Re: Formats and icing (Was Re: [ESWC 2015] First Call for Paper)

Luca Matteis <lmatteis@gmail.com> writes:
> I'd like to say that I'm an HTML/CSS/JavaScript aficionado so I'd be
> the first to embrace Web standards to produce publications. I'm simply
> playing a bit of the devil's advocate here because I think that Latex
> is still more mature than HTML for writing papers. However, I must
> admit I'd like to see a future where that is different.

The conference does not want latex, it wants PDF. So write your
documents in latex, publish in HTML. The only thing that needs to change
are the tools in the middle.


> But before we ask conferences to embrace this still immature HTML
> world (at least for producing papers) we must write the frameworks,
> the libraries, the CSS templates that enable the same level of
> publication that Latex enables.

Well, that's already been done. As for "the same level of publication" I
profoundly disagree. LNCS format is very poor for anything other than
printing. I want a form of publication that allows me, the reader, to
switch layout.

> For solving the browser inconsistencies, standalone tools (based on a
> Webkit engine for example) must be built that produce a consistent
> printable layout no matter the operating system (browser fonts render
> differently on Mac/Windows/Linux).

Seriously? You want to build another browser. My experience is that the
web is more consistent than PDF. Font problems with PDFs used to be the
norm. Tend not to use them now, so perhaps that's changed.

And, again, printable? At least some of us want to move away from that.
Stlying in reader issue, not an authorial one.


> So yes, we can get there, but there's some work to be done to prove
> that HTML is up for task. 

No. There is work to be done to prove that we can break the habit of a
lifetime. HTML is far from immature. We move, and then we fix any
problems that we may have. Why would we bother before?

> Phillip Lord, by interactions I don't mean simple animations, I mean
> this: http://worrydream.com/LadderOfAbstraction/ - use the right side
> scrolling to instantly see the output given different inputs. That's
> powerful stuff.

Colour figures and animations would be a nice start though.

Phil

Received on Friday, 3 October 2014 12:01:29 UTC