Apparently I’m on an ethics kick today. I just did another blog entry at http://www.spiderhunter.com on the ethic of cloaking, so I’m going to continue the theme over here.
Bots and spider have been going through the Internet pretty much since it’s inception. The idea behind them is to allow them to collect the data on the Internet and provide a service using that data. The most notable services are search engines, but some link validators and intellectual property spiders are wonderful tools as well. Many bots just simply gather information from one website to present it on another, presumably with permission. I even have bots that collect data from my own websites to give me an overview of what is going on with my services.
But as with every technology it is the use of the tool that determines if it is good or bad. Email harvesters are a bot designed to collect email addresses and return them to individuals, typically spammers. Many of the latest generation of viruses have their own built in email servers. No need for them to use the other resources on the network when the can carry the resources around with themselves.
Bottom line is that every technology that can be created by the human imagination can be used equally to benifit humanity or not. It is in how you use the technology that determines the kind of person you are and that is a decision for you.