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What is Author-Function

Chapter 2
Handbook of Research on Open Source Software: Technological, Economic, and Social Perspectives
Michel Foucault developed this term to call into question our ideas about what it means currently to create a work or a text. His definition of a text extends beyond traditional printed works and into other media. The author-function is not a direct analog for the person or individual we call the author. Rather, it is our understanding of how text is produced, distributed, and consumed. Foucault states that the idea of an author has not always existed and that there may be a time when a text is produced, distributed, and consumed without the individual we call the author.
Published in Chapter:
Greasemonkey and a Challenge to Notions of Authorship
Brian D. Ballentine (West Virginia University, USA)
Copyright: © 2007 |Pages: 11
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59140-999-1.ch002
Abstract
This chapter introduces Greasemonkey, a new extension for the Firefox browser, which enables users to alter the behavior and appearance of Web pages as the pages load. The chapter claims that Greasemonkey is forcing a reevaluation of what it means to be an author in digital environments. Using Michel Foucault’s (1979) original question, “What is an author?” the chapter argues that creators of Greasemonkey scripts take on the additional roles of designer and programmer. Also, the chapter cautions that since Greasemonkey scripts have the ability to alter the layout, navigation, and advertising on a Web page, there may be legal ramifi cations in the future for this open source project.
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