<quote>
"Finally, I think this expectation that most of us have about being a 
programmer 24/7 demonstrates the relative immaturity of our field; after 
all, it really should be just like any other job, instead of being a hobby 
that you happen to get paid for. Sure, it's nice to enjoy your work, but 
work is just one part of the life of a well-rounded person."

Dave Watts, CTO, Fig Leaf Software
</quote>

Dave, 

Curious question for you.  To those of us that enjoy programming as a 
hobby and actually do research on our own outside of work time.  How does 
intellectual property fit into this.  The reason why I bring this up is 
because well, due to the immaturity of most comapnies wanting their 
developers to work 24/7, basically anything I concieve of is by right of 
employment contract, theirs.  In their eyes, a salaried employee is 
something akin to a ... well... a wageslave.

Take the little company I work for.  They'd love it if I worked for them 
24/7.  The partners would get a kick out of it, especially if they could 
purchase another SUV within a few months.  However, I have been hesitant 
to hand over anything, but at times, I've had no choice due to the lack of 
time they give me for a particular project.  My methodology for example.  
The project manager basically scoped out what he felt my co-worker and I 
were developing, asked me to read this over and ... published it on the 
intranet.  At the same time, I'm thinking to myself, why did I just do 
that?  What did I gain from it?  I got no recognition for it, I got 
nothing.  So, if I were to ever break away from my current job, I'd be 
pretty screwed if they found out that I'm still using 'my' so called 
methodology for future clients.

I'm very concerned about the future and maturity level of the so called 
"internet/development" companies out there.  How does figleaf handle 
creative ideas like this?  

Case in point, Branden Hall.  I'm sure he cranks out actionscripting code 
all day long and posts code left and right and handles what he can to help 
people out.  How does Figleaf distinguish between his intellectual 
property and commercial value?  Does Branden run every little script of 
code over to someone at figleaf and ask for permission to release it?  If 
Figleaf uses his code that he wrote on his time, does he get compensated? 
recognized?  Does Figleaf automatically by default suck in his code into 
their intellectual property library because it was used that one time?

Just curious,
~Todd

-- 
============================================================
Todd Rafferty ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) - http://www.web-rat.com/ |
        Team Macromedia Volunteer for ColdFusion           |
http://www.macromedia.com/support/forums/team_macromedia/  |
http://www.flashCFM.com/   - webRat (Moderator)            |
http://www.ultrashock.com/ - webRat (Back-end Moderator)   |
============================================================

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