but here is another question related to this issue that jumps into my mind: as far as i know, in fiction writing (at least up to 4-5 years ago), if you post a story you've written online, even if it is only your home page, it is legally considered to be published. That means it is copyrighted; but it also means any publication of that story in a journal or anthology would legally be a reprint, which most publishers and journals are reluctant to do. Is this the same with regards to academic articles posted, say, in conference archives?
We looked into this when we created the paper archive and it is our understanding that so long as the papers' accessibility is restricted (in our case, only members), archives such as ours are not publications and do not therefore preclude publication in journals and other venues. This is different from a homepage which can be accessed by anyone. This is another reason we've not made the archives publicly accessible. If any of you have legal/publishing expertise on this topic and would like to affirm, correct, or clarify that would be great. Thanks for raising the point, Reuven. Nancy -- Nancy Baym http://www.ku.edu/home/nbaym Communication Studies, University of Kansas Bailey Hall, 1440 Jayhawk Blvd., Room 102, Lawrence, KS 66045-7574, USA Association of Internet Researchers: http://aoir.org