About... credits

Updated: David Besbris makes a point that is more or less at the heart of why I think this matters: Software is a players' game.

I was recently reminded: one of the nice minor things I feel quite proud of helping accomplish during my tenure here is the (re)instatement of credits in our "About..." boxes at AOL for our desktop applications.

Most of the things that that my group has done has really been my group: I might have helped make the room, but others better than I filled the space. And the ideas and desire had been here long before I started.

This one was I feel I contributed to more directly, though :)

Its important that the people building the software feel connected to it, and pride of ownership is a key part of that. I'm even more pleased that software engineering come first in that list - that's on purpose.

Other folks, like Product teams, Business owners, Marketing, etc. have other outlets for this pride of ownership - whether its because of press interviews, org structures, or simply because they're the ones delivering the updates and plans in executive reviews and public forums inside and outside the company.

But programmers? We make the product.

I realize its very, very trite, but its also very, very true: The intellectual capital at software companies is in the people, not the code.

Not like a big initiative or anything, but I'd like to find some way to do this for "bitless" applications (online only) in a "standarized" way as well - its not about being splashy or territorial, just giving credit where its due.