William Slater's CIS 537 Blog

William Slater's CIS 537 Blog
CIS 537 - Introduction to Cyber Ethics

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Post 005 - CIS 537

(Steiner, 1993)




Ethics Online – An Analysis of Ms. Deborah Johnson’s Article

This brief paper will review the ethics-related ideas outlined in Ms. Deborah Johnson’s 1997 article titled “Ethics Online.”


Johnson’s Three Special Characteristics of Communications in Computer Networks

In 1997, Ms. Johnson defined three special characteristics that define communications on computer networks: 1) Scope; 2) Anonymity; and 3) Reproducibility. The scope characteristic relates to the ability for computer network users to have a much broader of possibilities of types of communications, as well as communication recipients, compared to those who are not connected. The anonymity characteristic refers to the ability for computer network users to adopt either an anonymous persona, or one that is not the same as their actual identity. The reproducibility characteristic refers to ability to send information across a computer network, from one computer to another, and still have a copy of it.


Ethical Challenges of the Representative Characteristics

As Ms. Johnson described each of these characteristics, she also described the ethical challenges that they represented. For example, the scope characteristic allows the ability to reach out and contact individuals who are also connected to a computer network. Such contacts can even easily transcend international boundaries may not always be in the best interest of the organizations of the senders and receivers, and in some cases, may even raise suspicions of security agencies of governments that preside over the countries where the individuals reside. The anonymity characteristic represents ethical challenges because it can possible cause the sender to behave in a manner where he or she may send communications under the cloak of anonymity that they would not deliver in person. See the cartoon above to illustrate this anonymity characteristic. The reproducibility characteristic represents ethical challenges because it allows the sender of information to easily create a copy and send it anywhere in the world. Such capability can create problems from the easy violation of copyrights to actual data breaches, and it is very likely that both of these types of problems occur hundreds of thousands, if not millions of times daily (Johnson, 1997).


Ms Johnson’s Anecdotal Ethical Conclusions

Ms. Johnson ended her article by citing three simple rules that could, at that time, go a long way toward keeping computer network users out of trouble. These are the rules:

1. Know the rules of the forums in which you communicate and follow them.

2. Respect the privacy and property rights of others. When in doubt, assume the user wants privacy and ownership.

3. Respect the individuals with whom you communicate and those who are affected by your communication; that is, do not deceive, defame, or harass (Johnson, 1997).


Additional Characteristics of Computer Network Communications in the 21st Century

Some 14 years after Ms. Johnson wrote this article, the world of 2011 is very different than that simpler world 1997 that she described in her article. So I would add these additional characteristics to the three described by Ms. Johnson: 1) Immediacy; 2) Ubiquity; 3) Universal Convergence; and Universal Integration. The immediacy characteristic refers to fact that people seem to be compulsively and continuously connected to the Internet during every waking moment, particularly through their smart phones, if not their laptops or desktop computers. The ubiquity characteristic refers to the fact that Internet-connected devices are now seen literally everywhere. The universal convergence characteristic refers to the fact that at the present moment, practically every business and form of media is either connected or planning on being connected to some Internet-enabled, mobile application. The universal integration characteristic refers to the efforts that will take place to enable the future connectivity described in the planned universal convergence of all these communications for businesses, people, and media.


My Personal Experience as Example

My personal example of an ethical issue that arose was an experience where I was defamed on CompuServe by an internationally known PARADOX application developer in October 1994. The person compared me to Michael Jackson and called into question my character as it related to the child molestation charges that Michael Jackson had just been cleared of at that time. The suit was known as William Slater v. Dan Paolini and is cited as an example of how not to behave in an online medium. By the way, Mr. Paoilini tried to excuse his behavior by claiming that it was a Friday night and he was slightly inebriated while writing the offensive communication. Nevertheless, the sealed case which was settled via arbitration, was settled in my favor.


Conclusion

This paper has shown how the unique characteristics of networked computers, or “cyberspace,” as William Gibson so aptly named it in his 1984 novel, Neuromancer, has created a world which has several unique characteristics that can often challenge the ability of human beings to behave ethically. It is important to realize that this 1997 article represents a just a simple basis for understanding the challenges to ethical behaviors that existed when it was written, but that with each new characteristic of this cyberspace universe comes a who new set of complex challenges to ethical behaviors. It is therefore imperative for the citizens of cyberspace to comprehend these challenges and constantly strive to behave in a manner that will protect and enhance their reputations in the most positive manner possible.


References

Steiner, P. (1993). On the Internet Nobody Knows You Are a Dog. Retrieved from the web at http://chrisabraham.com/2009/01/05/on-the-internet-nobody-knows-youre-a-dog/ on December 4, 2011.

Johnson, D. G. (1997). Ethics Online: Shaping social behavior online take more than new laws and modified edit. An article published in COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM January 1997/Vol. 40, No. 1. Retreived from the Bellevue University online classroom at http://cyberactive.bellevue.edu on December 1, 2011.

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