Network Ethics
Computer Citizenship
by Roger Ehrich
Now that you have a computer on the Internet you have many rights and
privileges you didn't have before. It is important that you understand that
you are now a member of a large world community, and that you need to respect
others and use your new privileges wisely. The basic idea is that you should
not do to others what you would not like done to yourself; you must respect
the property of others and ask for advice whenever you're not sure what is
proper. Many of the problems occur not because people intend to cause them
but because they occur by accident or through carelessness and because
computers make it easy to act improperly. The purpose of this lesson is
to help you to be aware of possible problems and to help you make the right
decisions.
Keep in mind that there is a difference between doing things that are
unethical from doing things that are illegal. Acts that are illegal are
decided by courts of law and usually carry penalties. Acts that are
unethical are acts that are socially unacceptable. Parking by an expired
meter is illegal, but it is not unethical. Telling a lie to a
classmate so that you will get a better grade is legal but not ethical.
Being a good computer citizen means being ethical, legal, and considerate
of others.
Personal Property
By now you have learned from your parents that you are not to open mail that is
not addressed to you. Let's think about this a little. What if your parents
get a letter from your favorite uncle, one with whom you have an especially good
relationship...should you open it? No, certainly not, unless your name is on
the envelope, since there may be something in the letter that your uncle wished
to discuss in private with your parents. Well then, what if the glue on the
envelope came loose and the letter fell out...should you read it then? Once
again, the fact that it was easy to do does not make any difference.
In your classroom, you have access to everybody else's files and work. Are
there ever any circumstances when you may tamper with other people's files,
programs, or computer configuration without permission? No there aren't.
You have no more right to touch data or computers than you have to disturb
anything else that belongs to another person.
In your classroom, your classmates leave books and papers in their desks when
they go home. Is it ok to read their papers after they leave? Of course, once
again, the answer is no. Then it is also wrong to read other people's computer
files to which you may have access, no matter how easy it is to do and no matter
whether or not you may be caught. There is always one exception to this rule.
If others give you permission to read letters or materials they own, then it is
all right to do so.
What about your parents. Do they have the right to read letters and files that
you write? You need to talk to them about this and reach a clear understanding
of the rules in your family. Whenever possible, it is best not to collect
things that would cause problems if read by someone who did not have your
permission. Not everybody has thought about privacy, personal property, and
courtesy as you have, and you must be prepared that some people will do improper
or illegal things that may affect you.
If you are not sure whether you may read things that belong to others, then
don't, until you get their permission.
Examples for Class Discussion
- Betty notices that she can read her teacher's grade records on her
computer. She reads the scores, but keeps the information to herself and
never tells anyone else she is able to do this. Has Betty acted
unethically?
- By accident Bill reads one of his classmates' files and learns that he
is planning a prank that will damage some of the other students' computer
files. What should Bill do?
- John and April share a computer account. John notices that April has
made a silly mistake in her WWW pages that really annoys him. Should he fix
the mistake for her?
- Your teacher thinks you are copying other people's work, and after school
he reads some of your computer files to look for things you may have copied.
Does your teacher have the right to do this if he never reads any files you
have personally written? What if the teacher discovers that you have copied
other students' work?
- After much work, Jack finds a way to access a computer in company X and
reads some of their files. He learns from this that company X is breaking Federal
tax laws. He informs the police, and charges are filed against the company.
Has Jack acted ethically? Has he acted legally?
Copyright
There are other kinds of property that others are willing to share with you,
like a painting, a story, or a clever invention. Suppose that a friend
painted a picture in art class that everybody especially liked. Could you
sell that painting to someone for $10 after everyone had gone home? Or could
you sell the painting if you gave the painter $5 and kept $5? Surely not,
because without the permission of the painter, you would have stolen it. But
it's not always that easy to tell what is right. What if you just borrowed
the painting, made 10 copies, and then sold each copy for $5? In this case
you have still stolen something; the painter may have intended to make copies
and sell them for his or her own profit, and you have taken that right from
the painter without permission.
