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Files are corrupted, sometimes by people who are corrupt.

I don't think inanimate objects can be corrupt, but they can be corrupted.

*cor·rupt (kə-rŭpt′) adj.

1. Marked by immorality and perversion; depraved.

2. Venal or dishonest: a corrupt mayor.

3. Containing errors or alterations, especially ones that prevent proper understanding or use: a corrupt translation; a corrupt computer file.

4. Archaic Tainted; putrid.

v. cor·rupt·ed, cor·rupt·ing, cor·rupts v.tr.

1. To ruin morally; pervert: "The argument that modern life consists of a menu of horrors by which we are corrupted ... is a founding idea of the critique of modernity" (Susan Sontag).

2. To destroy or subvert the honesty or integrity of, as by offering bribes: "Our politics has been corrupted by money and suffused with meanness" (Peter Edelman).

a. To cause to become rotten; spoil: "There was a strange smell in the room, high and slightly sweet, like perfume corrupted in the bottle" (Bella Bathurst).

b. Archaic To render impure; contaminate.

4.

a. To alter from original or proper form: "Strangers named them the Chippewa, which was corrupted to Ojibway" (Paul Theroux).

b. Computers To damage (data) in a file or on a disk.*

In common dictionary definitions, to be corrupt is a moral failure and/or involves actively doing something. Files are not the doers, but are done to.

corrupted adjective

1. depraved, abandoned, perverted, warped, degenerate, debased, demoralized, profligate, dishonoured, defiled, debauched, reprobate the corrupted, brutal Duvalier regime

2. contaminated, soiled, dirtied, infected, spoiled, stained, decayed, rotten, polluted, tainted, tarnished, sullied, defiled, adulterated, vitiated, putrefied The body's T cells kill cells corrupted by viruses.

3. distorted, altered The computer files had been corrupted during the upgrade.**

Corrupted can mean a moral failure also, but it is also a condition after something was done or had happen. I think that is more applicable to objects and creations that are not self-directed.

I may not be technically correct about that (and I see that both are used for files), but I do think that when making a writing decision like this, the differentiation ensures a sentence that will be correct and won't be confusing or distracting for readers.

Files are corrupted, sometimes by people who are corrupt.

I don't think inanimate objects can be corrupt, but they can be corrupted.

*cor·rupt (kə-rŭpt′) adj.

1. Marked by immorality and perversion; depraved.

2. Venal or dishonest: a corrupt mayor.

3. Containing errors or alterations, especially ones that prevent proper understanding or use: a corrupt translation; a corrupt computer file.

4. Archaic Tainted; putrid.

v. cor·rupt·ed, cor·rupt·ing, cor·rupts v.tr.

1. To ruin morally; pervert: "The argument that modern life consists of a menu of horrors by which we are corrupted ... is a founding idea of the critique of modernity" (Susan Sontag).

2. To destroy or subvert the honesty or integrity of, as by offering bribes: "Our politics has been corrupted by money and suffused with meanness" (Peter Edelman).

a. To cause to become rotten; spoil: "There was a strange smell in the room, high and slightly sweet, like perfume corrupted in the bottle" (Bella Bathurst).

b. Archaic To render impure; contaminate.

4.

a. To alter from original or proper form: "Strangers named them the Chippewa, which was corrupted to Ojibway" (Paul Theroux).

b. Computers To damage (data) in a file or on a disk.*

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/corrupt

corrupted adjective

1. depraved, abandoned, perverted, warped, degenerate, debased, demoralized, profligate, dishonoured, defiled, debauched, reprobate the corrupted, brutal Duvalier regime

2. contaminated, soiled, dirtied, infected, spoiled, stained, decayed, rotten, polluted, tainted, tarnished, sullied, defiled, adulterated, vitiated, putrefied The body's T cells kill cells corrupted by viruses.

3. distorted, altered The computer files had been corrupted during the upgrade.**

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/corrupted

In common dictionary definitions, to be corrupt is a moral failure and/or involves actively doing something. Files are not the doers, but are done to.

Corrupted can mean a moral failure also, but it is also a condition after something was done or happened to what became corrupted. I think that is more applicable to objects and creations that are not self-directed.

I may not be technically correct regarding a definite rule (and I see that both are used for computer files), but I do think that when making a writing decision like this, the differentiation ensures a sentence that will be correct and won't be confusing or distracting for readers.

Files are corrupted, sometimes by people who are corrupt.

I don't think inanimate objects can be corrupt, but they can be corrupted. I may not be technically correct about that, but I do think that when making a writing decision like this, the differentiation ensures a sentence that will be correct and won't be confusing to readers.

Files are corrupted, sometimes by people who are corrupt.

I don't think inanimate objects can be corrupt, but they can be corrupted.

*cor·rupt (kə-rŭpt′) adj.

1. Marked by immorality and perversion; depraved.

2. Venal or dishonest: a corrupt mayor.

3. Containing errors or alterations, especially ones that prevent proper understanding or use: a corrupt translation; a corrupt computer file.

4. Archaic Tainted; putrid.

v. cor·rupt·ed, cor·rupt·ing, cor·rupts v.tr.

1. To ruin morally; pervert: "The argument that modern life consists of a menu of horrors by which we are corrupted ... is a founding idea of the critique of modernity" (Susan Sontag).

2. To destroy or subvert the honesty or integrity of, as by offering bribes: "Our politics has been corrupted by money and suffused with meanness" (Peter Edelman).

a. To cause to become rotten; spoil: "There was a strange smell in the room, high and slightly sweet, like perfume corrupted in the bottle" (Bella Bathurst).

b. Archaic To render impure; contaminate.

4.

a. To alter from original or proper form: "Strangers named them the Chippewa, which was corrupted to Ojibway" (Paul Theroux).

b. Computers To damage (data) in a file or on a disk.*

In common dictionary definitions, to be corrupt is a moral failure and/or involves actively doing something. Files are not the doers, but are done to.

corrupted adjective

1. depraved, abandoned, perverted, warped, degenerate, debased, demoralized, profligate, dishonoured, defiled, debauched, reprobate the corrupted, brutal Duvalier regime

2. contaminated, soiled, dirtied, infected, spoiled, stained, decayed, rotten, polluted, tainted, tarnished, sullied, defiled, adulterated, vitiated, putrefied The body's T cells kill cells corrupted by viruses.

3. distorted, altered The computer files had been corrupted during the upgrade.**

Corrupted can mean a moral failure also, but it is also a condition after something was done or had happen. I think that is more applicable to objects and creations that are not self-directed.

I may not be technically correct about that (and I see that both are used for files), but I do think that when making a writing decision like this, the differentiation ensures a sentence that will be correct and won't be confusing or distracting for readers.

Files are corrupted, sometimes by people who are corrupt.

I don't think inanimate objects can be corrupt, but they can be corrupted.

Files are corrupted, sometimes by people who are corrupt.

I don't think inanimate objects can be corrupt, but they can be corrupted. I may not be technically correct about that, but I do think that when making a writing decision like this, the differentiation ensures a sentence that will be correct and won't be confusing to readers.