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+---
+# vim: tw=80
+title: The rise of unethical software
+layout: post
+---
+
+Something that frustrates me to no end today is the increasing absence of ethics
+in software. It's nuts! Everywhere we have software that lies, deceives users,
+breaches their privacy, and overall can be seriously lacking in scruples. It's
+everywhere! What irks me the most is that it *had* to involve a programmer at
+some point. A programmer, someone who's supposed to "get it" and who's supposed
+to fight for doing what's right in technology, sat down and wrote the code for
+these unethical unfeatures.
+
+<style> img { width: 75%; } </style>
+
+![](https://sr.ht/2iB-.png)
+
+![](https://sr.ht/W_js.jpg)
+
+Why is it okay to lie to our users? Money is, of course, the motivation behind
+bullshit like this. Companies that can't find money without sacrificing ethics
+quite frankly deserve to fail. If you're a programmer who is asked to compromise
+on ethics to write some feature, if you find yourself uncomfortable with what
+you're writing, say no!
+
+Developers enjoy some of the best job security in the market. We make high
+salaries for comfortable work and *everyone* needs developers. You should always
+be accepting interviews and networking and thanking that recruiter for spamming
+you on LinkedIn, because you will always have lots of jobs on tap if you do.
+
+But it probably won't get that far, anyway. Most companies stand to lose more
+money by losing a developer than by not implementing a [dark
+pattern](http://darkpatterns.org/). With the kinds of salaries our profession
+demands, the company has made a large investment in you and would be unwise to
+squander it.
+
+![](https://sr.ht/3Lha.png)
+
+![](https://sr.ht/d43u.jpg)
+
+I was once on a team consulting for a project where customers were refunded in
+store credit, and they were asking us to implement a system in which they could
+change the value of the unit this credit was stored in (i.e. $100 refunded could
+later be made to be worth $50; store credit wasn't stored in dollars). It felt
+wrong. I spoke up and it didn't happen - and I wasn't fired!
+
+I think we need to establish a code of ethics for programmers. Doctors, social
+workers, and even lawyers have a code of ethics, with tangible consequences for
+skimping on them. Why not programmers as well? We need an organized code of
+ethics for programmers. I want to live in a world where a programmer who hasn't
+agreed to follow our code of ethics has a hard time getting employed, and a
+programmer who writes anything like the software pictured below stands a good
+chance of losing out on future employment. It is simply not acceptable to write
+code that is harmful to your users. What the hell is wrong with these people?
+
+Please let me know if you would participate in such a code. Let's make it
+happen. Maybe we can, over time, eradicate these harmful practices.
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+
+.subtitle {
+    text-align: center;
+    margin-bottom: 1rem;
+    margin-top: -10px;
+    font-style: italic;
+    font-size: 10pt;
+}