Good advice Riveraddict, thanks. Credit is deserved by the person who does the work, I agree completely and that's the bottom line.
To all:
I have to establish that my poll question was more rhetorical than self-serving, as I care less about it than appearances may indicate. But I have the following thoughts on the topic...
When you think about it, credit is a funny thing in societies. Where some people are willing to take it for what they did not earn, others are unwilling to grant it for what is deserved. Some people want it, others don't have a need for it - but it's always there.
It's a funny thing when I've shared something hard-earned with people (like a hotspot at a certain tide phase, a boulder garden just past tidewater, or a consistent fly pattern) and have them claim it as their hard-earned discovery, sometimes even to me.
Human nature and the way people see other people is funny too. People like to think of other persons as having exactly one major character and don't do well thinking of them as being multi-dimensional, diverse and capable in a myriad of roads in life. It takes a strong will, sacrifice, integrity, and lots of extra hours to keep it sorted out in an uncompromising manner. Perhaps that's why some people are uncomfortable with granting trust to people with a lot of active channels in their life.
I have no problem separating my family, the forum, CND, Chatham Angler Guide Service, the Pagewizards web business, and my recent marketing consulting stints. They are like separate projects in a high-tech middle manager role, just balls in the air. I have not crossed any lines, but will take every legitimate opportunity as a reward for building the Forum without taking any pay and having invested thousands in the cause over the years as co-founder.
But I digress,
In retrospect it's those who do not wish for credit but forge ahead turning the most stones, discovering the most for themselves and for others that are the true contributors to the sport.
Indeed, credit is a funny thing in societies. You can't get it by asking, you can't get it by taking, it can only be granted and rarely to the one who made the discovery.
I've since decided I want nothing to do with it!
Juro