There are a lot of things that are ethically permissible that most people would find immoral. I was having trouble coming up with a scenario in which the reverse was true.
Personally, that situation doesn't present a conflict for me. I believe that something told in confidence should remain in confidence so long as another person is not presently endangered by that information. But I can see how someone would consider it a moral obligation to report the confession.
Moral: Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of human action and character
Ethical: Being in accordance with the accepted principles of right and wrong that govern the conduct of a profession.
Basically, one can be ethical without being moral. For more information, see: Lawyers.
I can't think of a way to be ethical without being moral, though. In any case, the easiest way I can put it is that morals are subjective to a person, ethics are subjective to a group of persons.
Sounds to me like they're concerned that there *might* be MS code in there, and are simply being transparent about the process of weeding it out. That way, if MS knocks on the door one day with a lawsuit for copyright infringement, they have public documentation that they initiated a voluntary audit of their code long before MS showed up.
I'm not a developer, so I'm curious...is it precedented at all for them to involve MS in this audit? Would it make sense for MS to look at the source code and advise them of any transgressions so they can fix it quickly? IIRC, ReactOS is/was open-source, so it's not like Microsoft couldn't have already downloaded the code independently to look for problems. By inviting them into the audit you at least have your ass somewhat covered, especially if they decline and then turn around and sue later.
Skype eats network traffic, and when you multiply a Skype call by several hundred that's a lot of resources being consumed. Not to mention the impact on productivity and the security risk that is presented by unverified software.
Also, any corporate lawyer will tell you that no company wants to risk legal problems caused by employee misconduct. They certainly don't want to get blindsided because of a Skype call that they have no way of monitoring, tracking, or keeping record of.
That's the problem with opinions. Everyone's got one, and yours is no better than anyone else's. "Person" is a subjective term, and it would seem Bush believes that an embryo qualifies as a person and has rights.
The difference: The Strogg are fictional. The events of Postal are completely fictional (incidentally, the name of that game upset postal workers for obvious reasons). The conflicts between the Apaches and western settlers were very real, and you should expect some people to take offense when you make a game that portrays one side inaccurately and in a bad light. Like I said, it'd be like a game where everyone from Germany is a Nazi. You'd piss off a lot of Germans doing that, and rightfully so.
Just when you thought they'd done something good, something like this comes up. I suppose their motto is "do some good, then do some evil to make up for it."
I once worked for a computer store that required I sign a contract stating that I could not work for any of their competion within that county or any neighboring counties for 18 months after leaving employment there. This was in Dallas, Texas.
That means that I could not have taken work anywhere within 50+ miles of Dallas that built, repaired, or sold computers or computer accessories. Oh, well...I promptly violated that contract seven months later and went to work for a competitor that paid significantly more money.
Maybe that's what those contracts are about. It's not about trade secrets, it's about intimidating employees by not giving them a way out.
This isn't about changing history. This is about a game portraying a stereotyped and historically inaccurate image of Apaches. It's like a game where every Arab Muslim is a terrorist or every German is a Nazi; it's simply not rooted in fact.
...RTS is what I'm most excited about. Supreme Commander is supposed to come out this year (last I heard) and that trumps anything that could possible debut in the FPS genre.
Wow...they might as well admit that their software hoses perfectly good systems to the point of needing to be reinstalled. Otherwise their "contest" would require that you start with a fresh OS load, install a StarForce CD, and demonstrate that it has done ANY kind of damage.
Of course, if it's causing problems with burners, that's excluded because you can't demonstrate a DVD burner problem without installing the software to, you know, burn a DVD.
Tok'ra would probably be something you could become by starting from the SGC. If you achieve a certain level of respect from the NPC Tok'ra by completing quests for them, you could eventually gain a symbiote and beomce Tok'ra yourself.
Unas wouldn't be all that interesting as a race themselves--they're too primitive. If you could play as a Goa'Uld, though, the ability to track down and infest an Unas for a different ability set would be cool.
An expansion pack featuring the Ori would be cool if it added the ability to become a Prior (after a LOT of work serving the Ori). That'd require a lot of play balancing, though.
That's right, folks. Criticism is harassment. It's no longer voicing an opinion. The press' right to inform the consumer and raise awareness about problems no longer exists.
At least, that's how these guys would like it to be.
What we need is a way for judges to penalize plaintiffs if they are clearly attempting to infringe on the rights of others for their own gain, as the case would appear here.
