---
layout: doc
title: mudlib / set_author
---
# set_author

### NAME

    set_author - set the author associated with an object.

### SYNOPSIS

    void set_author( string author );

### DESCRIPTION

    Every object has both an author and a domain associated with it for the
    purposes of tracking statistics for authors and domains.   Domains  may
    only  be  set  in  the  master  object function domain_file(4), however
    authors are different.  They can be initialized to some  default  value
    by  author_file(4)  in the master object, but can also be changed using
    the set_author efun.

    set_author changes the author of the object that it is  called  within.
    That  author will get credit for all future actions of that object that
    affect mudlib statistics.  Note that this may cause some weird  numbers
    to occur in the categories "objects" and "array_size", since the object
    may have initialized arrays or been created under the original author's
    credit,  but  it could be destructed or free the arrays that it's using
    under another author, thus reducing numbers from a  count  that  didn't
    have  those  same  numbers added previously.  To rememdy this, only use
    set_author within create(4), and use it before any arrays are allocated
    if at all possible.

### SEE ALSO

    author_file(4),    domain_file(4),    author_stats(3),   set_author(3),
    domain_stats(3)

