The Programmer's Oath

I swear by Hephaestus, as god of artisans, and Athena, as goddess of wisdom and weaving, to keep according to my ability and my judgment, the following Oath.

I will not give malicious code or software to others, nor will I make suggestions to this effect. Similarly I will not create malicious code or advise others in this pursuit. I will never intentionally create software which installs without permission, or which protects itself unduly against removal.

I will not alter vital code which I don't understand, but will instead seek help from experts who might know better than I. I will never claim another's work as my own, nor will I derive from another's work and claim the result as solely my own.

I will respect the inexperienced based on what they are willing to learn, not insult them for the mistakes they make. I will acknowledge my own current limits and will not deny my mistakes.

Whatever systems I may access, I will work for the benefit of the users and owners, remaining free of all intentional disruption, of all malicious behavior, and in particular will avoid the invasion of privacies of any and all files or directories stored therein.

What I may see or hear in the course of my work or during the pursuit of my hobbies in regard to the information of others, which could be considered personal or private, I will keep secret and never reveal.

Original DeviantArt posting