Andrew Gray wrote:
2008/10/2 Newyorkbrad (Wikipedia) newyorkbrad@gmail.com:
There is, or certainly should be, at a minimum, a policy and spirit of "do no UNNECESSARY or UNJUSTIFIED harm." And I believe that in fact, there is. Of course, it's the question of what is unnecessary or unjustified that raises the most serious ethical quandaries.
"Do no harm for the sake of doing harm" covers it, I suppose.
But then, that falls under the all-time number-one guideline in this field: "don't be a dick"...
Actually, historically, "don't be such a cunt" trumps that easily. We really don't need to get into measurement contests, nor irritation contests, nor "bon mot" contests.
Really that furthers nothing. And I explicitly include here contests on who can be more aggrieved or insulted by verbiage on the mailing lists. Come on, be adults.
Yours,
Jussi-Ville Heiskanen