Re: Web-available manuscript

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Stefan.Bengtson@nrm.se (Stefan Bengtson) wrote:

[on the issue of making manuscripts available on the WWW]



	The strategy I have adopted is to place a manuscript on the WWW  
when it is either close to or has been submitted for publication  
(subsquent to informal review by local colleagues), for the purpose of  
soliciting wider criticism.  It is not as a replacement for subsequent  
publication or peer-review, and I would not want people to cite it as  
anything other than a "pers.comm." or "manuscript in prep.".  The WWW  
document is only as much professional value to me or to others as it would  
be to pass paper copies of an unpublished paper around -- i.e. not much on  
job applications :-), and not a legitmate scientific citation in most  
circumstances.  If peer-reviewed electronic journals form in the future,  
that may change.

	Currently, the information in that document and the expression of  
it is mine, but at the time the copyright is transferred to the publisher,  
I will remove it from the WWW, for two reasons:  1) If I transfer  
copyright, I do not have the right to present the entire paper in a form  
basically the same as the one to be published.  2) Upon publication, it is  
redundant.  I will probably leave the illustrations of the fossil  
specimens and a brief summary on the WWW, though.

	If I can get some useful criticism in the time between preparation  
and copyright transfer, and help colleagues by giving them early access to  
information without having to spend money on mailing preliminary  
manuscripts to them, great, and I do not think this threatens the  
traditional publication process.




	-Andrew
	macrae@geo.ucalgary.ca
	home page: http://www.geo.ucalgary.ca/~macrae