Forum Discussion
Excel Formulas Copyrights
Hi Experts,
What do you feel about the formula you wrote, and perhaps you struggled while writing it to make it work, what do you feel when you see someone copying and pasting it somewhere else and then claiming to be the one who wrote it?
Some formulas are truly a creative intellectual production worthy of being preserved and recorded in the name of its author.
What can we do about this issue?
Any thoughts?
9 Replies
- It's good to have an open discussion and share ideas with you guys. I love this community!
Hi, Haytham Amairah.
I understand your point, and I also agree with the points from Damien_Rosario and SergeiBaklan.
Honestly, I tried myself to find a formula to get the worksheet name. Few years later, occasionaly, I browsed the same one from https://exceljet.net/formula/get-sheet-name-only. After that, whenever people ask for a formula to get the worksheet name, I answered with providing the above link to save time on explaination. So, I won't claim the copyright because these are the common/only ways to accomplish goals in Excel without macros.
However, if we really get the solution from someone else, it's a good practice to give a reference.
Edition:
note: the case of mine is to point out that, in excel, we use function combinations to archieve our goals, and the same approach may be used by others too.
- Hi Haytham
I take your point but Sergei makes a good one too.
Once we post something, it's really for all to use, reuse, and adapt to suit their Excel query. I would hesitate to reinvent the wheel if there is already a solution out there that can address a problem.
I agree that there are some absolutely stunning formulas that are just awesome and so it should be marked as best response and cemented. The experts on this forum are in my personal opinion a great value to our community.
I'm just not sure how we would go about crediting a formula to a person and managing that process. Also the solution would still need to be contextualised to suit the solution being sought which is where a solution could be adjusted to suit the needs.
Just my two cents and I can understand where you are coming from on this.
Cheers
DamienHi Damien_Rosario,
yes, i don't expect people will refer to my post if I just answer with IF function, like =IF(A1=1,A1, A1+1)
Of course my friend.
To your point above about crediting someone elses solution as good practice, the challenge is making that a consistent policy, and also enforceable (which I don't think Microsoft will want to micro manage).
I just don't see an easy way to implement this sort of referencing nor do I see it being universally applied by users as not everyone will be as diligent as you guys are on crediting others.
I guess (for me) this all comes down to whether my ego will take a bruising if I don't get credit for a solution that I have provided that may be used later by someone else.
The answer is meh, I just like helping where I can, learning new things on the forum and enjoying your company!
Cheers
Damien
Hi Haytham,
I thing it's nothing to do with that. As soon as you publish your formula it becomes the kind of Open Source, but without any license.
Another story that's a good practice to give a reference if you republish something new or unique. If no such, that's only to remind community what is the source.
Hi SergeiBaklan, sometimes I answer members' question, I do not refer to your posts, even tough I learnt the solutions from your posts. Sorry for that.
Edition:
e.g.
techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Formulas-and-Functions/Nested-IF/m-p/153161#M3311
I turned the compaison result as a part of calculation. It is the
ideasolution which I learnt from your post https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Excel/nested-quot-IF-quot-with-quot-AND-quot-and-quot-IF-quot-with/m-p/150964#M3786Hi Willy Lau, I didn't mean to make the reference on every formula we suggest here. I guess 99% of them are well known, at least for experts, and explained in this or that form in dozens of publications. That's only for something really new and unique.
