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The page you linked to starts with: Engineering ethics is the field of applied ethics and system of moral principles that apply to the practice of engineering.

The page you linked to starts with: Engineering ethics is the field of applied ethics and system of moral principles that apply to the practice of engineering. The field examines and sets the obligations by engineers to society, to their clients, and to the profession. I read this to only apply to professional engineering, where engineers do work for money or other forms of payment. I don't think freely-given (or almost freely, such as GPL code) hobbyist code should be held to these standards, for one reason: it's being given for free, with no expectations in return. If the developer expects nothing from you in exchange for the code, you shouldn't expect anything more than getting the code as-is.

vfclists 13y ago
I disagree with this. If the hobbyist knows that the code may be used in a critical environment then the hobbyist should withdraw the code or make it very clear its suitability for some task has not been tested. It is rather like asking someone for directions and the person misleads you on the basis that you are not paying him for directions. Ethics always apply whether you are being paid or not.
- ahomescu1 13y ago
  > If the hobbyist knows that the code may be used in a critical environment then the hobbyist should withdraw the code or make it very clear its suitability for some task has not been tested. It's already made very clear in the license that the code hasn't been tested, and comes with no guarantees. How much clearer than that can it be? Also, you can't really withdraw code from the Internet. Even if you take down the original repository, there may be dozens of forks.
  - sitkack 13y ago
    That is CYA boilerplate, OpenSSL is most surely designed and implemented for security even if the license says it is for making cupcakes.
reeses 13y ago
"professional engineer" is more than just being paid. It is a regulated term that connotes an ethical code, qualification, and acceptance of responsibility. It can be loosely compared to the bar association in the USA, or many guilds. There are very few "professional software engineers" in the USA. Only a few schools, such as UIUC, have such a program. Software engineer and software architect are meaningless terms. They are self applied yet imply some sort of parity with engineering or architecture. Insert your favorite "if x were built in the same way as software" joke here.

vfclists 13y ago

I disagree with this. If the hobbyist knows that the code may be used in a critical environment then the hobbyist should withdraw the code or make it very clear its suitability for some task has not been tested. It is rather like asking someone for directions and the person misleads you on the basis that you are not paying him for directions. Ethics always apply whether you are being paid or not.

ahomescu1 13y ago
> If the hobbyist knows that the code may be used in a critical environment then the hobbyist should withdraw the code or make it very clear its suitability for some task has not been tested. It's already made very clear in the license that the code hasn't been tested, and comes with no guarantees. How much clearer than that can it be? Also, you can't really withdraw code from the Internet. Even if you take down the original repository, there may be dozens of forks.
- sitkack 13y ago
  That is CYA boilerplate, OpenSSL is most surely designed and implemented for security even if the license says it is for making cupcakes.

reeses 13y ago

"professional engineer" is more than just being paid. It is a regulated term that connotes an ethical code, qualification, and acceptance of responsibility. It can be loosely compared to the bar association in the USA, or many guilds. There are very few "professional software engineers" in the USA. Only a few schools, such as UIUC, have such a program. Software engineer and software architect are meaningless terms. They are self applied yet imply some sort of parity with engineering or architecture. Insert your favorite "if x were built in the same way as software" joke here.