Topic: Could I answer a thread with a code not mine and do not know the auther?

[JohnK]

I don't see anything in the official stance as to what to do if you don't know who the original author is though. For example, when I started here I inherited a bunch of legacy code and I don't know who the original author was or where the code came from. Now I have rewritten most, if not all of this code from the ground up over the years, but I do wonder if I had wanted to post it, how the proper way to handle it would have been?

I always try to say, at minimum who I believe the author was or may be even if I don't know where I got that code. Some people, like Tony Tanzillo, Vladimir Nesterovski, MP, ElpanovEvgeniy, Renni have so much code in so many different locations it's hard to pinpoint where you got the code. Often times that was a judgment call on my part based on the style of code I was looking at (some code you can just tell who authored it after you study enough of that person's code).  ...I think there was only one time where I couldn't list at least the author so I noted that in my post and included a header saying that I assumed "temporary ownership" of that code until the actual author was noted.

When I was learning AutoLisp I tried to consume as much code as I could often neglecting where I got the code. Only later did I wise up and start documenting "who, what, where, why and when".

[danallen]

Tip for finding code, look for variable names next to each other, search for them in quotes for example "c_e o_m", then in google > search tools > all results > select verbatim (google will likely change this again in a few years, verbatim used to just work by prefixing with plus sign)

[rkmcswain]

Agreed, but we also have an official stance as well, written by MP I believe. Please see the following link.
https://www.theswamp.org/index.php?topic=9202.0

Thanks for the link.

There should be a 7a: If you want to post code you didn't author, get your own website and copy to your heart's delight.

[HasanCAD]

This is an example what I am doing
https://www.theswamp.org/index.php?topic=50994.msg561268#msg561268

...
this lisp is not mine and I did not remember either from where I got or the coder.
...

[cmwade77]

Well said Lee.

Agreed, but we also have an official stance as well, written by MP I believe. Please see the following link.
https://www.theswamp.org/index.php?topic=9202.0

I don't see anything in the official stance as to what to do if you don't know who the original author is though. For example, when I started here I inherited a bunch of legacy code and I don't know who the original author was or where the code came from. Now I have rewritten most, if not all of this code from the ground up over the years, but I do wonder if I had wanted to post it, how the proper way to handle it would have been?

Not that I know anything about coding...

However, one would think that simply stating something like this:


The code below was found to working at my place of employment.
The original author is unknown to me, if you are the author of this routine, or any subroutine included herein
please advise such that proper credit for your effort(s) may be included within the body of the code.


I know this could get a bit tricky as the author of your found code may have plagiarized someone else either whole or in part...
Or possible that it is an entirely new solution that due to functionality, and or nature of LISP appears to be plagiarized

Very interesting discussion

If I am even the least bit unsure of if I have found code somewhere else in one of my routines, I usually say something similar to this.

[JohnK]

Well okay, since the elephant in the room is staring right at us now; how do you people keep your code library(ies) organized? Do you keep a standard header for all functions? Which copyright license do you like better?