The Internet Society announces Code of Conduct

The Internet Society (ISOC) has announced their code of conduct, consisting of introductory paragraphs followed by 14 relatively short points. This has important implications for accrediting competency.

It is clear from the earlier discussion document that "usability" was rejected from the final phrasing. But this does not mean that those who drafted it ignored the issue.

Point 1 has a basic ergonomics statement. Point 2 is fairly ecologicial of resources time and effort. Point 6 is the main one of interest: 'Take all reasonable steps, including education and the wide spreading of knowledge, to ensure the Internet can be available, accessible, and useful to everyone.'

Other points deal with individual freedoms and respect for individuals. Also noteworthy is point 12: 'Respect legitimate intellectual property rights, do not plagiarize the work of others, and give credit to the originators of ideas'.

There is a body of opinion (see How Control is Stifling Creativity and Code) that rejects the notion of enfording copyright on the Web - what might be termed the "Intellectual Property is Theft" movement.

The contributors of content - songs, books, movies - to the Internet are recognised as "users" too in the emerging MPEG-21 standard, and it seems that ISOC recognises this too. Plainly usability needs to be evaluated for these stakeholders too. Usability is more than making it easier to download other people's work without payment.

Richard Stallman's "Free as in speech not as in beer" quote seems to have won this particular battle.

Associated Link: ISOC Code of Conduct (Jan 2003)

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