When do you put your name on stuff?

When do I put my name on stuff? There are two times that I do that: when I want to take credit for what I've done and when I may have to take the blame. The funny part of that statement in my opinion is the fact that sometimes (often times) they are one and the same.

Taking Credit

I wrote it, said it, and/or did it. Therefore I'm going to take credit for it. I may not even own it when I'm done but I'd sure like someone to know that I accomplished this. This I believe is true of any craftsman regardless if it is the author of a piece of code written for hire or a painter who does an oil painting to be hung in a gallery, we all have a pride of ownership for our work. So we sign our work.

Taking the blame

There is a duality IMHO to taking credit for things. It in my mind implies a responsibility as well. Not only a responsibility but there is in my mind an implicit responsibility in being a craftsman doing some sort of work. If I write a piece of code for instance and someone comes along 5, 10 or (and I've actually experienced this) 15 years later and someone else has to maintain or port the code it would be nice for that hapless soul to be able to reach out and contact the author for help.

Even works that I've done for hire and "thrown over the fence" at my client after they've paid the bill I feel an ownership of. On the plus side it is possible that by putting my name on it in the comments it may generate repeat business. That's $$ in my pocket.

The other aspect of taking responsibility kicks in when I have taken some else's code and "fixed" it. If the person who wrote the code happens to figure out that I changed their code 1) it would be nice if I dropped them an email telling them I did and 2) there were comments in the code with my name attached saying what I changed and why.

Closing thoughts

I guess the common thread here in my post can be summed up in one of two (or both) words: "ownership" and "responsibility". Ownership from the perspective of taking ownership for ones actions and responsibilty for them. What a novel concept in this day and age when the US legal system tells people every day that they don't have to be responsible for their actions if they can pin it on someone else.

So endeth the sermon.