In our day-to-day editorial work at GigaScience, time and again we see issues cropping up that make us worry whether everyone understands good scientific practice when it comes to listing author names on the title page. There are many issues that underlie inappropriate authorship designations, but there are also guidelines to help potential authors determine when and how a researcher should be included with a manuscript. Here, we help clarify this and also provide a clear statement of our expectations around how authors are assigned to manuscripts submitted to GigaScience.