I don't think asking for a sign up is unethical, at least not on the same magnitude as the actual Hippocratic Oath is concerned with. I'd envision the Hippocratic Oath for Software might have something to say about writing software for ICE or despotic regimes but not asking the user to sign up. One is unethical, the other is just annoying.
At what point does the constant, ever-present, insistent barrage of annoying become significant to you?
People are literally committing suicide because of code software developers write. Not for ICE or despotic regimes, but for Facebook.
Now I'm not sure a ransom signup pattern reaches that level, but the idea that dark patterns can't reach that level isn't in evidence. While the impact of a piece of software you write on a given individual is usually small, a decision made in software has the power to reach many more people than a decision made by a doctor about a specific patient.
Software developers need to take responsibility for their actions and stop blaming their bosses or society for their actions. What we do, does matter.
