"It is legal to look in your neighbor's open window but nice people do not do it. There is no more corrupting idea than the current one that that which is legal is, ipso facto, ethical."
- Bill Murray, SANS
Starfish Systems
www.starfishsystems.ca
information security by design
(604) 916-7871
 
Services Software Community About Us
The Ethics of the Digital Commons


At Starfish Systems, we believe that in the age of the digital commons, issues of ethics and computing are indivisible.

A properly constructed computing infrastructure not only meets the operational requirements of an organization, but allows it to express its mission and values. Conversely, an organization which is unclear about its mission and values may be at a needless disadvantage when it comes to building a sustainable computing environment.

We think about these issues because we know we are part of a community. We want our clients to be successful, not just until the next quarterly report, but sustainably. That, to us, is simply good business. Accordingly, we offer some references to forums and organizations around which the discussion of ethics and computing is taking place. This list is not definitive, and is not intended to be prescriptive, but it can be useful to see what viewpoints are being debated by others. We welcome suggestions for references to be added to the list.
The Internet is for Everyone (RFC 3271)
Trusted Computing
Creative Commons
The Risks Digest
Public Patent Foundation
The Martus Human Rights Bulletin System
Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
SAGE Code of Ethics
Golden Rules of Consulting
Organization for Internet Safety
League for Programming Freedom
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Privacy Information Center
Center for Democracy and Technology
Canadian Business for Social Responsibility
Canadian Public Interest Advocacy Centre
Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic
Consumer Project on Technology
Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy
International Association for Cryptologic Research
Cyber Security Policy and Research Institute
Building a Human Firewall
The Ethics of Web Site Engineering
Privacy International
American Civil Liberties Union
UBC Centre for Applied Ethics
World of Ends
The Long Now Foundation
The Cluetrain Manifesto