I heard this great quote from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales in a podcast a year ago. The table discussion at last week’s Startup2Startup dinner made me think of it again. Unless you are building flight controls or financial tools, this is how you should design social software:
Think of the last restaurant you went to. Did you have a knife on the table? Did you know that knives can do real harm if they are used to stab people? Have you seen our new restaurant? We keep each customer in his or her own cage, so that no harm under any circumstances can be done to others.
That is just so smart. Build software like we build society. Be open. Fear less. Trust more. People are (mostly) good. And, just in case someone really is a bastard, have police and emergency services ready to go when they are needed.
And, just for fun, here’s one more great take on computer security from XKCD:
Subscribe to the feed
Add New Comment
Viewing 9 Comments
Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Add New Comment