Re: DVI, PDF and TAC

[Bob Rosebrugh <rrosebru@mta.ca>]

With regrets that this response is not briefer...

On Thu, 1 Nov 2007, Paul Taylor wrote:

> Does anyone know of another journal that publishes primarily in DVI?

Many electronic journals in mathematics post dvi files. Like TAC, most
of these post, and also archive, all of dvi, ps and pdf.

TAC's policy on dvi has evolved since 1995. That policy will continue to
change, no doubt at a slower rate than some would wish. None of us knows
what the digital world will look like in 10 years, but careful choices
made for TAC over a dozen years ago have been validated.

> Maybe Bob Rosebrugh could tell us how many downloads there have
> been in the various formats from the main TAC web site at MTA.

Inevitably nowadays, most of the web traffic on sites like TAC's is for
caching, so such figures for any TAC site mean nothing. If Paul's counts
record human usage, then what is surprising is how many of the downloads
were *not* pdf.

...

> Why does he create so much inconvenience for TAC authors for such
> a trivial benefit to himself?

This request (for a single source file) is seen as, at worst, a trivial
inconvenience by most authors, and it simplifies the lives of editors who
volunteer their time and knowledge.

Note that TAC's submission requirements for authors describe what we would
like to see. Sometimes we don't. We are grateful on the many occasions
when authors comply. In practice, TAC editors are flexible and are working
with authors who gladly cooperate in publishing a visually pleasing
article. We much prefer diagrams based on xypic, but a glance at recent
numbers shows that leeway is available.

...

> It would appear that they are still trying to impose this standard.

Paul has made a heroic search for a conspiracy, but, alas, has not found
one. I don't particularly remember writing the sentence he quotes from
early 1990, and hadn't heard of his diagram package back then. My 1990
suggestion was not motivated by an intention to exclude him 15 years
later. The misperception of malice is regretted.

Bob Rosebrugh