I read this in a .net magazine article. The question is whether software (and thus also web) developers should be held liable for bad code.
This of course raises several issues, the first of which is what constitutes bad code? Is it insecure code? Is it a web page which does not degrade gracefully?
Personally I think that bad code is code which is insecure at the time of launch. It is bad code if it blatantly disregards the web standards, making a web page inaccessible for many users. This is because code like this is a clear indicator of neglect and/or lack of ability.
But does that mean that developers should be held personally liable for their code? I don't think so. I feel that the design studio/company should be held responsible. It is the company that approves code and launches. It is the company that gets the specs and facilitates communication between the developers and the client.
Of course, if the company is held liable, measures will be put in place to sniff out bad coders, who may loose their job.
There is of course a minus side to this, mainly that coding often requires creativity and the possibility of liability will severely impact the creative risks programmers are willing to take. Applications would work very well, but have very little features, and thus be less useful.
If it comes to a court case, and the court decides that the developer should be held personally liable, and thus sets a legal precedent, you would probably find that programmers would follow a business form close to that of lawyers, engineers, accountants, doctors, who are all personally liable for their actions. Maybe web design studios would from now on be partnerships, and a programmer will dream of the day that he makes partner.
I think that there is a balance to be found. Yes, someone should be held liable, but not the developer personally. It is quite pointless to sue one developer, or even the whole team anyway, because their estates are probably not worth near enough the claim. The company should be held liable, which would mean more extensive testing and debugging of software.
I have also posted this on the Weebl's Stuff Forums, so if you want to read other's opinions, drop by.
3 comments:
Sup man, so I was transfering shit from my old PC to the new one and came across a whole bunch of MP3s from that day you and I chilled in the school at my house and recorded stuff back in like 2002- Evil song was one of the tracks that was written that day... Anyways, was just a reminder bout shit from the good old days, made me really wanna jam, thought not for a while (test week fast approaching, am sure its the same ur end) I coulda smsed this, but wanted to prove I actually read this damn blog proves that although I'm a silent cunt who is probably the worst excuse for a friend around i still give a shit - I like where ur taking the blog though, u are an opinionated bastard(meant in the best way) - this way you get to reach the masses. rock on.
I'm scheming bowls this weekend - later man. marc.
Hey man, good to hear from you. Bowls would be cool this weekend. I will check when I'm working and stuff so that we can make a plan.
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