Q: My neighbor left a nasty note on my windshield regarding how close I had parked to her car: “Learn how to park! I couldn’t get out! Next time I’m slamming your front bumper (expletive)! It was written on an envelope containing $40. Should I return the money or keep it as payment for her harsh words? — Name Withheld, Colorado
A: The temptation to respond in kind is powerful but should be resisted. It would be perverse to reshape the Golden Rule into: Do unto others as they do unto you. You are not exempt from the duty to return something that does not belong to you, even if it belongs to a lout. I suppose you could persuade yourself that your foulmouthed neighbor wants you to have the $40, perhaps to pay for a refresher course in parking, but that seems unlikely.
What you can do: Slip a courteous note under her door, offering to return her $40 if she would stop by to pick it up and civilly discuss the parking situation. If she doesn’t reply, keep the cash.
Q: The company I work for protects customer privacy by requiring passwords to access its network and encouraging employees to “lock” their computers when they leave their desks. But the company makes each employee’s own salary, Social Security number and other sensitive information easily available via that employee’s computer. With a few clicks, any passerby could access this information. A high-ranking executive said this was done to motivate employees to secure their computers. — Ethical? Name Withheld
A: The company’s desire for computer security is reasonable; its methods are not. It would be similarly off-base to encourage driver safety by packing the company cars full of nitroglycerin: The wish not to be blown to bits can be a powerful incentive. But to deliberately subject employees to avoidable risk is not ethical. The company must protect the privacy of both its customers and its employees, and this can be done without creating artificial peril. It would be acceptable for the company to penalize or even fire employees who show flagrant and persistent disregard for computer security, but the penalty may not include displaying an employee’s Social Security number on a billboard in front of the office.
Write Randy Cohen at Universal Press Syndicate, 4520 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111, or ethicist@nytimes.com.
