Making Appropriate Electronic Publishing Decisions

Context Choices

Stands Alone (subscription)

Advantages: Individualism, independence, income, specific perq
Disadvantages: Easy to be missed ( > 100,000,000 Web pages/year); requires large marketing effort

Into Larger Context (Muse, CIAO, CogNet, SCAN, etc.)

Advantages: Larger audience, broader/easier linking, individual and group value, "reflected light"
Disadvantages: Loss of individuality, loss of "journal identity," less "editorial touch" on specific articles/chapters

Into Largest Context (Full text freely available)  

Advantages: Huge audience, volunteer advertising/linking, likely author pleasure, potential print sale to browsers
Disadvantages: Fear of lost subscriptions, possible "imprint decay," potential raised expectations (why not all your back issues?)