Hacker News
points by bumby 2 days ago | 0 comments
The cognizant engineer who “stamps” the software for use is responsible if it were to follow the same paradigm.

Software is only different by convention, not because of some immutable natural law. That’s the point. The convention can be changed. There are already PE licenses for control systems, so there’s no reason it couldn’t extend to other software. However, I think the industry would fight that tooth and nail because it’s easier and more profitable to shrug off the responsibility.

[–] augment_me 2 days ago
What if the engineer who "stamps" the software is outsourced to a 3rd party company that has the necessary certification to avoid gross negligence. So the engineer has followed the protocol as det my law and has done everything right, they can't be liable.

Happened at my uni, look at the comment below.

[–] bumby 1 day ago
You’re hung up and confused by certifications, which are a different animal. Look up what PE license actual are and how they function.

You can’t just outsource a design for a bridge to avoid responsibility. If that bridge is being built in California, an engineer who is licensed in California ultimately has to stamp the design, even if all the design work was done elsewhere.

[–] augment_me 1 day ago
I am saying it's not the same for software
[–] bumby 1 day ago
I recognize that’s where we disagree. You just haven’t outlined any good reason why it’s fundamentally different. And your talk about certifications makes me think you may not understand what I’m saying.

The same rules can easily apply to software. There no fundamental reason it can’t, and the superficial “yeah but we’re different” excuse is just a rationalization.

Software can be regulated in a similar manner, we just choose not to in many instances.