in the Slashdot community do in such a situation? Have any of you dealt with something like this before?"
"For the sake of clarity, I'd like to mention that I'm all for the freedom of expression on the internet and that I do not in any way judge people based on the media they choose to consume.
If this were a clear cut case of pornography, my choice would be simple; but that is not the case. I do still hold myself to certain standards and believe in the value of integrity and I would also like to do work that my family and friends can be proud of (or at least work that I could show them). However, I would also like to keep my job and would not want to put my small company of very nice people in a difficult position (as the deadline is not so far off)."
If this were a clear cut case of pornography, my choice would be simple; but that is not the case. I do still hold myself to certain standards and believe in the value of integrity and I would also like to do work that my family and friends can be proud of (or at least work that I could show them). However, I would also like to keep my job and would not want to put my small company of very nice people in a difficult position (as the deadline is not so far off)."
If you PayPal me $100 dollars right now, I will tell you (in an email dialogue) a different way of how you could've handled the issue differently and not only hold onto your last job at the game company, but actually switch to a different position in the same company, where you would've worked 40 hours a week, just as you do now.
Anything short of that, I congratulate you on your ascetic experience in ethics, little Buddha.
Here's a spoiler for you: before you can preach ethics, you have to master other things, like communication and language. They don't teach much of that in business ethics, do they? All they teach you there is how to apply some rules, in a black or white manner, without previously weighing in the risks of your actions properly, and without due self reflection before you open your mouth. Could it be that you were unduly influenced by your ethics class that swayed your judgment about the T-Shirt design contest? Was the logo a _straight rip_ (e.g. show me a URL with the image of both logos) or was it "look&feel" type of rip?
More to follow once you pay up.
'A lie if repeated often enough, becomes the truth.' - Goebbels
You know, I totally dig libertarianism, which obviously you are (or else you wouldn't be pointing to antiwar.com as your freakin' home page), but the problem is, it doesn't work. Just like communism will never work. I think pure libertarianism is as bad as communism actually, but then again, that's just my view. It's kind of like saying, let's all rely on people's good will and conscicentiousness that they will never infringe on the freedom of others, and that we can always talk someone into action....
Well, it doesn't work like that. Your inflated ego won't let you see my point of view, therefore, by virtually talking to you and providing arguments, regardless of how logical they are and backed by educated opinions from others, I'm betting I still won't be able to convince you into my point of view. That's because however you arrived to the point of having 'antiwar.com' as your home page, has probably indoctrinated you enough to think that every republican in congress is a rotten swine and wants to bury America, and now the Democrats are probably out to sell us out too, right? Wrong.
From this keyboard, I am the next Chinese tzar. From up there, you only get to fuck up once, and people crucify you mercilessley.
So... master Yoda of the Liberal species... unless you have a way of enforcing libertarian policies on 300 million people... or better yet, I'll make that 6 billion people, and you can bring them all to understand concepts of economics, free will, psychology, pragmatism, enlightement, verbal onanisms, immortal ideologies, pure thoughts, fragile sensibilities, better doctrines, philosophy, nirvana, etc etc etc - please, lay off the keyboard.
'A lie if repeated often enough, becomes the truth.' - Goebbels
Ok.. those who have money to start a company solvent enough to pay you came up with that money once, and can probably come up with it again, even after foreclosing their business.
Can you guess what my next statement will be after you've mastered communication and language around other? Ready to pony up?
Read my sig, bitch.
'A lie if repeated often enough, becomes the truth.' - Goebbels