Obviously, it's not that black-and-white. Sure there are gays who were "born gay", but it seems quite obvious to me that there are people who choose or are influenced to be homosexual.
Anecdote: A woman I know gave up on men after a third date rape. She started experimenting with women and is now happy in a long-term relationship with a woman. She admitted to me that she still finds men attractive, but she refuses to let herself be hurt again. She considers herself to be gay now.
There are plenty of cases where gay people didn't grow up feeling "different" or "out of place" or just knowing that they were gay. I know of gay men who went straight...I recall a Christian musician I heard about a while back who was gay, found religion, and is now happily married and raising children.
There's no one "cause" of homosexuality. Genetics, environment, and experiences all contribute to how a person is sexually attracted to others. Just look at the varying definitions of beauty in different cultures...what is attractive in one place is disgusting in another.
I do recall the short stick being all little annoying at times (but comfortable enough once you got used to it). The side buttons on our Adam controllers worked great, though, and the controllers never had a problem, even with my (older) brother throwing tantrums every time he thought the game was unfair or cheating...
In other words, every time he died. Which was frequently.
I'm curious whether this will introduce a new gamers malady similar to Nintendo Thumb. Should we just go ahead and name it Revolution Wrist?
-----
Hope you never get an itch while using that thing.
current gamepad: take one hand off controller and hold it with other hand.
Revolution: Put down one half of controller.
It substantially increases the time it takes to take a hand off the controller. And as we all know, that 1.3 seconds is crucial when you want to grab a sip of your soda during a deathmatch.
The ColecoVision came out the same year, was much more successful, and its controllers were far better than the 5200 imo. The ability to template cards made those 12 buttons a lot less imposing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colecovision
Have you ever played a motion-sensitive game? I recall one gimmick game in the arcades back in the early 90s...it was horrible.
Nintendo will no doubt find some excellent uses for the controller, but traditional game styles that drive the console market (sports, FPS, fighting, light RPG) don't seem all that well suited for it.
I could imagine it being VERY cool for racing sims if properly implemented, though.
Slashdot Mirror
I had earbud 'phones almost 10 years before the iPod came out. They're not a new idea, they're just trendy now.
I stand corrected.
There are a lot of things that are ethically permissible that most people would find immoral. I was having trouble coming up with a scenario in which the reverse was true.
Personally, that situation doesn't present a conflict for me. I believe that something told in confidence should remain in confidence so long as another person is not presently endangered by that information. But I can see how someone would consider it a moral obligation to report the confession.
Moral: Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of human action and character
Ethical: Being in accordance with the accepted principles of right and wrong that govern the conduct of a profession.
Basically, one can be ethical without being moral. For more information, see: Lawyers.
I can't think of a way to be ethical without being moral, though. In any case, the easiest way I can put it is that morals are subjective to a person, ethics are subjective to a group of persons.
Sounds to me like they're concerned that there *might* be MS code in there, and are simply being transparent about the process of weeding it out. That way, if MS knocks on the door one day with a lawsuit for copyright infringement, they have public documentation that they initiated a voluntary audit of their code long before MS showed up.
I'm not a developer, so I'm curious...is it precedented at all for them to involve MS in this audit? Would it make sense for MS to look at the source code and advise them of any transgressions so they can fix it quickly? IIRC, ReactOS is/was open-source, so it's not like Microsoft couldn't have already downloaded the code independently to look for problems. By inviting them into the audit you at least have your ass somewhat covered, especially if they decline and then turn around and sue later.
Any sensible admin would do that.
Skype eats network traffic, and when you multiply a Skype call by several hundred that's a lot of resources being consumed. Not to mention the impact on productivity and the security risk that is presented by unverified software.
Also, any corporate lawyer will tell you that no company wants to risk legal problems caused by employee misconduct. They certainly don't want to get blindsided because of a Skype call that they have no way of monitoring, tracking, or keeping record of.
Crap. You figured out ou...umm...the Feds' backup plan. Back to the drawing board, I guess.
Yes it is.
That's the problem with opinions. Everyone's got one, and yours is no better than anyone else's. "Person" is a subjective term, and it would seem Bush believes that an embryo qualifies as a person and has rights.
If the self-steering Honda steers itself into oncoming traffic, could the self-braking BMW stop in time?
Because it makes for a much more sensational headline.
The difference: The Strogg are fictional. The events of Postal are completely fictional (incidentally, the name of that game upset postal workers for obvious reasons). The conflicts between the Apaches and western settlers were very real, and you should expect some people to take offense when you make a game that portrays one side inaccurately and in a bad light. Like I said, it'd be like a game where everyone from Germany is a Nazi. You'd piss off a lot of Germans doing that, and rightfully so.
