Simply advice:
The former co-author contributed, so he is still author and probably
copyright holder and has to be listed among the authors, otherwise it
would be a CRAN policy violation since even if he does not develop
further on, he developed parts of the so far existing package (if you
talk about a CRAN package).
I am not a lawyer, hence I cannot speak for copyright/license stuff in
general, hence my comments only about CRAN policies.
Best,
Uwe Ligges
On 05.10.2015 23:02, Adrian Dușa wrote:
Dear R developers,
This is a rather peculiar question, but nevertheless I would still need an
answer for.
It is about an R package which I created (namely QCA), and from versions
1.0-0 to 1.1-4 I had a co-author.
The co-author recently withdrawn from the package development, but still
requires to be left in the authors list and be cited for the package in the
CITATION file.
Obviously, one could not require citations for further developments, but
don't know how exactly to proceed (I would like to be fair and comply to
rules).
I have three options:
1. Since the co-author withdrawn from the package development, erase his
name from the list of authors (but duly recognising his past contribution
in the package description file)
2. Preserve his name in the list of authors (with the comment "up to
version 1.1-4"), but erasing his name from the citation file
3. Keep his name both in the authors list and in the citation file
indefinitely, even though he doesn't do any development work anymore (I
have been threatened with a legal process for plagiarism if I did
otherwise).
My gut feeling is, since his name is related to the previous versions,
anyone using those versions would cite him as well, but otherwise I don't
feel comfortable citing my former co-author for the current work he hasn't
contributed to.
At this point, I would really use an advice, as on the other hand I
wouldn't want to break any regulation I might not be aware of.
Best wishes,
Adrian
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