A Subversive Proposal
Stevan Harnad
us -- that the esoteric scientific and scholarly literature can and
should be made available electronically to all for free, and that public
ftp/http archives may well hasten the day when they are -- there are
some NONdivisive differences of opinion regarding the need for quality
control (peer review, editing/copy-editing). Nothing hinges on them for
the matter at hand. I just happen to be relatively conservative on that
subtopic, and Andrew Odlyzko relatively laissez-faire. -- Stevan Harnad
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: a...@research.att.com
Date: Tue, 5 Jul 94 08:02 EDT
To: har...@Princeton.EDU
Thank you very much for sending your proposal. It's been my contention
for a long time (for example, in the original draft of the "Tragic loss
..." essay) that widespread distribution of preprints through
electronic media, either via preprint servers such as Ginsparg's, or
through ftp directories, would subvert paper journals. One thing that
is worth emphasizing, though, is just how easy it is for a scholar to
do this with modern tools. Enclosed below is an excerpt from the
revision of my essay (which will hopefully be finished in a couple of
days) that dwells on this point.
Concerning Lorrin Garson's message, I agree completely with your
[Harnad's] estimates, and will have some quantitative arguments in my
essay to support them.
XXX. A brave new world
The novel methods of scholarly information dissemination that have been
made possible by modern technology can be seen in the system that I
have started to use recently. All my recent preprints can be accessed
through Mosaic at URL
ftp://netlib.att.com/netlib/att/math/odlyzko/index.html.Z
(Preprints of some older, already published papers are also available there,
but may have to be removed if publishers complain.) For those without
access to Mosaic, ftp access is available on machine netlib.att.com.
After logging in as "anonymous" and giving the full email address as
password, all the user has to do is give the commands
cd netlib/att/math/odlyzko
binary
get index.Z
to obtain a copy of the (compressed) index file, which describes what
preprints are available. Finally, those without ftp access can send
the message
send index from att/math/odlyzko
to net...@research.att.com, and the index file will arrive via return
mail, with instructions for retrieving individual papers. (This system
contains more than just my own preprints. For papers of my colleague
Neil Sloane, use the same commands as above, but with "odlyzko"
replaced by "sloane," for example.)
The system described above gives access to my and my colleagues
preprints to all the 20 million users of the Net (as the Internet and
various other networks are called). Moreover, this access is almost
always free (although that might change, as I will discuss later), and
available around the clock (except when networks or computers
malfunction, of course). Further, this access is very easy. What is
most remarkable about it, though, is that it is also easy for me to add
papers to it. All I need to do (once a paper has been typeset in TeX
or LaTeX, say) is to give the commands
latex analytic dvips analytic.dvi > /usr/math/odlyzko/analytic.comp.ps
and edit the file /usr/math/odlyzko/index by adding to it the lines
file att/math/odlyzko/analytic.comp.ps
title Analytic Computations in Number Theory
by Andrew M. Odlyzko
# to appear in "Mathematics of Computation 1943-1993,"
W. Gautschi, ed., Amer. Math. Soc., Proc. Symp. Appl. Math.,
1994.
Everything else is done authomatically by the system, which was written
by Eric Grosse, and which is available for free. (In practice there is
a bit more work, since I also make the source files available in the
src directory, to make text searches easier, but it is not much.)
The only time-consuming part in using Grosse's system is the
typesetting of the paper, but that is something that would be done in
any case. The extra effort needed to make the preprint available is a
matter of a minute or two. This is a dramatic change compared to the
situation of even a few years ago, and certainly to that of a few
decades ago, when the only way for a scholar to communicate with a wide
audience was to go through the slow and expensive process of publishing
in a conventional journal. Now it is possible to reach a much broader
audience with just a few keystrokes.
Stevan Harnad
To: har...@Princeton.EDU
Subject: Re: Further subversive matters
Date: Tue, 5 Jul 94 11:13:21 +0200 (MET DST)
Cc: top...@euromath.dk
> sh> I do think that pubishers can play a role in this, but then they must
> sh> explicitly rejoin on the subsidized-model end, rather than hoping to
> sh> continue on the trade model.
If we can locate a European Publisher that will cooperate, then there
is a good chance of getting at least of few years of subsidy under
the EU's Fourth Framework for R & D. In the Telematics area, there
is supposedly going to be an emphasis on applications, as opposed
to infrastructure development, which has been the main line so far.
Directorate General XIII/E has already funded exploratory actions in
multimedia publishing, using Third Framework money for feasibility
projects preparing for the Information Engineering program under
the new Fourth Framework. Two of the examples of areas suitable for
pilot applications listed:
:the development of new forms of Sci. & Tech. publishing using networks
and exchangeable media
:sector specific demo projects from electronic products and services
such as electronic newspaper or magazine development
My feeling, however, is that the publishers are a lost cause due to the
conflict of interest. I think a better option is a company that
benefits from the move to on-line access. If scientists are going to
develop their reputations on-line, then security is essential. Maybe
one of the smart card producers would cooperate. I am investigating
these companies in connection with another project and can bring this
up as an option. Network operators also are a possibility. RARE is
coordinating some activity, but I have yet to see anything definite.
For further info fax to:
European Commission
DG XIII, Directorate E
JMO C4/024
L-2920 Luxembourg
Fax: (352) 430132847
Contact: R. F. de Bruine
David S. Stodolsky, PhD Internet: stod...@andromeda.rutgers.edu
Peder Lykkes Vej 8, 4. tv. Internet: da...@arch.ping.dk
DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark Voice + Fax: + 45 32 97 66 74