Computer Technology Timpview High School Ethics Computer Technology Timpview High School

What are ethics? Rules of right and wrong behavior Usually based on values Information ethics are the rules that define right and wrong behavior in the computing professions.

Ethics vs. Laws Laws are established to protect software developers and users. Laws have penalties associated with them. Ethics are based on principles and values. Generally there is no punishment for ethics violation.

Copyright A law based on ethical principles. Defined as the rights possessed by the author of a work. Includes copying, reselling, leasing, lending, renting, and/or distributing the material, publicly displaying or performing the work, and transferring the copyright Software or data is automatically copyrighted by its creator as soon as it is in tangible (recorded) form. Usually defined in the License Agreement.

Software Licensing License agreements are contracts between the purchaser and the copyright owner Types of licenses Public domain license – not protected by copyright law; rare and often unreliable Freeware license – can be copied and distributed without charge but prohibits sale and modification; examples: Netscape and Internet Explorer Shareware license – like freeware but owner stipulates a purchase fee for permanent use; only for evaluation purposes

Software Licensing cont. Software license with all rights reserved – licensed only for use by purchaser; owner reserves all rights given them under copyright law Open Source – license for software that makes the source code available under terms that allow for modification, redistribution and use without having to pay the original author. In general, it is any program whose source code is made available for use or modification by users, developers, or hackers. Historically, the makers of proprietary software have generally not made source code available. Open source software is usually developed as a public collaboration and made freely available. For example, in an effort to stay viable in its browser competition with Microsoft (prior to its acquisition by AOL), Netscape made its browser source code (Mozilla) freely available, encouraging users to improve it. The open source movement has gained momentum as commercial enterprises have begun to consider Linux as an open alternative to Windows operating systems. Open source doesn't just mean access to the source code, however. The distribution terms of open source software must comply with the following criteria: free redistribution, distribution in source code as well as compiled form, distribution of modifications and derived works under the same licensing terms as those of the original software, preservation of the original author's source code, no discrimination against persons or groups, no discrimination against fields of endeavor, licensing so that the rights attached to the program apply to all users, licensing that is not specific to use in a particular product, licensing that does not contaminate other software. (--Netlingo.com) Also see: http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd

Give Credit where Credit is Due DMCA have “fair use” provisions that let you paraphrase or quote small portions of someone else’s work as long as you give proper credit to the author for the material used. Quoting and citing information is just as important with computer sources as with traditional written works. When using work created by someone, ALWAYS give the creator credit.

Acceptable Use Policy Outlines what types of uses are acceptable and which are prohibited Define rights and responsibilities in using equipment in a legal and ethical manner Most have the following information Storage location and types of files allowed E-mail and personal file privacy Monitoring on-line activities Care of equipment Policies concerning games, personal Web browsing, chat and instant messages Software and plug-in installation Unacceptable e-mail or Web page viewing

Information for this presentation provided by: Utah State University’s Ethics Teaching Module http://complit.usu.edu/ethics_module.html