It's not that the author must choose (1) (journal) certification OR (2) (OA
repository) dissemination: The right choice is of course BOTH (1) journal
certification (peer review) AND (2) repository dissemination (OA
self-archiving).
Joseph Esposito seems to keep wanting to imagine that what is being
self-archived is only or mostly unrefereed preprints (and, he goes on to
imagine: preprints never even destined to go on to become refereed
postprints).
It would be a good idea to look at what it is that the 41 self-archiving
mandates in ROARMAP are actually stipulating must be deposited. (Without a
single exception, it is the refereed postprint.)
http://www.eprints.org/signup/fulllist.php
Stevan Harnad
On Thu, 24 Apr 2008, Joseph J. Esposito wrote:
> It seems to me that what Paul Ginsparg did in one stroke was separate, or
> at least begin to separate, the publishing functions of certification
> (what Ian addresses) from dissemination. Prior to arXiv, these two
> functions were bound up with each other. I am not saying that Ginsparg
> set out to do this (How would I know?), but that is the effect of his
> innovation. Ian (rightly) notes that publishers still control the
> certification function, but there is another point to be made here, that
> in some instances the dissemination and certification functions compete
> with each other.
>
> For example, a poorly distributed journal or a journal published in such a
> way as to make it difficult for readers to find it (e.g., not indexed by
> Google) may nonetheless certify an article and, by extension, its author;
> but the author may still yearn for broader dissemination. Such an author
> may, the next time around, opt for a well-designed open access repository
> that has been optimized for search engine indexing and other Internet
> marketing techniques, with the hope that open dissemination will
> ultimately lead to certification. We can call this the principle of
> certification through acclamation; it is intended to supplant
> certification through deliberation.
>
> Publishers that stress the certification function alone are, in my view,
> making a very big mistake. Yes, publishers add enormous value in the
> editorial process, more than most authors could ever bring themselves to
> admit, but the real game is to stroke an author's ego through
> dissemination. In other words, the safe zone for a publisher is not the
> editorial fortress of careful selection, peer review, copy editing, and
> the like, but the sound of trumpets declaring that, yes, our magnificent
> author has arrived.
>
> The future of toll-access or traditional publishing lies with
> marketing. If an author comes to believe that an open access
> service could lead to wider dissemination of his or her work,
> publishers should fold their tents and go home, and no amount of
> shrewd editorial practices can prevent this.
>
> Joe Esposito
Received on Fri Apr 25 2008 - 16:31:52 BST