most mobile and console game companies sleep jjust fine making those technologies for kids.
Ask HN: Is working on online casinos unethical?
11–20 of 88 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is working on online casinos unethical?
#12Yes. A casino exists only to take advantage of vulnerable individuals and drain them of their money. It is an immoral business. Therefore, working to help a casino is also immoral.
Re: Ask HN: Is working on online casinos unethical?
#13What about Facebook, it is also designed to be addictive, so you can spend as much time on it as possible to be shown ads?
Hardly a fair comparison. You will not blow your (and potentially your family's) savings by browsing facebook and seeing being shown ads.
Neither will everyone that uses a casino. Much like not everyone that uses Facebook becomes embroiled in family/friend/random internet stranger drama, unknowingly teaches their children that staring at a tiny screen rather than conversing is 'normal' or breaks up their family by reconnecting with their highschool sweetheart.
Note - not for or against online casinos, just disagree with your point.
Re: Ask HN: Is working on online casinos unethical?
#14It's illegal. Working for people who break the law for money is generally considered to be unethical. Even if you, personally, feel OK about it, ask yourself what would happen if a prospective (future) employer found out about your activities.
Not touching the moral issue, but online gambling is definitely legal in many countries in Europe, where vastly advertised and known betting and poker websites exist.
Re: Ask HN: Is working on online casinos unethical?
#15What about Facebook, it is also designed to be addictive, so you can spend as much time on it as possible to be shown ads?
Whataboutism logical fallacy.
Re: Ask HN: Is working on online casinos unethical?
#16It's illegal. Working for people who break the law for money is generally considered to be unethical. Even if you, personally, feel OK about it, ask yourself what would happen if a prospective (future) employer found out about your activities.
>It's illegal
Doesn't that depend on your location?
Re: Ask HN: Is working on online casinos unethical?
#17I know friends that work in online gambling, they say they are more ashamed of people who work in banking, hft, defense (offense?) contractors, Facebook or Google. Why? Because all the above have tangible negative effects on society. We need an engineering code of conduct - too many tech folk happy to take a dollar in return for building stuff that makes the world a worse place.
A code of conduct is meaningless if the profession does not rely on certifications. For example, lawyers can be disbarred and doctors can lose their medical license... What are you going to do to an engineer who acts unethically?
> Because all the above have tangible negative effects on society.
Your friends are kidding themselves. What can be more tangible than taking money from people? I am not taking sides on the "is allowing gambling unethical" question, just saying that the "tangible effects" argument is weak.
Re: Ask HN: Is working on online casinos unethical?
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hardly a fair comparison. You will not blow your (and potentially your family's) savings by browsing facebook and seeing being shown ads.
> You will not blow your (and potentially your family's) savings by browsing facebook and seeing being shown ads. Ads often incite people to buy things. This must work at least some of the time, or ads wouldn't exist. So some people do spend their money on unnecessary junk through browsing facebook.
To be fair, a good share (I'd say most ? But data is needed ^^) of advertising is designed to make you prefer a brand over an other once you decided you want a new product. I'm not sure there's really a lot designed to make you do a buy decision without a preexisting want (You argument still holds that advertising still makes you possibily spend more for the exact same thing, but it's hardly comparable to gambling addictive behaviours in my opinion.
Re: Ask HN: Is working on online casinos unethical?
#19Re: Ask HN: Is working on online casinos unethical?
#20What about Facebook, it is also designed to be addictive, so you can spend as much time on it as possible to be shown ads?
Hardly a fair comparison. You will not blow your (and potentially your family's) savings by browsing facebook and seeing being shown ads.
I've seen numerous people fired for browsing Facebook at work. Not saying you're right or wrong, just saying it's not nearly that cut and dry and I think you'd agree if you think about it for a bit.