Scholarship

I'm very critical here of sloppy scholarship, but Torill points out that, for students of the software arts, even the simplest citation can be a major headache.

I've long argued that, when writing about software, scholars should accord the creator the same dignity they accord to people who write books and articles. The work should be properly cited, and the chief authors should be named. That's a problem in the software world, where companies -- even small companies -- don't always want to tell you who their developers are, lest you barrage them with support questions or try to hire them away. I've been trying to reach Cornered Rat Software with an editorial query for Tekka, but despite (or perhaps because of) their successful MMPORG, their email bounces.