Re: [Texmacs-dev] Free Software needs Free Documentation

[TeXmacs]

Hi Martin,

On Sat, Jun 19, 2021 at 10:07:04PM +0200, martin-kemp@brusseler.com wrote:
> >On Sat, Jun 19, 2021 at 08:01:35PM +0200, martin-kemp@brusseler.com wrote:
> >> On the contrary, it seems more to me that many can't stand the idea of 
> >> being 
> >> challenged.
> 
> >I wonder whether you gave Donald Knuth and Leslie Lamport similar challenges,
> >since they set the example with their books on TeX and LaTeX
> >(I searched on the web, but I could not find trace of such challenges).
> 
> >I don't think that they wrote a lot of free documentation on their software
> >by the way, contrary to what I did for TeXmacs.
> 
> >And of course, since you seem to like challenges,
> >you are free to contribute to the documentation!
> 
> May I remind you that you wrote "Liberons la publication scientifique" in 
> 2001.
> 
> What happened since then ?

The book is meant as a showcase for the kind of _physical_ book
that we can produce with TeXmacs.  That is why I published it
as a physical object and not as a Pdf.

The pamphlet that I wrote in 2001 concerns ordinary scientific publications,
like something that you submit to a journal and results that are needed
for further research.  Since my book is more something between a manual and
a more literary publication, the arguments from my pamphlet do not apply to it,
or only marginally so.  E.g., you clearly won't need any "results" from my book
for proving a theorem.

(P.S.: I just noted that my former university (Orsay) destroyed my pamphlet;
I will try to dig up the text.)

> > > > It is unfortunate to see a Directeur de Recherche of CNRS and the
> > > > main developer of the Gnu TeXmacs Software System, writes a guide
> > > > on mastering the secrets and latest versions of Gnu TeXmacs.
> > > > Even worse, the book is written in english, yet the terms of sale
> > > > are given in french.
> 
> >I am just complying to French law, since I happen to live in France.
> 
> But should the readers who read it, be entitled to the same in the language
> the book was written in? 

No, this is optional in French law, but not recommended,
since any potential error in the translation would be on me.

For similar reasons, the GNU GPL is not translated in other languages,
even though programs covered by this license are used in countries
where English is not the native tongue.

> > > > And with the hefty price of 50 Euros, who is he supposed to be
> > > > kidding.  Because many people are not laughing or pleased - to
> > > > say the least.
> > 
> > > Please do not speak for everyone. 50€ is not very much for this
> > > amount of work, and Joris definitively deserve to have some
> > > financial support. And again, this book is not at all needed to
> > 
> > > use most of TeXmacs.
> > 
> >> He should include that when applying for funds.
> 
> >What are you trying to say? Please remain polite and
> >make a precise point if you want to challenge me.
> 
> I will be polite.  I advocate a new publishing model (today we do need
> publishers - Plos One charges $1350 for Open Access and for
> Nature Communications it is $5700).  Scientists should publish
> free documentation of works, and could include a one-time
> contribution in their research proposal to cover editing and
> publishing costs.

My book has never been part of a research proposal,
so I never received particular funding from CNRS or
any other research institution for it.
It was written during my spare time.

(It is true though that, by default, CNRS has legal
rights even on work that I do during my spare time;
but I clarified this by getting official authorization
from CNRS to publish my book in the way I did.)

As to scientific publications, I am against your costly suggestion
for open access publications.  There is a much simpler solution
that I apply for all my research papers and books:
make them freely accessible on your webpage and
on preprint servers.  I also did so for my manuals on
TeXmacs and Mathemagix by the way.

Another major problem with the current publishing system is
that I am not free to send papers in my preferred format.
Publishers should at least accept Pdfs.  Even ArXiv does not!

Best regards, --Joris