Terminology wise, self-illumination should be the light that the object is casting on itself. You'd probably treat that 'light' the same way you'd treat lighting from other sources when you collate it in the shader for the purposes of diffuse and specular calculations. It's illuminating itself. Emissive maps are generally…
Quoted for truth. Every full time job I've had, every serious lead I've had, every contract job I've had, has all been through people I know. As far as what you said about getting into scuffles online, just don't be a douche. Simple as that. Treat people the way you want to be treated.