You can be a great person and still write garbage software. Whether you’re just doing it because you need money or whether you’re misguided and think it’s actually good, that doesn’t necessarily make you a bad person (and remember: It’s hard to get someone to understand something when their salary depends on not understanding it).
A person is good or bad depending on their impact on the people around them; as such I don’t consider “misguided” a valid defence.
And while someone can be overall a good person while writing socially harmful and user-hostile software, because they have other qualities that compensate it, writing said software still makes them a worse person.
It’s hard to get someone to understand something when their salary depends on not understanding it
So it’s hard to be good when your salary depends on you being bad.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m analysing this through my moral views, but I don’t think that they’re the only valid ones. Your mileage may vary.
My other comment was mostly on how idiotic the whole defence is, not about morality (as this one).
You can be a great person and still write garbage software. Whether you’re just doing it because you need money or whether you’re misguided and think it’s actually good, that doesn’t necessarily make you a bad person (and remember: It’s hard to get someone to understand something when their salary depends on not understanding it).
Doesn’t make the software less garbage.
A person is good or bad depending on their impact on the people around them; as such I don’t consider “misguided” a valid defence.
And while someone can be overall a good person while writing socially harmful and user-hostile software, because they have other qualities that compensate it, writing said software still makes them a worse person.
So it’s hard to be good when your salary depends on you being bad.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m analysing this through my moral views, but I don’t think that they’re the only valid ones. Your mileage may vary.
My other comment was mostly on how idiotic the whole defence is, not about morality (as this one).