• (cs) in reply to Synchronos
    Synchronos:
    Anonymous:
    Zapp Brannigan:
    It's not like the cure for cancer or cold fusion was stolen...
    Holy crap, thay can cure cold fusion now?

    Nonononono, they have created a fusion of the cure for cancer and the cure for cold.

    Nonononono, they have create a cure for cancer/cold fusion.

  • Kasper (unregistered)
    It crashed so frequently that even the most computer-ignorant luddites had learned how to CTRL-ALT-DEL.
    If you really crash a DOS system, then CTRL-ALT-DEL won't work.
  • (cs)

    Years ago, I was on the opposite side of a story like this. There was a piece of functionality which we needed to comply with corporate standards. Existing software didn't quite meet the need, due to some internal Internet standards compliance. Management didn't want to give us the time to code it. This was especially bad, because we were corporate, specifically the group that the half of the company that needed to comply with this policy was looking to for this code.

    A guy out in the trenches wrote me a few months after the new policy became "effective", to say that he had written the code to do this, and would we be interested in it? I said yes, he sent me the code. My boss redirected the testing and code review to my coworkers. After review, we then submitted it to the documentation team to put on our web site as example code, with a couple links to pre-compiled binaries. The documentation team approved, our management approved, and it went up to his boss - who had a fit because we were giving out sample code apparently authored by someone he'd never heard of.

    He ordered us to change the authorship to one of us. We refused, on the combined basis of it being illegal and the fact we knew he couldn't fire us (ah, the joys of so much job security you can't be promoted.) He grudgingly accepted this - and then went to our IT Security rep, who had admin access to the documentation server, and got the value changed. To me. Remember I hadn't really looked at this code - I'd actually just glanced at the first few lines as I forwarded it to the rest of the team.

    The first indication I had that this had happened was when I got a call for support about the code, first thing on a Monday morning. On the bright side, I did eventually get very familiar with that code - I spent all day answering questions about it, both on the phone and in email.

    On the bright side, upper management did not notice a few weeks later when we silently changed the credit back, and added additional comments that people were to contact my team with questions, unless they were in the same division as the author. We also put up some FAQs and a minor code update, which we did announce to management. (We figured the boss' boss wouldn't bother looking at the update, given the description. Either we turned out to be correct, or the boss' boss broke character and looked at it from an IP other than his desktop. Either way, he never mentioned anything.)

  • Anonymous (unregistered) in reply to upsidedowncreature
    upsidedowncreature:
    Before I moved in to IT I was in manufacturing,and I wrote a costing application in Access that was pretty well received. Don't laugh, this was the mid-90s.

    Marketing took it over and the only change they made was slap a label on the main screen that said, "by MARKETING".

    Bastards.

    Isn't that marketing's raison d'etre - "rebranding" other people's work and taking the credit?

  • Aditya (unregistered)

    I would have quit!

  • acid (unregistered) in reply to Franz Kafka
    Franz Kafka:
    Nope, this isn't an isolated incident - this points to a cheapish attitude which will carry over to the more important work. In short, it isn't free, it increases risk, and that's something that business should understand.

    But they DON'T understand. Your argument is logical. If business could understand logic, then they're talents would be recognised very quickly and they'd be cutting code instead.

    Just look at how many IT professionals out there (as evidenced on this website) don't understand basic logic, and you begin to realise just how rare a commodity it really is. IT is completely based on logic and mathematics, if not everyone in OUR industry gets it, how on Earth do you expect business to get it?

  • Company names need to be used.... (unregistered)

    Because the rest of us really need to know what places to never work at.

    Honestly, That company is full of Arse holes and many of us need to know to stay away.

  • Matthew Flaschen (unregistered) in reply to HorusKol

    "If you want acknowledgement for your solutions, then you need to not work for a business."

    What a ridiculous comment. if you work for a software business, the business usually owns the software's copyright. However, that does not require they're jackasses to their employees. A "thank you" goes a long way.

  • hey persto (unregistered) in reply to Matthew Flaschen
    Matthew Flaschen:
    "If you want acknowledgement for your solutions, then you need to not work for a business."

    What a ridiculous comment. if you work for a software business, the business usually owns the software's copyright.

    Yes, but I believe in most countries you can not waive the right of authorship.

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