Chapter: Ethics On-Line

Quote:

Information can be reproduced on-line without loss of value and in such a way that the originator or holder of the information would not notice. Of course, in the ordinary world, information can be reproduced via copying machines and camera. In electronic networks, however, there is no loss of value in the process of reproduction. A copied program or copied data set is perfectly usable, and the reproduction can be such that there is no evidence that copying has been done; that is, the person who created or owns the information has no reason to believe it has been copied. The difference here is the difference between taking a painting – the painter or owner no longer has the painting and can see that it is gone – and copying a data set – the creator or the owner still has the data set and may have no indication that a copy was made.

What I expect to learn:

To be aware of the ethical decisions intact with ethical issues on-line

Review:

This chapter covered mostly issues about being ethical with information that is open for public or private use on-line.

Being a student nowadays involves massive research work and as a student now, I know that the library, in some situations, is not the best place to look for a single word you need to have meaning to. Would anyone even go to a library that can be huge as a post office just to define or answer homework such as “can you define the hidden issues in the well-known holocaust?” I know right! That is not a logical approach to such homework because you have to search through the million books available with the word “war” or “holocaust” in them just to connect the ideas and get the real facts. You can ask any student you know how they get answers to their homework or research papers and they will all say that it is that they got it from some online source because how hard is it to type in a few words from your homework in a search engine? That is literally no hassle because all you have to think about is if you got the spelling correctly. It is not really the usual way but it is the best and fastest way to get results and get answers – by looking for it online. The information available is just so massive and robust that it cannot even be compiled one by one in a single website because the information made available online is the biggest source you can ever experience. It is a precious gift given to us by people who cannot do anything in a day that discovered they can put information online for everyone to use. I’m not advocating that the use of the resources of libraries are obsolete but there is a better way – the fastest way through online technology.

What I learned:

·         Special Characteristics of Communication in Networks

o    Scope

o    Anonymity

o    Reproducibility

·         Anonymity

o    Diminished trust

o    Variety and Consent

Integrative Questions:

1.    Define the scope of communication in networks.

2.    Define the anonymity of communication in networks.

3.    Define the reproducibility of communication in networks.

4.    What is diminished trust?

5.    Differentiate variety and consent.