Every country has a set of laws called copyright laws that determine your
right to use things that other people have made. Copyright laws cover not just
things you write, but also works of art, photographs, performances, CDRoms,
computer programs, graphic designs, and many other things. What our copyright
law says is that you own everything you write or create until 50 years after
your death, and that only you have permission to choose how it is used and who
may use it. After you die, any copyrights you own pass on to your descendants
just like any other property. That means that if you send an electronic mail
message to Susan, that message is still your property and belongs to you. If
she has good reason to do so, Susan may share your message with someone else,
but she may not post your message on the World Wide Web without your permission.
Anything you create becomes your personal property as soon as
you create it.
Let's look at some other ways in which you may be affected by copyright law.
Suppose a friend has a comic book you really like, and you decide to copy
the whole book on a copier. You would be breaking the law by doing something
like that without written permission from the publisher of the comic book.
But what if the publisher no longer had copies of the comic book that he could
sell you, or perhaps the publisher is no longer in the business; could you
then make your own copy? Again, the answer is no, since you would be
violating his right to decide what happens to his personal property. It is his
right to deny you a copy.
What about the computer programs you install on your computer. Whoever has
created these programs has put much time and effort into this work and deserves
recognition for this labor. Computer programs belong to those who write
them, and it is theft to install programs on your computer that you do not
have permission to use. If a friend offers you a neat program, you can try it
out, but you may not leave it on your computer without purchasing it or getting
permission. Suppose your friend tells you he has bought the program and is
giving you permission to install it on your computer? Well, your friend is
wrong and could get into legal trouble himself for giving away someone else's
property. He has paid only for permission to use the program, which is called a
license. The program itself still is the property of the programmer, and the
programmer is the only person who has the right to determine how it is used.
On the computer networks you will also find many computer programs that you
can download and install on your computer. What about these? Are you free
to use programs that you find on other computers? In general, the answer is
no, although some programmers and companies will give you permission to use
their programs without charge. Programs that you may use without paying are
examples of freeware. Most programs you will find are examples of
shareware. Most authors will permit you to try out shareware programs
on your computer for a short period of time, usually a month or so. After that
you are required to pay for the program if you continue to have it on your
computer. You are breaking the law if you keep shareware programs on your computer
without paying for them.
As you start publishing your own pages on the World Wide Web, you also need to
be aware of copyright law. First of all, you own everything you create and
publish on the WWW, and nobody may publish any parts of it without your
permission. However, you may not copy parts of other people's pages or
materials from other sources to use in your own pages. That means you are not
allowed to scan published photographs or articles from magazines or books, nor
may you use a cute little graphic design you may find on someone else's web
page in your own page without permission.
You may not use or copy other people's property without permission.
Examples for Class Discussion
- John finds a small graphic on a WWW page that he thinks is really clever
and sets about with his drawing program to make something like it for his own
WWW pages. Does John have the right to make a similar design?
- Stephanie has found a graphic she wants to use and notices that this
graphic has been used by hundreds of other WWW sites across the country. Is
it ok for her to make a copy for use on her own web page?
- Suppose his teacher asks Bill to Email a report posted in a company's
WWW pages to all his classmates. What should Bill do?
- Stuart has downloaded a graphics program and has been trying it out for
several weeks, since the startup screen tells him he has a month to decide
whether to buy the shareware program. While some of the features are really
helpful, it has some major defects that cause Stuart's computer to crash.
Since it is defective, Stuart decides not to pay for the program, but he
keeps it on his computer because some of its features are useful. Has
Stuart acted ethically? Has he acted legally?
Using Work that Others Have Done
It is usually ok to use a small part of other people's work if you make it
very clear that it is not your own work and tell who's work it really is.
For example, it is ok to quote a paragraph from a book in something you
write if it helps you convince others that your work is right.
If you copy something without telling where it came from so
that others might think it is your work, you are guilty of an
ethical violation called plagiarism. This will get you into
serious trouble. For example, at Virginia Tech, if you turn in an
assignment that contains something that you copied from another source, you
will be sent to Honor Court and may have to leave the University if it is
shown that you really did this. In fact, at Virginia Tech, if you
helped someone else by writing something that they use, you may also be
convicted.
