On the defense of piracy enablers [LWN.net]

On the defense of piracy enablers

Posted Aug 24, 2005 1:27 UTC (Wed) by smitty_one_each (subscriber, #28989)
Parent article: On the defense of piracy enablers

I think it was the X11 section, in ESR's "The Art of Unix Programming" where I first saw the phrase: "Mechanism, not policy."
Programmers provide an executable mechanism. If users choose opt for unethical/illegal policy, the coders should be about as liable as the Monopoly Squad is for all of the losses incurred by insecure software, i.e., scot-free.
How the legal system perpetuates the injustice of blaming everyone but the criminal, I am unsure. Possibly, convenience.
Grr.
Chris

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