We are at present witnessing a change from paper to electronic media for the storage, dissemination and handling of scientific articles. In practice, this broadly means a change from one carrier to another.
Most electronic publications are simply paper products transposed onto electronic media.
Neither the structure, nor the way language is used, is significantly different from earlier practice. It looks like defending the use of the quill or the fountain pen over the keyboard. For that reason, we have to make clear what we call quality and integrity and then analyse how these scientific and societal demands can be fulfilled in a new medium. The discussion founders, because it often starts from what we are accustomed to in the paper world and attempts to impose that on an electronic environment. We have to step back and analyse what it means to write for an electronic medium and what it means to read material that is stored electronically.