Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Principle of "Do No Harm"

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jun 26, 2026

Civil War Amputation Being Performed in Front of a Hospital Tent, Gettysburg, July 1863

"Do No Harm" is a common saying, not just a codified phrase and sometimes a pledge/vow. The core idea is, whatever you do in life, do not try to get ahead by harming others. Self advancement by harm is collectively harmful (eventually also to oneself, assuming "karma" exists and is potent).

"Do No Harm" is a good motto to go by; some religions embed the principle in some form of another. Words vary, but the ideas are similar if not identical at their core.

When it comes to technology, some of the more modern "trends" (for lack of a better word, it's mostly hype and gimmicks) are generally harmful to almost everybody. We can all agree cigarettes are bad for everyone (even those who don't smoke, except "second-hand", set aside loss of loved ones) except nicotine pushers.

Why then do we tolerate plagiarism sold as "intelligence", disinformation marketed as "Social" or "Media", and energy waste (global warming) framed as a solution to climate crisis?

More people need to recognise the spade and call out the culprits. There are many technologies we need to amputate owing to common consensus, not that the billionaires-owned media and the peddlers of 'digital nicotine' will take our side. They will resist, antagonise, ridicule, and marginalise key voices. This is they they seek to own and strive to control all the major media in the first place. █


Image source: Civil War Amputation Being Performed in Front of a Hospital Tent, Gettysburg, July 1863


Other Recent Techrights' Posts

Intercontinental Brigading - Part XI - Losing Over a Million Pounds (Borrowed Money) to Try to Silence Critics of Restricted Boot With Microsoft-Controlled "Certificates"
Garrett is also very jealous of Daniel Pocock
Linux Kernel Needs Diversity and Diversity of Good Code, Not LLM Slop
Linux (and Linus) are kicking a can down the road
 
Gemini Links 22/10/2026: Solar MiniBBS, Building Major Tom, and Zig
Links for the day
Links 22/10/2026: Busan’s Celebrity Shark in Canal Again
Links for the day
Links 22/10/2026: "Software Developers Have Been Promoted Into Incompetence"
Links for the day
Links 22/10/2026: eBay to Lay Off a Tenth of Staff (Again), Node.js and PHP Security Crises, Climate News
Links for the day
Red Hat Layoffs Still Going on This Week (Whilst IBM's Debt Grows in Spite of Mass Layoffs)
IBM is bluffing/cheating the shareholders again
IBM's Debt Continues to Increase While the Company Rapidly Shrinks
This is what a dying company looks like
Microsoft Shrinks Every Year
Microsoft will try to spin or twist this as "efficiency"
Gemini Links 22/10/2026: Holiday Inn and Emacs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 21, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Techrights Was Right About a Fake Security Model Built Around Lies or Built Upon Trust in "Certificates" and "Authorities" (like Microsoft)
We have begun to amass some media reports and blog posts from technical sites
Windows Monopoly is No Longer Sustainable (the Case of Oceania)
This is why Microsoft layoffs are happening all the time
Some Downtime Possible Shortly (Router Work)
We don't use PHP in the site anymore
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft This Week and/or Next Week
Cannot pull a bunny out of some hat
With Its Future on the Line, EPO Management (Dictatorship) Resorts to Further Escalations to Fake 'Production' and Curtail Industrial Actions
It's clear that with a yearlong campaign of industrial actions - including strikes - Campinos cannot save face anymore
Gemini Links 21/10/2026: Summer Day in Tokyo (30c in Late October) and Whole Food for the Whole World
Links for the day
Links 21/10/2026: "Zelensky Took the Gloves Off This Time With Convicted Felon" and "Cellebrite iPhone Radio Zero-Day"
Links for the day
Reuters is Becoming Slop, Not a News Agency (Treat Reports From Reuters Sceptically)
In their own words
Disclosure/s Crisis at The Register MS (Promoting a Ponzi Scheme for Money)
So now they sell several schemes/scams at the same time, not limited to the slop
Links 21/10/2026: "The Tragic Death of the Republican Party" and "No War But Data Center War"
Links for the day
Internet Relay Chat Still Growing
The numbers go up, not down [...] Don't believe the doomers
Intercontinental Brigading - Part X - American Back Doors Inside Our Computers, With Transatlantic Swatting Against Critics Thrown 'Into the Mix'
"If your Windows PC's Secure Boot certificates are out of date, your system is vulnerable to malware like rootkits."
Gemini Links 21/10/2026: A Walk Through Amsterdam and Pythagorean Theorem
Links for the day
More Mass Layoffs at Microsoft Weeks From Now, Then Again Months From Now
Microsoft's crisis is not limited to XBox
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 20, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Gemini Links 20/10/2026: The Brothers Who Fought Mussolini and a Dying Main Laptop
Links for the day
Brett Wilson LLP Has Almost Zero Litigation Clients This Year (in the Area They Specialise in)
The silence on the financial front, combined with the lack of new clients, is deafening
Where to Celebrate the 20-Year Anniversary
let us know in IRC
Cheapening of the Workforce at IBM and Microsoft, Typically Without Even Announcing Any Layoffs
from leadership to compelled "retirement"
Help Us Improve Techrights
The site relies on teamwork in a growing community; even readers are part of it
Links 20/10/2026: $100 Million ICE “Intelligence” Program and France Riots
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/10/2026: GAFAM GCP Outage in the UK and New Oddμ Release
Links for the day
Articles in The Register MS Composed by Employees of the Companies They're About
The Register MS is the place to be
Intercontinental Brigading - Part IX - Swatting is Not Funny, Swatting is a Murder Attempt
“Swatting is not harmless. It is a serious crime that can lead to dangerous situations and divert law enforcement away from someone facing an actual emergency. What callers may believe to be a ‘joke’ actually risks the public safety of our communities and can carry lifelong consequences for those responsible”
Links 20/10/2026: Facebook Scraping and Plagiarising News Sites, Copyright Act Turns 50
Links for the day
Microsoft's XBox Leadership and Strategy is Slop
XBox sales are already worst in the entire history of XBox
81% Voted in Favour of EPO Strikes Until End of This Year
Who's in the line of succession at EPO?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 19, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, October 19, 2026
Gemini Links 20/10/2026: Old Movies, Bandera Hike, and Mongolian
Links for the day