Just when you thought they'd done something good, something like this comes up. I suppose their motto is "do some good, then do some evil to make up for it."
That means that I could not have taken work anywhere within 50+ miles of Dallas that built, repaired, or sold computers or computer accessories. Oh, well...I promptly violated that contract seven months later and went to work for a competitor that paid significantly more money.
Maybe that's what those contracts are about. It's not about trade secrets, it's about intimidating employees by not giving them a way out.
This isn't about changing history. This is about a game portraying a stereotyped and historically inaccurate image of Apaches. It's like a game where every Arab Muslim is a terrorist or every German is a Nazi; it's simply not rooted in fact.
...RTS is what I'm most excited about. Supreme Commander is supposed to come out this year (last I heard) and that trumps anything that could possible debut in the FPS genre.
Slashdot.org membership suffered a sharp decline when 192 readers' heads mysteriously exploded.
Wow...they might as well admit that their software hoses perfectly good systems to the point of needing to be reinstalled. Otherwise their "contest" would require that you start with a fresh OS load, install a StarForce CD, and demonstrate that it has done ANY kind of damage.
Of course, if it's causing problems with burners, that's excluded because you can't demonstrate a DVD burner problem without installing the software to, you know, burn a DVD.
I like Steam's approach (I know, I'm a heathen). I just keep all my game data backed up on my file server.
Tok'ra would probably be something you could become by starting from the SGC. If you achieve a certain level of respect from the NPC Tok'ra by completing quests for them, you could eventually gain a symbiote and beomce Tok'ra yourself. Unas wouldn't be all that interesting as a race themselves--they're too primitive. If you could play as a Goa'Uld, though, the ability to track down and infest an Unas for a different ability set would be cool. An expansion pack featuring the Ori would be cool if it added the ability to become a Prior (after a LOT of work serving the Ori). That'd require a lot of play balancing, though.
That's right, folks. Criticism is harassment. It's no longer voicing an opinion. The press' right to inform the consumer and raise awareness about problems no longer exists. At least, that's how these guys would like it to be. What we need is a way for judges to penalize plaintiffs if they are clearly attempting to infringe on the rights of others for their own gain, as the case would appear here.
Obviously, it's not that black-and-white. Sure there are gays who were "born gay", but it seems quite obvious to me that there are people who choose or are influenced to be homosexual.
Anecdote: A woman I know gave up on men after a third date rape. She started experimenting with women and is now happy in a long-term relationship with a woman. She admitted to me that she still finds men attractive, but she refuses to let herself be hurt again. She considers herself to be gay now.
There are plenty of cases where gay people didn't grow up feeling "different" or "out of place" or just knowing that they were gay. I know of gay men who went straight...I recall a Christian musician I heard about a while back who was gay, found religion, and is now happily married and raising children.
There's no one "cause" of homosexuality. Genetics, environment, and experiences all contribute to how a person is sexually attracted to others. Just look at the varying definitions of beauty in different cultures...what is attractive in one place is disgusting in another.
The origin of the word 'Goobuntu' is not clear, though it does not appear in online Zulu dictionaries.
Please please please tell me they were kidding.
I do recall the short stick being all little annoying at times (but comfortable enough once you got used to it). The side buttons on our Adam controllers worked great, though, and the controllers never had a problem, even with my (older) brother throwing tantrums every time he thought the game was unfair or cheating...
In other words, every time he died. Which was frequently.
I'm curious whether this will introduce a new gamers malady similar to Nintendo Thumb. Should we just go ahead and name it Revolution Wrist?
-----
Hope you never get an itch while using that thing.
current gamepad: take one hand off controller and hold it with other hand.
Revolution: Put down one half of controller.
It substantially increases the time it takes to take a hand off the controller. And as we all know, that 1.3 seconds is crucial when you want to grab a sip of your soda during a deathmatch.
The ColecoVision came out the same year, was much more successful, and its controllers were far better than the 5200 imo. The ability to template cards made those 12 buttons a lot less imposing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colecovision
Have you ever played a motion-sensitive game? I recall one gimmick game in the arcades back in the early 90s...it was horrible.
Nintendo will no doubt find some excellent uses for the controller, but traditional game styles that drive the console market (sports, FPS, fighting, light RPG) don't seem all that well suited for it.
I could imagine it being VERY cool for racing sims if properly implemented, though.