Status of e-Print Servers

Peer review in context

Scientific publishing is in a transition between the old paper-bound, static forms and the new electronic media with its interactive, dynamic possibilities. This takes place in the context of imploding library budgets and exploding magazine costs. The scientists as authors, reviewers and editors of scientific journals are exposed to an increased pressure by the their administrations and the public towards quantification, objectification and certification of scientific achievements. The ``publication roulette'' resulting from low-quality editorial procedures often amounts to malign censorship, …