WEB ETHICS

Ethics deals with the principles of conduct governing an individual or group. The Web, as any media, can be used for good or bad activities. The nature of digital technologies present a particular set of ethical concerns. Web ethics can be thought of as a set of guidelines that govern the use of information systems so that users conform to accepted professional standards of conduct. Areas of concern include:

• Unauthorized use of computer systems.
• Software theft (piracy).
• Information theft.
• Information privacy.
• Information accuracy.

Code of Conduct: A code of conduct is a written set of guidelines, developed for a particular group or organization, that specifies ethical and unethical actions. Many businesses, educational institutions and government organizations develop codes of conduct.

Netiquette: Although there is no single set of rules, there are some basic standards accepted by most Internet users that can be used as guidelines (many of these are just common sense):

• follow acceptable use policy (code of conduct) of service providers
• cite references and sources
• respect copyrights
• don't steal information or bandwidth
• don't link illegally to someone else's files (deep linking)
• respect privacy of others
• don't send spam (mass, unsolicited email)
• don't use deceptive email subject
• don't reply to all if reply is intended for an individual
• don't forward virus warning unless you verify it (most are hoaxes)
• ask permission before adding someone to a mailing list
• don't write what you don't want made public (email is not private)
• don't disseminate false or libelous information
• consider social impact of information
• be nice
• use common sense

1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.
2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.
3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's computer files.
4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
6. Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid.
7. Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization or proper compensation.
8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output.
9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you are writing or the system you are designing.
10. Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that insure consideration and respect for your fellow humans.

COPYRIGHT ISSUES

Copyright laws protect the creative and economic interests of authors, musicians and artists. The Web is an inherently open medium used to distribute writing, music, images and other media.

Copyright: A copyright confers rights and privileges to anyone who creates original intellectual property. All written works (created after 1989) are automatically copyrighted and protected, regardless of whether they contain a copyright notice, but it is a good idea to use one.

Copyright Notice: A copyright notice consists of the word "Copyright" or its symbol ©, the year the work was created or first published and the full name of the copyright owner. The copyright symbol can be placed in an HTML document with the code ©

Copyright Infringement: The violation of the legal rights of a copyright owner. it is the responsibility of the copyright owner to initiate retaliatory actions against copyright infringement, usually in the form of a civil lawsuit.

Fair Use: The Fair Use Doctrine provides a set of guidelines for the legally allowable uses of copyrighted material.

• Printing one copy of legally obtained material
• Storing a copy of legally obtained material
• Quoting limited excerpts, but not complete article, book chapter, section, etc., if full credit is given (e.g. author, publisher)

Web Copyright: Works distributed on the Web are subject to copyright restrictions. Even if permission is explicitly given to download images, audio files, etc. from a web site, it does not mean that the information can be modified, placed on your web site or distributed. Information on the Web and material incorporated into a web page should be done in a way that respects copyright laws.

• Don't steal images, audio or other content
• Don't steal bandwidth

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act: The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), signed into law in 1998, updates copyright laws to address issues of digital technology. It prohibits the distribution of products that can circumvent copy protection, for example, it criminalizes the creation, sharing, or selling of any technology that can be used to defeat copy protection technology.

Linking: It is generally allowable to link to other web pages with some restrictions:

• No deep linking (e.g. linking directly to an image)
• No linking within a frame (so someone else's page appears to be part of your site)
• Don't make a copy of another web site and then link to it
• Obtain permission if in question

Specifying Permissions: Explicition permissions and restrictions can be specified by including a statement on a web site, for example permission may be given to copy images from a site as long as they are not modified or used for profit.