Electronic preprints can be categorised

BMJ 1999;318:55 ( 2 January )

Letters

Electronic preprints can be categorised

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ McConnell and Horton have put a critical issue on trial: the role of scientific journals in the age of the internet.¹Posting protocols, results, and preliminary "publications" onan individual or institutional website allows for intellectualdiscussion and a healthy exchange among coworkers internationally.Working by fax or email does not allow for the same level of flexibilityor impact. Penalising authors for this practice by not consideringfor print the articles that have been posted on private websitesstands in the way of true scientific progress in this era of internetdemocracy. On the other hand, I agree wholeheartedly with Kassirerand Angell that the indiscriminate distribution of non-peer reviewedarticles could have a harmful impact.² People, be they doctorsor the lay public, have a tendency to believe what they see inprint, especially if they happen to see it on the website of areputable . . . [Full text of this article]