Ultimately, we learn from others
- Hackers are often self-taught
- But we learn from others: their code, writing and
actions (as well as face to face communication,
at HAL, etc.)
- We've learned what is right and wrong in many situations,
but the background we get from parents, school and friends might
not apply directly to online environments.
- So:
- We can make up our own ethics, based on feelings and
past experience. (We can interpret without much input from
others, but originally it was other people who taught us
how to make ethical judgements).
- We can assume ethics doesn't apply to the online
world. (After all, it's not real).
- We can look for signals for ethical interpretations of
behavior. (For example, reading what people have to say who
are in similar situations.)
- This last situation is something that all hackers can
help to happen: we can communicate our beliefs about ethical
behavior through our writings and our code.
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