Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1993 10:23:21 -0600
Message-Id: <199309011617.LAA64269@rs1.tcs.tulane.edu>
Errors-To: chriscd@jhuvm.hcf.jhu.edu
Reply-To: timmons@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
Originator: wsn@csf.colorado.edu
Sender: wsn@csf.colorado.edu
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From: John Timmons <timmons@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list <wsn@csf.colorado.edu>
Subject: problems with W-S Journal
 
WSN-ers:
 
     While I applaud Chris' energy and enthusiasm about an electronic journal,
  some issues need to be considered before we leap into it.  Many were raised
  at the meeting of WSNers at the ASA.
     First, and this is my main concern, is it defeats the purpose of a
  basically instantaneous and discursive medium.  That is, pieces submitted
  to the journal would be stalled in the process of review and editing and
  waiting for the next issue.  This could be six months, or in the case of
  a backlog or the usual delays in getting a journal out, up to a year or
  more.  Contrarily, the World Systems Archive at Colorado is immediate...
  so people's work can be transferred out and downloaded as soon as they
  submit it.  Therefore I proposed at the WSN meeting an edited series of
  working papers, which would be available in the archive and would roll over
  much more quickly than the journal.  For publicity and to stimulate debate
  on these papers, abstracts or even the full paper could go out over WSN.
  On the other hand, the journal could work on that format too.
      Second, I have doubts about who would SUBMIT articles to the journal.
  What kind of pieces would be submitted?  Could they then be revised and
  submitted elsewhere?  A series of working papers would make that more
  legitimate.  If people DO have papers in mind for the journal, it would
  probably behoove the organizers to do some informal poll about it....
  What if they gave a journal and nobody came?
       Related to this question is the ugly old question of how articles
  so published would be looked upon by them who review us for our promotions.
  Yeah, someday electronic journals probably will be respected by "Them."  For
  the next few years, however, how would such a journal really be better than
  the working papers series I suggest?  Does it, in this case, really pay to
  be out in front of this curve we imagine?
       Frankly I'm not happy being a party pooper on this exciting idea, but
  I believe it could slow down some of the exchange that WSN is worth reading
  for.  Hope you all will think about that a bit.
 
 
 
                      There's two bytes, or more.
                      In virtual solidarity ;-}
 
                            Timmons Roberts
                            new e-mail: timmons@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu