A Programmer's Code of Ethics

1. My programs encode the rules of modern society. I will take full responsibility for the programs I write.
2. I will not write a program that intentionally fails to operate.
3. I will not write a program that refuses to do tomorrow what it was able to do yesterday.
4. I will not create a single point of failure, whether technical or political.
5. I will not encode foolish rules just because someone paid me to do it.
6. I will not give people what they want if what they want is not good enough.
7. I will not stop people from taking my program's ideas and making them better.
8. I will write programs to help each person produce their best, not to help the masses produce mediocrity.
9. I will correct those who believe my program's failure is anyone's fault but mine.
10. I will write programs to benefit even the people who don't deserve it.

Condensed "New Testament" Version

Don't write for others a program you wouldn't want written for you.

Commentary

Do I always follow all the above rules perfectly? Certainly not. In fact, I think I've broken every single one of them.

But thinking over all those situations and knowing what I know now, I'm pretty sure that in every case, it would have been better if I'd done the right thing. The exceptions don't feel like the right move; they just feel dirty.

That's how I know I'm on the right track.

Update 2010/05/22: Based on a suggestion from Chris Frey, slightly rephrased point #3.