Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
There's nothing at all wrong with abstract discussions of such issues. There's all the difference in the world, though, between an abstract discussion, and an accusation that a specific person has in fact committed such an act, when you have not a shred of evidence to support such an accusation. I'm sorry, but I think it's just plain wrong to do that.
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Yes, I very much agree. It's one thing to comment "I bet someone has kept a copy", it's quite another to say "that particular lawyer kept a copy". The former is a cynical comment on human nature, the latter is an accusation. Sure, the original comment was meant in jest (and probably would have been long forgotten if attention had not been drawn to it), but it is still not a good way to express general cynicism - if you mean to be general then be general.
Mind you, there are some difficulties. Computer administrators are supposed to keep backups, and good backup systems keep multiple generations of backup - and they don't generally keep individual accounts on their own media. So, when one client comes and says "delete my stuff", the difficulties involved in making sure you have erased all copies of everything you have from (just) that client can be seriously difficult.