Sometimes, even if it isn't about your code killing people or supporting morally questionable things, just making sure the right thing is done is a matter of et

Sometimes, even if it isn't about your code killing people or supporting morally questionable things, just making sure the right thing is done is a matter of ethics. I saw a job posting on my universities' IT depratments' job board. Another (non-IT) department wanted an application implemented in a specific way that was completely unsuitable. Not impossible to implement, just the wrong tool for the job and it would be a nightmare for the users. I wasn't particularly interested in doing the job, as I wasn't short on money and had a "real" job lined up, but I did reach out to the department, asked whether there was a specific reason for the requirements (there wasn't), explained the better alternatives, and offered to help them write a better ad, and if they really couldn't find anyone else, implement it (for a fixed price that would result in an above-average hourly rate for me, which I was transparent about). I ended up implementing it, and it is an implementation that at that time would have been controversial, but still seems to be the right choice even with many more years of experience and hindsight. Had I simply ignored it, the most likely outcome is that thousands of students would have had to suffer with a really bad system. That code I'm still proud of.