| It's a bit tricker than that though. In software, if I build a toy, and release it to the world, many people may find it useful. They might trust it with their most personal data, or vital business documents. But, it is still a toy. If I build a toy bridge no-one tries to make it span the grand canyon. They see it for what it is - its faults are obvious. They try to cross my toy bridge and it easily collapses under the weight of their foot without costing the lives of anyone. And, if they somehow managed to string along my toy to the point where it could span the grand canyon, do you think anyone in their right mind would find me liable as the toy maker? Ultimately, this is where the differences are huge. People are building toy bridges, pet bridges, foot bridges, bridges for single cars and bridges for 10 lanes of traffic. It's very difficult to accidentally substitute a bridge built for 1 person into a spot you need a bridge for 10 lanes of traffic. But it's trivial in software to put a "toy bridge" or "pet bridge" where you need something like the golden gate bridge. So, when someone takes my toy and tries to use it as the golden gate bridge, whose at fault? |