CHECKING YOUR ETHICS

Instructions: Write a ½ page reactionary paper to any of the “Internet Scenarios.” Write a second ½ page reactionary paper on any of the other scenarios.

Internet Scenarios

1. The Web at Work: Mark works for an engineering firm. He is fortunate to work in a career that gives him a lot of freedom to experiment with technology. Recently, Mark discovered cyberspace and the world-wide web. At first, he used the web to investigate engineering products on-line and to contact vendors for information about specific products. Recently, Mark started surfing the web, examining links that were not specifically related to his job.

Was Mark's behavior ethical, questionable, unethical?

What if he surfed cyberspace only during lunch?

What if he links to pornographic sites during lunch?

2. Network Security Breaker: A bright graduate student developed a tool that would contact corporate sites, scan their networks and find holes/flaws in their security system. He made the software available to everyone, including hackers and cyber-criminals, over the Internet. Corporations felt he was assisting criminals. He felt that he was providing a tool for network managers to troubleshoot their security systems.

Are his actions ethical, questionable or unethical?

What if he only sold the software to paying customers?

3. Posing as Another Person: George likes the anonymity that the Internet offers. He uses the ten hour free America On-line Disks and joins chat rooms and discussion groups of a wide variety pretending to be different people. George has been a homosexual male, a lesbian, a 10 year old boy, a deaf student, a yacht owner and a TV character of note.

Are his actions ethical, questionable or unethical?

How is the etiquette on-line different from voice or face-to-face?

4. Service Provider Hard Disk Scanning: A popular Internet service provider offers on-line registration. Any user with a modem can dial the HomeLink Network and register for Internet service from their computer. What the users do not know is that as part of registration, HomeLink scans their hard drive assessing their system for potential, new software marketing opportunities.

Is HomeLink ethical, questionable, or unethical?

What if the users were notified prior to the scan?

What if the scan was to find pirated versions of software?

5. Breast: Recently an on-line service, worried about inappropriate materials being accessed and forwarded by users created a program to monitor user correspondence and terminate transmission if any 'censored' words were present. Particularly, the word breast. Women's groups protested because a lot of useful information about breast cancer was available on-line that was now inaccessible.

Was the providers decision to ban the word breast ethical, questionable, unethical?

Are there words that should be banned on the Internet as with Television and Radio?

6. Art and Copyright: Susan wants to make a really cool home page for herself. She would like to use a picture that available on-line and has a copyright. To make the claim that it is not in its original form, she flips the image vertically. She then posts it on her home page.

Are Susan's actions ethical, questionable, unethical?

How much does a piece of art need to change before you can ignore copyright?

Does it make a difference if the page is personal or for profit?

Is posting the art a promotion for the artist?

7. Sex Sex Sex: Julian is a student at a local high school. He has just discovered the World Wide Web and created his own home page describing his studies, hobbies and showing a picture of himself and a counter. After receiving little e-mail and a low hit rate on his page, he decided to (in tiny writing) write the work "Sex" two hundred times on the bottom of his page. Reasoning that anyone searching for sex related materials might link to his page giving him a highly accessed page.

Are Julian's actions ethical, questionable, unethical?

What if he used the word weather instead of sex?

What if he used the word Microsoft instead of "Sex"?

Should the school ask him to change his page?

8. Cookies: The Chip Company feels that they can provide their customers with personalized, customized service by using cookies. A cookie (a tiny fragment of information) is placed on a persons hard drive by the Chip Company. When the person accesses the web page again, the company recognizes that they have already been to the web site and can customize the page based upon the cookie.

Is it ethical, questionable or unethical for companies to use cookies?

9. URL Registration: URL fever has hit the nation. If a URL is unused, it costs $100 to register the URL and use it. Recently, a private individual has registered several URLs in hopes of reselling them at a profit to companies that want to launch a web site and find the URL they want is already taken.

Is it ethical, questionable or unethical for an individual to own URLs for resale?

What if the URLs are generic words like business, door, happy..etc.?

What if the URLs are names of large companies, towns or upcoming movies?

