[thelist] developer ethics?

Ben Henick persist1 at io.com
Tue Mar 5 05:11:00 CST 2002


Gah!  I wanted to include-with-reply, but the style of my reply has made
it necessary for me to just write my damned reply... those needing the
context will have to go to the archive, thanks.

1.  Since the request for feedback was made outside of channels, the
    feedback should stay that way... at least to the point that names are
    left out of it as was done in your message.

2.  I agree wholeheartedly that you did the right thing by slagging the
    quality of work under the conditions described.

3.  The original builder may have satsified the contract, but it's not
    been made clear if he misrepresented his skills.  If he did, he can be
    reported to any biz orgs of which he is part, with the attendant
    consequences.  Likewise, the "job shops" in his market will listen
    with interest to this sordid tale.

4.  At the very least, I hope that this guy loses the account the moment
    a more-capable developer is found.  From the tone of the original
    message, I have to wonder if the situation doesn't pose grounds for
    termination of any maintenance contract that may have been signed.

5.  However... if the client paid for "cheap" then they should be able
    to deal with the fact that they got what they paid for.

6.  The previous point brings up the possibility that this search for a
    second opinion is part of some internal conflict (i.e. "we should've
    spent our money on a more-effective site, regardless of the increased
    expense") but that is rather outside of the scope of the original
    question.

The larger point this brings up is, do those of us who are more talented
slag on the work of others who aren't?  Let's face it, those with more
skill are more deserving of accounts...

I am torn.  On one hand, I am annoyed as hell that some twit with a silver
tongue, zero ethics and a copy of FrontPage has a good chance of stealing
my accounts, unless I underbid him and consequently starve (or - worse -
aid the perception that our professional skills aren't worth crap).

On the other, it's impossible to know all of the prevailing circumstances,
and slagging someone else's work runs the risk of bad ju-ju.

Does such activity raise the technical and aesthetic standards of the
profession, lower the ethical standards across-the-board, or both?

How do we deal with this?  I'm all for keeping the barriers-to-entry
low... but I'm also for creating a professional culture that says, in
effect, that clients willing to pay amateur prices should be willing to
accept amateur results.  Ideally, a system might be created that would
formalize this food chain, though at first glance it appears hard to do
without running the risk of price-fixing...

There are other thoughts I've had in relation to that one - primarily
about the chasm between sales skills and sitebuilding skills - but those
deserve a thread of their own.


--
Ben Henick
Web Author At-Large              Managing Editor
http://www.io.com/persist1/      http://www.digital-web.com/
persist1 at io.com                  bmh at digital-web.com
--
"Are you pondering what I'm pondering, Pinky?"
"I think so, Brain, but... (snort) no, no, it's too stupid."
"We will disguise ourselves as a cow."
"Oh!" (giggles) "That was it exactly!"




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