Peter Wayner

While reading 12 Ethical Dilemmas Gnawing at Developers Today by Peter Wayner I felt a sense of inclusion and familiarity. The article’s premise is that programmers should consider ethics while choosing what techniques to use when writing and developing software and coding systems. In this paper I will break apart this article by analyzing its rhetoric using the grounds of ethos, logos, and pathos. The issue the author has wrote about is worth discussing largely because ethics in technology is not discussed in everyday programmer’s language. Software is used in pretty much every aspect of life; code is everywhere and in everything that is technology based, from your cellphone, to your thermostat, and your toothbrush. Therefore, developers
Given his outstanding programming and writing credentials I would say that the author is a credible source for the topic discussed. The type of media that published this article is a website, InfoWorld, that is renowned for its business and technology media. InfoWorld’s about section reads “InfoWorld is the destination of choice for technology decision makers and business leaders who seek in-depth analysis of enterprise technology (infoworld.com).” This particular media platform is made almost exclusively for information technology (IT) specialists and businessmen, which the readership largely consists of. Because IT specialists and businessmen are likely highly educated, I think Peter Wayner has taken the right approach in his article when he uses phrases and words that are meant for only the educated to
For each point he introduces, he labels the point with bold face letters and numerals. For example, his first point is labeled: “Ethical dilemma No. 1: Log files -- what to save and how to handle them(infoworld.com)” which clearly and obviously states exactly the point you will find in the following paragraph. Another way he uses an excellent writing technique is when he first explains the issue in detail, then uses pop-culture examples to further develop the issue,