RE: Asking for Author Credit In The Documentation?

["Susan W. Gallagher" <sgallagher5 -at- cox -dot- net>]

Yabbut... I'm listening to what Steve said, and I hear Lee's
response... But think. If you pay a company to develop a web
site for you, you get the web site of your dreams and way down
at the bottom in the footer in the smallest and most unobtrusive
type, is a "developed by" credit that I'll wager nobody negotiated
for and nobody objected to, it was just done. <whew! that was a
sentence, wasn't it! <g>)

So why can't we do the same thing? Because we're not the marketing
whizzes our marcomm counterparts are? Think about it.

My question -- Has anybody just gone and done it -- put a "developed
by" credit in the docs? Did you get called on it? Inquiring minds
wanna know!

-Sue Gallagher


Steven Oppenheimer wrote:

> If I may say so myself, I have created some pretty sizzling 
> documentation for them.  It occurred to me that, since this stuff is 
> going out to other companies, it would help me if I got some credit in 
> the documentation.  Now, I have a very good relationship with these 
> people, but there is nothing in my contract which promises me credit.  
> Still, I see no harm in asking.  My idea is to have something on the 
> copyright page -- and also, in some suitable spot in the online help -- 
> which reads something like:
> 
> Documentation developed by Oppenheimer Communications (www.OpComm.com) 
> and the Staff of SuperNetworkWizards, Inc. [of course we'd use the real 
> company name here]
> 
> Again, I see no harm in at least asking, but I was wondering if anyone 
> might be able to anticipate any solid objections they might have. 

Lee Hunter answered:

I suppose there's no harm in asking but if it was my company and I'm 
paying the writer the going rate for his or her work I would be stunned, 
to put it mildly, if the writer asked to advertise their company in my 
product for free and my response would be a flat "no".

...

- Why should I let anyone advertise in my product, in which I've made an 
enormous investment, without payment?
- What about contract programmers? Do we allow everyone to put a label 
on their work? ("This dialogue box programmed by Acme Development")
- I want to make my company to look as big and well-rounded as possible. 
I don't want to give customers the impression that everything was farmed 
out to a bunch of contractors  (even if that was the case).
- The very reason I've hired an expert like you to make such great 
documentation is to enhance MY reputation and now you want the glory for 
yourself.



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