Programmers accountable for how their code is used?

Trojan

Salon (good news site) has an article about how programmers can be liable for the way that their code is used.

Interesting stuff, I'm reminded of the American gun crowd's main line:

Guns don't kill people, people kill people

I'm not comparing the seriousness of programming to people getting shot, but it seems somewhat analagous.

What do you guys think?

Al.

Baz_

Well now it all seems a bit silly to me. To punish somebody for writing a program that can do damage, or infringe copyrights, fair enough in my opinion. To punish somebody for distributing code that's another matter. I mean I know that if the person knows that the code does damage then they are kind of liable (aren't they). What about a website that allows people to add their source code however. The website could hold the code for days before any lawyer or damagee knows about it and then it might be that webmasters policy to not remove any damaging code until he has fully reviewed the code to see what it does, it's possible, and according to the article, the webmaster would be held liable. I'm surprised they didn't sue the people wearing the teeshirts, I know I've read peoples teeshirt messages before. OH GOD NO!!!! THE INFORMATION THE KNOWLEDGE, IT'S IN MY BRAIN ALREADY AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

not likely that I'll be sued though.

DeVore

Guns dont kill people, people dont kill people its those little bullets... they go so damned fast...

DeV.

Keeks

It is a scarery proposition to see and one that can do more harm than good. It is just playing into the corporate sectors hands. An d what will happen to the un*x/Linux community. What are we to do?

But staying with the corporate sector Intel are to develop there own napster style code.
Check out the artcile at: http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2613163,00.html

Keeks

But the real big question is if someone develops a piece of software not design to do anything illegal but someone finds a way around that - who is liable?

Take for example the bugs in IE and netscape that allow people to look at/erase your HDD

Hobbes

Originally posted by Keeks:
Take for example the bugs in IE and netscape that allow people to look at/erase your HDD

If you paid for the product then the company is liable to fix the problem. If a car company had a problem where anyone could open your door they would more then likely have a recall

However if a person smashed the window to get into the car then it's not really the car makers fault.

btw, I'm trying to relate this to another product as this probably the only way it's going to save Napster.

Hobbes

Originally posted by Trojan:
Guns don't kill people, people kill people

Of course the gun makers don't give out free guns to anyone who wanders by (eg. BO/Netbus).

But to relate it to Napster, If the program has no evil intentions when it was made then the issue is on the user.

To relate it to guns is wrong, as a guns intention is to kill, it would better to say "Why not sue the car companies because they allow me to drive on the pavement and kill people".

Granted I get in trouble for it (as I did it), but is no fault of the car maker.