From: mbrown@athos.cs.ua.edu (Marcus Brown)
Subject: Re: APP: virtual journals
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 92 17:58:59 -0600
Organization: University of Alabama Department of Computer Science



[I couldn't pass up the temptation to respond, even tho our local
news administrator hasn't figured out how to post to news yet.]

The time for electronic refereed journals is long past due, IMHO.
The costs of the old ones are driving our librarians and financial
officers nuts, and the publishing delays (some due to slow referees
like me, but most due to hard-copy publishing schedules) are horrendous.
The advantages are obvious; I won't bother to list them.

Several small problems can be solved rather easily: If figures and
graphics are a problem, we could usually get by with cheaper substitutes.
Simple line drawings can be replaced with ASCII 'artwork' (ugly, but it would
get the idea across), while .gif files (and/or the many related graphics
formats) could suffice for all but the most precise images. (I guess a 
SIGGRAPH electronic journal may have to wait...Sigh :-)

There is one MAJOR problem: Recognition of effort during the transition.
When I go to the effort to put together a publishable paper, I want
the recognition for it in my university's tenure-and-promotion scheme.
My dean of engineering (may he live forever) probably will not be
too impressed with a paper in some new form of publication that he
has never heard of, much less that he doesn't know how to read.
(This is not intended to be derogatory to my dean, my provost, your boss,
or any other similar person.  It is simply a reflection of the fact that the
powers-that-be are not familiar enough with the technology to accurately
assess its power and appreciate its advantages.)

Until the electronic journal is recognized as a respectable avenue for
publication of real research, no one will submit the kind of research
and write-ups that will earn that respect.  We are caught in a vicious
cycle: 

   No respect -> No good papers submitted -> No respect -> No good papers....

One possible answer is to take it one step at a time: Start out with
an electronic journal which has some major players backing it.  We need
to get somebody like ACM to sponsor the first one, or failing that,
an editorial board with some real heavy-weights.  Since this is a
VR list, some of the obvious candidates would be those who have already
published heavily in the field, or who have the credentials in related
fields and the interest in this one: Fred Brooks comes to mind, along
with similar people such as Tom Furness.  With the right support and
backing (prestige is really what we need in the beginning more than funding,
etc.) this could have a chance to break the ice.

If I could go to my department head and tell him that my paper was
accepted for publication in a new journal upon the personal recommendation
of Fred Brooks (wouldn't THAT be nice!!), that might carry enough weight 
to do the job. That doesn't necessarily mean that the big names would
have to do all the work, but they would have to be committed enough
to the endeavor to do the equivalent of 'Editorial Board' work, and
be willing to take a few hard knocks if the quality dropped (which should
guarantee that it wouldn't).

In the beginning, it would have to be refereed at least (read 'more')
stringently than the current paper journals, in order to build
respectability.  Perhaps (again, in the beginning) it would be
permitted for papers from the electronic journal to be republished
later, in paper, so the author could get credit with his/her work
with deans, etc.  [This may run into opposition from the conventional
paper journals, since they may rightly perceive such a movement as
the beginning of the end of their monopoly.]

The key to developing this kind of new publication medium is to build
a level of respectability which would allow me and other academics
like me to take advantage of this.

As a young assistant professor still working toward tenure, I don't have
the clout to carry this kind of thing through, but I'd be glad
to contribute everything I could toward the success of the effort.

Marcus Brown
Asst. Prof of Computer Science
University of Alabama