My youngest son wrote this last night as part of a school assignment. Makes me proud and humbles me.
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Do no harm to others, be it physical, mental, or emotional in nature (i.e. do not physically hurt another human being, do not insult them, do not try to needlessly confuse them, do not cause them anxiety, and do not do anything within possible imagination to cause distress or physical injury to another human being (or animal)).
Minimize the negative impacts of your actions on the environment. Basically, in whatever you do, do not needlessly harm the planet’s internal control mechanisms, for example global temperature variations, nor should you needlessly interfere with anything found in nature, such as the path a stream takes, without careful consideration as to the possible ramifications for such actions.
Respect the intellectual property rights, the ideas, the opinions, and any other conceivable personal property of another human being. This entails not stealing in any form (physical, plagiarism, etc.) as well as not rejecting another’s idea simply because it does not agree with your own.
Do not discriminate for any reason against another human being, be it due to skin color, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, appearance, thought processes, intellect, or any other imaginable reason. This means that intolerance is not acceptable for any reason.
In regards to the interpersonal interaction when using a computer, do no needlessly start “flame wars” or any other manner of argument which result in annoyance, anger, despair, or any other negative emotion to any involved party. Keep objections civil and factual, and resist the use of logical fallacies.
Do not intentionally mislead another human being into believing something is something it is not. This is intentionally vague for it encompasses a vast number of examples, but it essentially boils down to always being open and honest, especially in regards to the affectations of an object or person when relating said information to another person. In a layman’s example: do not tell the fictitious person Jim that the fictitious person Sarah is supremely intelligent when you know for a fact that she is not (since you invented her). Instead, tell Jim the truth: that Sarah is a dolt. (This example does not describe any real persons, any similarities in names or circumstance is purely coincidental).
In regards to computer technology, do not intentionally enter into a contract that you know you will not uphold. If, for example, you read the terms of service for a website, and find that you do not agree with them, and would willingly thwart and ignore them, do not enter into agreement with the site. If there exists an obligation in which you must use the site, say for employment purposes, do everything in your power to make the company, your boss, and the website know your misgivings toward the service, to see if there exists an alternative. If there does not, do not lie to yourself and pretend you will use the service as intended, and instead terminate your employment with your current company and seek employment at a location which will not conflict with your moral choices in life.
In regards to computer technology, do everything in your power to help other individuals and companies improve as much as possible. Provide thoughtful feedback to services and products that you use and ensure that companies practice ethical guidelines that coincide with your own.
When addressing the public as a whole, or addressing any person who is unknown to you, be courteous and polite at all times, use “politically correct” phrases and terminology, and do not obfuscate your point or intentions. Use simple, honest, direct language that will not offend (to the best of your knowledge) the other person or persons.
Promote a safe environment at your place of residence, place of employment, and any place in which your corporeal body resides. Do not in any circumstances act threatening or menacing to any persons in your vicinity, and do not engage in acts of terrorism, be they individually-targeted or wide-spread (i.e. do not steal candy from a baby nor bomb a building, and anything in between or further to the extreme than these two examples).
Respect the privacy of others in all circumstances; be in physically or in an online setting. To expound upon this, do not physically invade a person’s private space (if you are not aware of the physical limitation the other individual wishes to maintain, ask them) and do not try to gain access to another person’s private information on a computer, be it access to their e-mail, social networking sites, or bank information (and anything else).
