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> Many [programmers] work jobs that are intellectually stimulating, but ultimately leave nothing behind. There is a large population of technical people who wou

> Many [programmers] work jobs that are intellectually stimulating, but ultimately leave nothing behind. There is a large population of technical people who would enjoy contributing to something lasting. This hits pretty close to home.

leesalminen 10y ago
Same here. I was just talking with a friend last night about how software developers should have a creed, like how doctors have the Hippocratic oath. We could potentially cause far more harm than doctors nowadays.
- bthdonohue 10y ago
  As part of my computer science program in college, we studied the ACM's Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice, which in effect is what you describe. http://www.acm.org/about/se-code http://www.acm.org/about/se-code
  - cmrx64 10y ago
    And as an aside, the ACM is currently collecting comments on revisions to their code of conduct. http://ethics.acm.org/code-of-ethics/code-2018/ http://ethics.acm.org/code-of-ethics/code-2018/
- mamp 10y ago
  Interesting, but note that the Hippocratic Oath doesn't work so well with preventable errors in health care the 3rd leading cause of death in the US https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/05/03/researchers-medical-errors-now-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-united-states/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/0...
keyle 10y ago
Same here. I'm battling with this thought a lot. Beyond jobs, I think there should be communities of developers, designers, producers, writers, getting together and figuring out this stuff. And I don't mean open source projects. Let's group together smart people wanting to make a difference and have a hit list of things we (people) actually need. A group that would organise people into mission driven development. I'm so fed up of getting paid to potentially make founders rich. Or to be a small cog in a gigantic machine on a slow decline. I'm also unemployable because I can't buy into the corporate BS anymore. And where I am, there doesn't seem to be design/dev jobs that actually want to make a difference. It's an economy problem. The startup thing seems to be the best way we go about solving problems in the world today. But if you happen to _not_ be at the right place at the right time, meeting the right people, poof, it's gone. I can't imagine that an advanced specie would operate this way. We should be focused on solving problems, instead of being focused on escaping the rat race, to then be able to solve problems. I'm glad I am not alone seeking purpose. There goes a point where you're technically advanced, you have itches to fix things and all you see is the broken economy of consumerism and "let's give kids video clips and smileys, derp".
- wtracy 10y ago
  > And I don't mean open source projects. Then what do you mean? You described exactly what some of the largest, most successful FOSS projects (Firefox, KDE, Gnome, Libre Office, FreeBSD) are already doing. > Let's group together smart people wanting to make a difference and have a hit list of things we (people) actually need. Well, the FSF maintains a list of "high priority Free Software projects" that need help, but it's strongly colored by the FSF's politics: http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects/ http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects/
  - coldtea 10y ago
    >You described exactly what some of the largest, most successful FOSS projects (Firefox, KDE, Gnome, Libre Office, FreeBSD) are already doing. They "make a difference"? How exactly? At best, I can understand that for Firefox.
    - wtracy 10y ago
      By providing quality software that lets me and thousands of others get useful work done, and not forcing us to accept onerous licensing terms in the process? But hey, none of those can cure cancer, so what's the point, right?
      - coldtea 10y ago
        >By providing quality software that lets me and thousands of others get useful work done, and not forcing us to accept onerous licensing terms in the process? That software (desktop Linux/UNIX) comes for free, and yet, only 1% or less (from browser stats of major traffic points) seem to opt to use it as their desktop. Is this the kind of difference the parent was describing? Letting a small minority of people avoid "onerous licensing terms" that billions of others are OK and can get "get useful work done" with? In the server, of course, it's a whole different story.
        sangnoir 10y ago
Asooka 10y ago
But if you built things that lasted, there would be less work for the next generation. That's one of the reasons I don't really worry about the constant reinventing going on. It may be unfortunate from a theoretical perspective, but is an economic godsend for each new generation.

leesalminen 10y ago

Same here. I was just talking with a friend last night about how software developers should have a creed, like how doctors have the Hippocratic oath. We could potentially cause far more harm than doctors nowadays.

bthdonohue 10y ago
As part of my computer science program in college, we studied the ACM's Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice, which in effect is what you describe. http://www.acm.org/about/se-code http://www.acm.org/about/se-code
- cmrx64 10y ago
  And as an aside, the ACM is currently collecting comments on revisions to their code of conduct. http://ethics.acm.org/code-of-ethics/code-2018/ http://ethics.acm.org/code-of-ethics/code-2018/
mamp 10y ago
Interesting, but note that the Hippocratic Oath doesn't work so well with preventable errors in health care the 3rd leading cause of death in the US https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/05/03/researchers-medical-errors-now-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-united-states/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/0...

keyle 10y ago

Same here. I'm battling with this thought a lot. Beyond jobs, I think there should be communities of developers, designers, producers, writers, getting together and figuring out this stuff. And I don't mean open source projects. Let's group together smart people wanting to make a difference and have a hit list of things we (people) actually need. A group that would organise people into mission driven development. I'm so fed up of getting paid to potentially make founders rich. Or to be a small cog in a gigantic machine on a slow decline. I'm also unemployable because I can't buy into the corporate BS anymore. And where I am, there doesn't seem to be design/dev jobs that actually want to make a difference. It's an economy problem. The startup thing seems to be the best way we go about solving problems in the world today. But if you happen to _not_ be at the right place at the right time, meeting the right people, poof, it's gone. I can't imagine that an advanced specie would operate this way. We should be focused on solving problems, instead of being focused on escaping the rat race, to then be able to solve problems. I'm glad I am not alone seeking purpose. There goes a point where you're technically advanced, you have itches to fix things and all you see is the broken economy of consumerism and "let's give kids video clips and smileys, derp".

wtracy 10y ago
> And I don't mean open source projects. Then what do you mean? You described exactly what some of the largest, most successful FOSS projects (Firefox, KDE, Gnome, Libre Office, FreeBSD) are already doing. > Let's group together smart people wanting to make a difference and have a hit list of things we (people) actually need. Well, the FSF maintains a list of "high priority Free Software projects" that need help, but it's strongly colored by the FSF's politics: http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects/ http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects/
- coldtea 10y ago
  >You described exactly what some of the largest, most successful FOSS projects (Firefox, KDE, Gnome, Libre Office, FreeBSD) are already doing. They "make a difference"? How exactly? At best, I can understand that for Firefox.
  - wtracy 10y ago
    By providing quality software that lets me and thousands of others get useful work done, and not forcing us to accept onerous licensing terms in the process? But hey, none of those can cure cancer, so what's the point, right?
    - coldtea 10y ago
      >By providing quality software that lets me and thousands of others get useful work done, and not forcing us to accept onerous licensing terms in the process? That software (desktop Linux/UNIX) comes for free, and yet, only 1% or less (from browser stats of major traffic points) seem to opt to use it as their desktop. Is this the kind of difference the parent was describing? Letting a small minority of people avoid "onerous licensing terms" that billions of others are OK and can get "get useful work done" with? In the server, of course, it's a whole different story.
      - sangnoir 10y ago

Asooka 10y ago

But if you built things that lasted, there would be less work for the next generation. That's one of the reasons I don't really worry about the constant reinventing going on. It may be unfortunate from a theoretical perspective, but is an economic godsend for each new generation.