Last week I got an e-mail from a manager. “I saw your name on some source code. Nice job. Here is some information that might interest you.” Sweet. For merely typing my name, I got information I needed, plus I have someone thinking nice things about me. If you do good work, put your name on it. If you do not do good work, well, you can stop reading right now.
Early in my career, I started adding my name to everything I created. For years thereafter, new acquaintances would comment, “Ah, I know you. You wrote that informative manual.” This name recognition helped launch my consulting career.
You never know which project will end up giving you this kind of publicity, so whenever you create something, write your name first. Don’t wait. It’s perfectly natural to begin by writing your name, but as time goes on it gets more awkward.
Most employers recognize that the author’s name is essential, but if they want to delete your name, let them. If they ask you to remove it, comply. It’s their intellectual property.
Still, erasing your name is their job. Your job is to always put your name on it.
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Today I was trying to assign a bug. I had to guess because the author’s name does not appear in the source code. Please put your name on it.