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Re: The Information Interchange Profession

• From: Steve Newcomb <srn@coolheads.com>
• To: ihe.onwuka@gmail.com
• Date: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 10:47:45 -0500

I think I understand you and, as usual, what you say makes sense to me.

On 12/04/2013 10:29 AM, Ihe Onwuka wrote:
> You are right to question. Even the BCS acknowledge the legitimacy of
> questioning whether they should play a regulatory role comparable to
> what obtains in other professions. See the commentary in question A1 below.
> 
> http://www.bcs.org/upload/pdf/sep12dippiispreport.pdf
> 
> However, in the UK Family Lawyers by virtue of the nature of their
> specialism have some practices and regulations (or rather lack thereof)
> that are quite distinct from the rest of the legal profession. For
> example they have to deal with abductions and authorise forensic
> investigations into personal affairs that would never pass muster in an
> alternative tribunal.  Yet it hasn't amounted to a justification why
> their numbers should not be bound by the regulation of the Bar Council
> (or the equivalent body for soliticors). Because I kind of read that as
> an analogy of what you are suggesting.
> 
> If some elements of the document are objectionable, is the thing to do
> to reject it in its entirety?. The BCS did not draw up that charter from
> scratch, some of what is there derogates from their being part of the
> Engineering Council.  I could not be so sure t there is nothing of merit
> for the domain you propose rather I would suggest that what is there can
> be adapted and is better than starting from zero.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Wed, Dec 4, 2013 at 2:22 PM, Steve Newcomb <srn@coolheads.com
> <mailto:srn@coolheads.com>> wrote:
> 
>     Ihe, I assume you are posting this link for a reason, but having read
>     the referenced...
> 
>     BCS [British Computer Society], THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE FOR IT
>     TRUSTEE BOARD REGULATIONS - SCHEDULE 3
>     CODE OF CONDUCT FOR BCS MEMBERS
> 
>     ...the reason is not clear to me.  The statement appears to me to be in
>     service of the BCS's institutional concerns, taking the position that
>     the true calling of an IT professional is to maintain the status quo,
>     play by the rules, etc.  Is that your understanding of it, or am I
>     reading it wrongly?
> 
>     That kind of thing makes sense for Bar Associations, because their
>     members' professional calling is to serve the Rule of Law.  It makes
>     sense for the accounting profession, too, because its purpose is to
>     maintain the stability of property ownership, get public services paid
>     for without undermining the currency, support the formation of capital
>     in securities, allocate and direct resources, and so forth.
> 
>     A pro-establishment mission statement makes less sense for doctors.
>     Doctors have a calling that can conflict with the requirements imposed
>     by law and by property.  I don't want to seek therapy from a doctor
>     whose primary professional duty is to anything but my recovery,
>     consistent with public health.  We expect doctors to be disruptive in
>     just that way.  An important global professional organization's name,
>     "Medecins sans Frontiers/Doctors Without Borders" is emblematic of my
>     point, here.
> 
>     The flavor of the British Computer Society statement makes even less
>     sense for Information Interchange Professionals, whose professional duty
>     can very easily conflict with the interests of the status quo.  In my
>     own view, an Information Interchange Professional accepts responsibility
>     for the accurate transfer of information among diverse communities with
>     diverse viewpoints and diverse universes of discourse, no matter the
>     agenda.
> 
>     Such a role *must* be a disruptive one, at least from the perspective of
>     the establishment, but it's a life-affirming role from the perspective
>     of human beings, because of the stark "adapt or die" choice every
>     organism faces.  Humanity cannot adapt successfully if it doesn't know
>     what it needs to adapt to.  Indeed, I suppose the reason humanity is now
>     the dominant species on this planet is its phenomenal adaptability,
>     which in turn rests on its ability to share information of considerable
>     complexity, subtlety, and novelty.
> 
>     And that's why Freedom of Speech (which is something that the UK
>     establishment's Official Secrets Act limits, BTW) and Open Source are
>     two things, among many others, that are profoundly wise and
>     life-affirming, as well as being threatening to existing interests.
>     They are wise things because public health demands more than clean water
>     and vaccinations.
> 
>     On 12/04/2013 02:03 AM, Ihe Onwuka wrote:
>     > http://www.bcs.org/upload/pdf/conduct.pdf
> 
> 
> 

• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: The Information Interchange Profession
    • From: Ihe Onwuka <ihe.onwuka@gmail.com>

• References:
  • RE: XML As Fall Guy
    • From: cbullard@hiwaay.net
  • Re: RE: XML As Fall Guy
    • From: Steve Newcomb <srn@coolheads.com>
  • The Information Interchange Profession (was: XML As Fall Guy)
    • From: Steve Newcomb <srn@coolheads.com>
  • Re: The Information Interchange Profession (was: XML AsFall Guy)
    • From: Ihe Onwuka <ihe.onwuka@gmail.com>
  • Re: The Information Interchange Profession
    • From: Steve Newcomb <srn@coolheads.com>
  • Re: The Information Interchange Profession
    • From: Ihe Onwuka <ihe.onwuka@gmail.com>