unethical

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5 comments, last by Nypyren 9 years ago

Would it be unethical to work in two different indie projects at the same time?

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If other members of both projects are aware and okay with it, obviously not. If other members are not aware and it doesn't interfere, probably not. If you're not being paid anyway, probably not.

If they're aware of it and express a problem with it, maybe.

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Just keep in mind that unless the asset in question is yours, or you are not under a legal contract about said asset that you created, you should not be crossing them between projects.
Ethics are difficult to pin down, beliefs vary by individual, and don't usually matter in this type of project.

More relevant is the legal side, which is society's baseline ethics.

You own what you create and can do with it what you like... initially.

If you signed any legal forms or agreements, perhaps an employment agreement or collaboration agreement, those can bind you. If you make assertions or grants to others when you contribute to those projects, including through email and clicked-on agreements, those can also be binding.

You might be legally allowed to share with both, or you might not. You might legally or contractually be required to notify them of a potential conflict of intrest.

Without knowing your details and agreements you have made, it is not really possible to give mch more solid advice than "maybe" and "talk to your business attourney."
This is not a Job Advice question. Moving to Business / Law.

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As long as you're not violating your contract by law or in spirit, it's not unethical at all. Your contract would have to have a 'no compete' clause to prevent you from working on multiple projects. While it's common in large companies, it doesn't show up in contract work very often.

Generally, the only time I've seen problems is when there's some kind of no-compete clause in effect. I've never participated in an indie project, but if they didn't explicitly have you sign a contract with a no-compete clause or something equivalent, you can do whatever you want.

If you're intentionally stealing code from one project to use on the other one, and you're not supposed to do that, then yeah, it's unethical. But if you've got clearance to do that, then it's fine.

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