SQLite Code of Ethics

(sqlite.org)

49 points | by zdgeier 16 hours ago

8 comments

  • jtrn 7 hours ago
    One could probably argue that, if interpreted in a certain way, most of these laws/rules could be good. Even the god praising could be seen positively if one subtly transforms "god" into something like "that which is good," as many secular philosophers have done.

    However, this rule cannot be shown to be universally good, regardless of interpretation:

    "Obey in all things the commands of those whom God has placed in authority over you, even though they (which God forbid) should act otherwise, mindful of the Lord's precept, 'Do what they say, but not what they do.'"

    It’s just not logical or empirically coherent. We could deconstruct this stupidity extensively, but it would not fit within the margin of this thread.

    • danhau 4 hours ago
      > However, this rule cannot be shown to be universally good, regardless of interpretation

      Subordinate yourself to those with authority in all things, except things that break or undermine any of the other rules.

    • empthought 3 hours ago
      “No one is required to follow The Rule, to know The Rule, or even to think that The Rule is a good idea. The Founder of SQLite believes that anyone who follows The Rule will live a happier and more productive life, but individuals are free to dispute or ignore that advice if they wish.”
    • ForHackernews 6 hours ago
      I believe it's adapted from the Rule of Saint Benedict[0] so regardless of your own objections to its practicality, communities of monks have been living by more-or-less these rules for centuries.

      [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Saint_Benedict

  • deadeye 5 hours ago
    It's nice to see some humble people inside the tech space.

    Too many of us believe we are gods as we command our machines to do our will. That was me once.

  • datadrivenangel 1 hour ago
    4 years ago, 379 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31886687

    My favorite bit about this is that it was adopted because the corporations buying sqlite insisted on having a code of conduct/ethics... And it's amazing that they'll check the box with this!

  • kh_hk 7 hours ago
    Regardless of my own view on these ethics, the quality of SQLite is for me a testament to the usefulness of truthfully adhering to a (sub)set of noble precepts.
  • JSR_FDED 6 hours ago
    After so many variations of “don’t be evil” (but when it suits us we’ll just let that go) - I’m indifferent to these kinds of ethics statements.
  • grozmovoi 9 hours ago
    excuse me, what
    • bitwize 9 hours ago
      The people with commit bits to SQLite are a known, fixed, small set of individuals, all Christians. They decided to dispense with the usual Contributor Covenant derived code of conduct and adopt their own based on their shared value system. Unfortunately it doesn't actually meet the requirements for an open source code of conduct.
  • byte-sized-snac 5 hours ago

      52. Guard your tongue against evil and depraved speech.
      53. Do not love much talking.
      54. Speak no useless words or words that move to laughter.
      55. Do not love much or boisterous laughter.
    
    No love for stand-up comics then, huh?
  • Defletter 8 hours ago
    Uhhh, wasn't April 1st like a month and a half ago?

    EDIT: Nevermind. Seems like this nonsense has been on their website since at least October 2018 (https://web.archive.org/web/20181024184950/https://sqlite.or...). How off putting.

    • empthought 3 hours ago
      As the first section notes, the only reason they posted this is to fulfill a checklist requirement for certain commercial users. The external requirement for a code of conduct, which requesters never read and don’t actually care about, is the actual nonsense here.
    • AussieWog93 5 hours ago
      I could not disagree with you harder but I don't think you should be downvoted for a negative reaction like this.