Advantages:
- Lower publication costs!
- Immediate accessibility
- Wider accessibility
- Follow-up references
- Color graphics (without extra costs)
- Data files
- Software/applets
- Movies/interviews etc.
- Links to other articles
- Searchability (any word/expression)
- Communication
- Update of author's address
- "mailto" link
- Correction of errors/typos
- No shelf space required
- Local archive of electronic journals
- Internationalization:
- Translation of foreign language documents
- English most important language!
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Disadvantages:
- Transformation of "raw" document into different
formats (html, pdf, ps...)
- Ways to access electronic journals:
- Payment for each access
- Subscription to journals (individual)
- Subscription by organization (e.g., universities)
- Insecurity about accessibility
(if only at publisher's server)
- Security issue
- Correction of errors/typos (Which version is the
"official reference"?)
- Loss of information when printed
- Old formats might be inaccessible in some
years due to technical progress
- Copyright
- It is easy to copy!
- Different international laws
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