Will sellers/manufacturers of electronics be held liable k'lapai shemaya…

@double standard, why stop there? why not have beis din shel mala punish any Jew that helped Thomas Edison with the light bulb or Alexander Grahm Bell with the telephone

People are responsible for their own actions or if they drag someone down with them.

Leave the device makers and their sellers alone.

Will they be given credit for all the good they bring as well? For example using an Ipod to listed to a shuir, a TV to watch a taped Shuir…etc.

the same question applies to the manufacturers of telephones that some people use to speak loshon hora or other d’vorim assurim.

The answer is – that it depends if they get s’char for the good that these devices can do. If there is good such as kiruv.com or aish.com or any of the other myriad of Torah websites, tyhen they should ghet s’char and converswely get punished when people use them for negative things. Personally I think that they get neither s’char nor onesh for selling / manufacturing a neutral device.

These devices were created neutral, neither good nor bad. If individual people use them for good for harbotzas torah or parnossah then it’s good. If other people succumb to their yetzer hora, why is the manufacturer or seller liable?

It is incumbent upon every individual to accept personal responsibility for their actions. If your yetzer hora is strong in these areas then distance yourself and educate yourself about the necessary safeguards. Actually that’s true for everyone.

It is incumbent upon our chachomim and yeshivos to educate the next generation on how to deal with these terrible nisyonos. Burying one’s head in the sand is denial. The internet is here and it’s here to stay. We have to find a way to deal with it.

everything in this world can go both ways…it’s up to us to make sure we use it for good and not bad…I’ve said it several times. TV, Movies, even secular education etc. all have their place. We just need to use and teach our Kids to use it properly.

hmmm!

what a bought advertising companies, or is that considered a gruma.

what is the positive usage of electronic devises? (besides shiurim)

So, I suppose you’ll be forgoing the use of an MRI machine if the need arises? Or a smoke/CO detector? Or any of the other life-saving devices that we have?

And, keep in mind, you can’t just say “okay, we’ll keep those but get rid of others” since, very often, the technology from one type of item (which may not be necessary) is used as a model or built upon to produce other devices (which may well be necessary).

In the end, however, all these devices have positive purposes. Just because *you* may not appreciate being able to make a phone call wherever you does not, in and of itself, make it not positive.

do we really NEED all these devises?

Do you need a car? Do you need a camera? Do you need a microwave? Do you need an air-conditioner? The answer to all the above is “no.” And yet, we have them and I’ve never heard anyone speak out against them.

Life isn’t only about needs — and there is nothing wrong with having something even though it’s not a “need.”

The Wolf

If Hashem didn’t want us to have elctronic devises, he never would of allowed someone to invent them…

IMHO It depends. If someone specifically creates a kli mashchis, something distinctly / exclusively used for davar asur, then maybe there’s something to consider. Otherwise there’s no question that it’s OK. Anyone disagree?

Will alleged teachers of Torah be held liable klapai shemaya for for making a mockery of their God and his word in front of impressionable youth?

I am referring to electronic games/ipods/cell phones/palms with internet access. Lets try not to be naive..

I am not being naive.

However, I ask you to consider the following:

First, these products do serve a positive function and fill a need — entertainment. Yes, entertainment is a need. Granted, it doesn’t quite rank up there with food, clothing and shelter, but our lives would be pretty miserable without entertainment of some form or other.

Second, again, like any tool, these tools can be used properly or misused. As I mentioned above, you don’t “need” a car, an air conditioner, a camera or a microwave — but that doesn’t make them bad. I could use my car to drive to a shiur, or to drive to McDonalds for a cheeseburger. I could use my camera to take nice pictures, or I could take improper ones (however you want to define that). I could use my microwave to heat up kosher food and I could use it to heat up tarfus. And on and on. Every person has to be responsible for how they use any tool. Should I be deprived of my ability to listen to a shiur or watch a video on photographic technique or listen to a podcast on DIY plumbing or whatever just because some people choose to misuse it?

The Wolf

According to some people here, yes. See my earlier post on this thread.

Are those same people willing to give up their cars and microwaves and cameras and other such items?

The Wolf

Wolf: Are you familiar with the term ‘cognitive dissonance’? The less charitable would call it Orwellian double-think.