Comment by lmm

> how can it be any different? Someone else is paying you to do something; you either do it (aka, you please them), or you don't (aka, don't ship, and you stop getting paid).

The good situation is when you get paid to do the thing, because you're getting paid by someone who cares about whether the thing is done. The bad situation is where you get paid to make a Potemkin version of the thing because the person paying with you cares more about the appearance than the reality, consciously or otherwise. You can redefine words and say well obviously when they told you to do X they were just doing an elaborate LARP and there's no deception in doing Y and telling them it's X, but that's just sophistry.

Working for arms-length counterparties helps, as that naturally forces communication to be more explicit and honest. Working in small businesses where reality tends to intrude more quickly helps. Of course neither approach is perfect.