What if the URLs are names of people?

Work Scenarios

1. Pimping and Practical Jokes: Ruth likes to play lots of practical jokes. Once she tried to log on as Jim, guessing his password was related to his passion - coin collecting. To her surprise and Joy, numismatist was his password and she got directly into his account. She then wrote a program that would flash the message "There is no Escape" every time the escape key was pressed. Jim found the 'joke' in a few days and was mad.

Were her actions ethical, questionable, or unethical?

What if Jim thought it was funny?

What if Jim reciprocated?

2. Tricking the Software: Joe is giving an on-line demonstration in which he uses software that was licensed for 90 days. Prior to giving the seminar, he has noted that the license would expire. Rather than pay the licensing fee, he changes the date on his computer, effectively fooling the software into believing it is at the beginning of the licensing period.

Are Joe's actions ethical, questionable, unethical?

What if Joe intends to license the software at a later date?

What if the software is no longer available for sale?

3. Shareware: Anna needs software to convert TIFF images to GIF. She found an excellent piece of shareware on-line and has used it once to convert the images. The shareware developer requests that she send $5 if she likes and uses the software. She has not sent a check to the developer to date.

Are Anna's actions ethical, questionable, unethical?

What if she uses the software more frequently?

What if she used the software for a month and found a better GIF converter? Two months? Three months?

4. E-mail Privacy: Joan is a programmer at Xcorp. While working late one night, she notices that her boss Martin has left his computer on. She enters his office to turn off the monitor and finds that he is still connected to his electronic mail. She cannot help but see a message with her name in the subject line. She views the entire message and finds that it describes her in an unflattering way.

Are Jane's actions ethical, questionable, unethical?

What the message contained a racial slur?

What if message implicated the company in environmental dumping?

What if the message implicated Martin in embezzlement?

What if the message indicated Martin was cheating on his girl friend?

5. The Spot, Inc.: Jim was recently fired from The Spot, a national discount department store. Jim is a techno-savvy guy who felt he was wrongfully fired. His own protest against The Spot was to create a web page called 'This Spot Sucks' and to state his case to the world about his unfair termination from The Spot.

Was Jim's cyber picketing ethical, questionable, unethical?

Is this a legitimate way to protest?

The Future Scenarios

1. Robot Care Givers for the Elderly: During the 90's several incidents of care givers harming or neglecting elderly patients were reported. In 2030, FIXU Corp. developed a robot care giver that could provide nursing care, health monitoring and a limited amount of entertainment and 'chatting' for elderly and indigent patients, solving the problems of inattentive care.

Is FIXU's product/service ethical, questionable, unethical?

If human society allows such a service is it ethical, questionable, unethical?

Are families that elect this service acting ethically?

Is this service ethical for patients without family?

What if the patients were incapable of distinguishing human from non-human assistance?

What if the robots had no ability to chat or entertain?

2. Robot Care Givers for Children: During the 90's several incidents of care givers harming and neglecting children were reported. Schools became increasing unsafe and inadequate for educating children. By the year 2050, the economy required that both parents work. Yet people were highly reluctant to send their children to public school and the lack of space in private schools caused an education crisis. FIXME corporation produced a humanoid baby-sitter, Steve 2000, to care for and educate children while parents were working. This ensured children's education, even if the parents had poor educational backgrounds and guaranteed safety.

Is FIXME's product/service ethical, questionable, unethical?

Is the parent's decision to use Steve 2000s ethical, questionable, unethical? Society?

What if the parent were a single parent?

What if the choice was to tag-team-parent (one parent work nights and one work days, alternating child care) or purchase Steve 2000?

What if a Steve reared child grows up to be a terrible person? ..a great person?

3. E-Professor: Research has shown that an electronic professor can adjust to a students learning style, can better assess student comprehension of materials and, can give more accurate and current knowledge to students.

Should everyone be taught by an electronic professor?

http://www.uor.edu/FacultyFolder/RGuthrie/escenarios.html created by (guthrie@uor.edu) 1/22/98.