Re: Who's the author? Perfect Solution

[doug montalbano <doug_montalbano -at- CC -dot- CHIRON -dot- COM>]

     By now, I am thoroughly confuddled by this discussion.  It seems to
     have several main threads:
     --claiming ownership of a doc, in the sense of being responsible
     for its errors as well as its triumphs;
     --the problem of defining authorship in a technological environment
     that allows anyone to insert and publish text;
     --the separate or overlapping responsibilities of subject matter
     experts, technical writers, and editors;
     --(as in Vince Putnam's posting) proving one's own contributions to
     an otherwise uncredited publication.

     If it's so gosh-darn important to put your name somewhere in a
     document to prove you wrote it, why not borrow a leaf from
     Shakespeare studies and put your name in the doc in _an acrostic
     form_ -- like Francis Bacon, the Earl of Southampton, and Kit
     Marlowe all supposedly did in Shakespeare's plays?  <wink wink
     nudge nudge it's a joke son>

     Doug_Montalbano -at- cc -dot- chiron -dot- com


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
     <snip, snip>
     How about preparing a special page with our byline for our portfolio
     documents?  It would NOT be published in the company document, nor
     discussed with anyone or even approved by our company.  It is our
     right if we actually wrote the thing from scratch and can prove it in
     an interview.  OK, lets hear it from the ethical purists.

        Vince Putman             | Be kind, never have a battle of wits
        putmv -at- mail -dot- syntron -dot- com   | with the unarmed!
        713-647-7139 Houston, TX | Aka, Eschew Gratuitous Obfuscation