[jira] [Created] (ACTIVEMQ6-87) Strip @author tags from Java source

["Justin Bertram (JIRA)" <ji...@apache.org>]

Justin Bertram created ACTIVEMQ6-87:
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             Summary: Strip @author tags from Java source
                 Key: ACTIVEMQ6-87
                 URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/ACTIVEMQ6-87
             Project: Apache ActiveMQ 6
          Issue Type: Bug
    Affects Versions: 6.0.0
            Reporter: Justin Bertram
            Assignee: Justin Bertram
             Fix For: 6.1.0


Way back in 2004 [the Apache Board officially discouraged the use of 'author' tags|http://www.apache.org/foundation/records/minutes/2004/board_minutes_2004_02_18.txt] in source code.  They are not _banned_, but merely discouraged.  However, I think it's probably a good idea to strip them from our source all the same.  Other projects (e.g. [Camel|https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CAMEL-1812]) have done the same.

Here are a few other reasons to remove them (taken from [here|https://issues.jboss.org/browse/JBRULES-2895]):

The author tags in the java files are a maintenance nightmare:
- A large percentage is wrong, incomplete or inaccurate.
- Most of the time, it only contains the original author. Many files are completely refactored/expanded by other authors.
- Git is accurate, that is the canonical source to find the correct author.
To find the correct author of a piece of code, you always have to double check with git, you cannot suppose the author on the author tag alone.
- Author tags promote "code ownership", which is bad in the long run.
- If people work on a piece they perceive as being owned by someone else, they tend to:
-- only fix what they are assigned to fix, not everything that's broken.
-- discard responsibility if that code doesn't work properly.
-- be scared of stepping of the feet of the owner
- Instead of "code ownership", we need "module leadership" and "peer reviews".



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