Never use the work of others in your own work without
telling where it came from, and never let people think that work done
by others is yours.
Respect for Others
As a member of the worldwide group of network citizens, there are certain
standards of behavior which you are expected to observe. These may not be
laws, but they are conventions we observe to keep the network a comfortable
place to work and learn.
- Avoid annoying other people by rudeness or bad language.
- Answer Email that is sent to you, even if you have nothing to say...just say so.
- Don't fill people's mailboxes with unnecessary mail.
- Don't write sentences in upper case letters since they are harder to read and
appear to other readers as though you are shouting.
- Keep messages you send short and to the point. Don't include large
amounts of unnecessary materials or attachments. Remember also, that many people
will read only the first few lines.
- Check your Email regularly.
- Don't become angry or short tempered. Since mail you send cannot be retrieved,
make sure you never say things in Email that you will regret later.
- Never assume that mail you send to someone will be kept private.
- Be truthful in what you say...incorrect information can be sent very quickly over
a network, and it may turn out to be quite harmful both to you and to others.
- Don't gossip. Don't reveal confidential or personal information about others.
They are very likely to get copies of your messages.
- Be considerate and helpful to those with less experience.
- When you are participating in group discussions, stick to the permitted topics and
send messages only when you really have something to contribute.
- When you are finished with your work, log off the network so that others can have
access.
- Be professional and look your best. Since others can't see you, they will judge you
by your spelling, formatting, and by the way you say things. You are representing
yourselves, your parents, and your school.
Protecting Yourself and Others
There are many people who try to take advantage of others by gaining their trust
until they have an opportunity to steal or commit other illegal or possibly
dangerous acts. When we meet people in person we can often detect clues that
help us sense when we are in danger. When we interact with others over a computer
network, we don't receive many of these warning signals. This is the reason you
need to be extra careful about revealing any personal information over the network.
The danger is most obvious when others ask you for information, like address,
phone number, social security number, or credit card numbers. Never give out personal
information over the computer network unless you know the person to whom your are
sending it, and then only if it is urgent that this person have the information.
It is potentially dangerous to give out information carelessly.
Never agree to meet with someone you have met on the network without discussing it
with your teacher or with your parents. Be especially concerned if someone asks
you to keep such a meeting a secret.
Tell your teacher or your parents if you receive any messages that make you feel
uncomfortable or which seem to be inappropriate or harassing.
You will also get Email from people you don't know containing the most
amazing information. Remember that anyone can tell you anything over a
network or in World Wide Web pages; you have to judge for yourself whether
that information is valid or false. Be especially suspicious of offers or
information you have not requested. Know the people who administer your
computer network. If you have any question about whether a person on the
network is acting illegally or is possibly endangering others, do not
hesitate to report this to your teachers or to the system administrators.
A number of malicious people would like the chance to damage your computer
or the information it contains by making available to you programs that
contain computer viruses. Whenever you download a program or get a diskette
of programs from someone, be sure to check it for viruses. We have provided
you with a program called F-Prot to find and
destroy viruses on your computer. Make sure you understand how to use it.
More Serious Stuff
There are types of behavior that will get you into serious trouble and which
at a minimum, will cause you to lose your privileges. A moment of
carelessness can change your life. Never give your password to anyone or
permit others to use your accounts. Never threaten anyone. Never force
anyone to view materials or language they will find offensive. Never
interfere with the operation or functioning of someone else's computer.
Never attempt to use the network to steal information or to damage or alter
information that belongs to others. Never make attempts to read
confidential information that does not belong to you. Never use the network
to commit illegal acts, such as copying or transmitting software that does
not belong to you.
References
Computer Ethics Institute,
Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics, Washington, DC.
Forester, T. and Morrison, P., Computer Ethics, MIT Press,
1992.
Kallman, Ernest A. and Grillo, John P., Ethical Decision Making and
Information Technology, McGraw-Hill, 1996.
Rinaldi, Arlene H., The Net: User
Guidelines and Netiquette, 1996.
Willard, Nancy E., The Cyberethics Reader, McGraw-Hill, 1997.
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