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by TamDenholm 4735 days ago
Theres not really any standard qualifications for us, plus, if an electrician or plumber screws up, its much more serious than if we do.
2 comments

That's an unwarranted generalization.

Say you work on an online calendar app. Might not feel so critical. But when a bug loses someone's appointment, who knows how serious that is? You probably don't really know in just what ways people are relying on your product's quality.

I work in the field of electronic medical data. If some banal UI flaw causes a certain icon to scroll out of view, a doctor might miss your medication allergy. If two columns of a certain table are too close to each other, your lab result might be grossly misinterpreted.

Whatever you work with, the only ethical position seems to be: be careful, and do things properly. Of course, with skill and experience comes an understanding of what corners can be cut.

I think that depends a little on what you're writing:

"Oh no! The flight system on this rocket ship is going haywire!"

"Ok, ok, but at least it's not the plumbing!"

Building a flight system for a rocket ship is probably not something you're going to find as a job on elance or craigslist.