Re: Copyright notices on manuals.

[damaged justice <demona ameritech net>]

On Tue, Jun 27, 2000 at 10:10:39PM -0500, Eric Baudais writes:
> Miguel de Icaza wrote:
[snips]
> >         XXXXX
> >         (C) Documentation Person name.
> > 
> >         Change Entry 1
> >         Change Entry 2
> >         Change Entry 3
> >         Change Entry 4
> >         Change Entry 5
> >         Change Entry 16
> > 
> > Picture this on the screen.  No information at all but pure metadata
> > on the document.  To make things worse, it looks as if the
> > applications was done by "Documentation Person Name" rather than the
> > actual author of the code.
> 
> There isn't a good solution to the copyright at the top of the doc. 
> Yes, it can look like that the doc author wrote the app, but the wording
> should provide the reader with some clue, "(c)2000 by Doc Author."  I
> think the word "by" hints that the document is by the author and not the
> whole app.  Also, the about box has the app author as well as the author
> section in the doc.  I, personally, believe that this is enough to state
> that the app is written by the app author and the docs are written by
> the doc author.
> 
> If you have a better way to do this, I would appreciate any comments or
> suggestions you have.

I suggest

GnomeFooApp
(c) by App Author
Documentation (c) by Doc Author

In perusing the About boxes of assorted applets, I find a rough average of 1/4
of them to have specific references to a documentation author as well as a
primary application author. For a more representative cross section, I am just
starting to read all Gnome docs in more detail after subscribing here. (Helix
has been very stable, but the help browser crashes nearly every time it runs,
leading me to believe I might outpace Telsa's record if I submitted a report
on each occasion...)

I would be inclined toward any suggestion that struck a happy medium between
giving appropriate credit to all relevant parties and not assuming too much
brain damage on the part of the reader. Get too explicit and you wind up with
reams of fine print to rival the finest modern disclaimer.

-- 
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