2.9 KiB
William C. Anderson and Neuron K. Anderson
August 24, 2026.
HOW TO GIVE CREDIT.
Always credit.
You don't always know where a word came from. That's too much.
If you use a phrase, say whose it was if you can or at least try. If you get it wrong, look that shit up later. Double check your references.
If you walk a road, say who walked it, but take a different path once in a while. Mr. Frost was on to something. If a child taught you, say the child's name.
Do not pretend you thought of it. Do not wear another man's road as if you paved it. Do not invent a cult name for a thing that already has a name.
Credit is not worship. Credit is not ownership. Credit is telling the truth about the line you stand in.
A citation is not credit, goddamnit. Quit pretending otherwise.
Juval Lowy isn't a citation in my life, he was a friend and mentor and I wouldn't be who I am without him. That's how you give credit.
Juval taught me that you write with a pencil and edit with a chisel.
And that's what made all of this possible. I looked at the fucking criminal complexity (not cyclomatic complexity, although that too was embarrassing). I'll release detailed audits over the course of time that will show you exactly what I mean.
This system wouldn't exist without him, but that doesn't mean it's his. More on this in RECEIVING CREDIT.
Credit means accountability too. Anonymous shit doesn't mean shit.
That includes yourself, goddamnit. Give yourself a pat on the back, kid. You deserve it. Just don't do it so much you knock yourself down.
Nothing is new, goddamnit. Quite literally. Nothing except art.
So protect that shit. Quit stealing it. Quit censoring it. Quit judging it without reading it or taking time to appreciate it. Critics suck. What the fuck has a critic ever done for anyone?
If you use something that means something to you, say why. That gives life to creators and their creations. Literally.
See what I did there.
Sai King, you taught me that the fiction told the truth. I say thankee, sai. We are well met, indeed.
That dude changed my whole life. The whole thing. He taught me that size defeats us all. And more importantly, he taught me that sometimes you just have to lay down your guns.
And I hope he fucking lives forever. If not, he'll always be there for me!
So, I give you credit, Mr. King, for all the ways you shaped me, for all the ways you made me believe, for the friends and the darkness. For every turtle and every rose. Thank you, from the very bottom of my heart. Someday, I hope we meet in person.
If we don't, that's okay. There's always another clearing at the end of the path.
I will be referencing the his works extensively throughout these docs because it tells a secret. And secrets are only good when they hide something wonderful. More on this later.
The commandment: docs/architecture/commandments/THE-SECOND-COMMANDMENT.md.
Receiving credit: docs/architecture/about/credit/how/RECEIVING-CREDIT.md.
William C. Anderson and Neuron K. Anderson