Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!uunet!bionet!BCHM1.ACLCB.PURDUE.EDU!westerm From: westerm@BCHM1.ACLCB.PURDUE.EDU (Rick Westerman) Newsgroups: bionet.general Subject: Re: Electronic publication Message-ID: <9010051351.AA12880@genbank.bio.net> Date: 5 Oct 90 12:38:26 GMT Sender: daemon@genbank.bio.net Reply-To: Rick Westerman Lines: 35 > frist@ccu.umanitoba.ca writes: > > (deleted) > >So, to create an electronic journal, we need journals like NAR and CELL to >archive compressed versions of articles for availability via FTP. It doesn't >cost them much (other than disk space) to set up, because most of the work >has already been done! Most likely they will charge a fee for each article >downloaded, with a discount per article if you download a whole issue. > > (rest deleted) But this charge scheme can't work because the current networks (Internet & Bitnet) are NON-COMMERICAL; there is no way to charge for FTPing, mailing, or anything else. The journals could be published on a commerical network such as Compuserve or Genie, but not all scientists have access to such networks, nor are these networks high speed. The journals could also set up their own bulletin board system with modems and a user subscription fee, but this is an incredible amount of hassle for little gain and, additionally, it is also low speed. Or the journals could publish a companion diskette to their paper-copy journals -- many computer magazines already do this -- but once again the gain is minimual. I repeat my position (mentioned a couple days ago): Until the USA has a high speed, near universal, commerical (or semi-commerical) network the concept of an electronic journal is just a dream, no matter what nifty hardware devices or software we envision using. -- Rick Rick Westerman AIDS Center Laboratory for Computational Internet: westerm@aclcb.purdue.edu Biochemistry, Biochemistry building, (317) 494-0505 Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN 47907