[Geysers] GOSA Transactions 12 submission guidelines

[David Monteith]

Scott:

I will take a stab at answering your questions.

The reference to Transactions 11 was an error.  Sorry.

Concerning point 1 -- Using IEEE style instead of GSA style.  The GSA
style does not support references to Internet and other non-Standard
reference materials, IEEE does.  These references are common in the GOSA
transactions.  Thus, instead of reinventing the wheel, we decided it was
easiest to adopt the IEEE standard.  

Concerning point 2 -- Map submission size.  You are correct maps need to
be legible.  Based on past experience, we've frequently needed to rework
maps extensively because while they looked good on a monitor they were
too small for print.  We are hoping with this request to eliminate
having to go back to the author to get maps remade.

Concerning point 3 -- Very good point.  We are trying to make the
process as painless as possible.  At first glance, the guidelines appear
to make the process more difficult but in the long run, they actually
eliminate extra work by the authors.  In the past, months after
submission, we've had to get authors to provide additional information
about references, new figures, new figure titles, new maps, new equation
formats, etc.  All of these are time consuming and annoying, especially
for authors that have already worked hard and thought they had finished
their contribution months earlier.  While the submission guidelines look
like a pain (which they are) in the long run, they are designed to save
the authors time and confusion. 

If an author is concerned about the submission guidelines or doesn't
feel they can meet the guidelines, write to us, we'll work with you.
There are volunteers (myself included) that are willing to get your
document into the correct format if that is all that is preventing you
from submitting.  It is the information we want.  The guidelines are
only an attempt to make everyone's life easier.

Dave


On Thu, 2011-01-06 at 10:03 -0500, TSBryan at aol.com wrote:
> The curmudgeon here... though this will be a lot shorter than what I
> initially drafted. However...
>  
> Upon reading the new "Submission Guidelines" for Transactions 12, I do
> have a couple of comments. Note, by the way, that the start of the
> "Citations" section of the guidelines it says Transactions 11, rather
> than 12. I also ask: will this be "12" or "XII"?
>  
> 1. My most pointed comment is: Why adopt the citation style of the
> Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)? I believe
> this to be a serious mistake, as the Transactions is not a publication
> of the IEEE sort. Rather, it is geological in nature, and therefore
> ought to abide by the style used by geological publications. I have a
> pretty fair library, and I can note the styles (plural, but with
> little variation among them) used by the U. S. Geological Survey,
> Geological Society of America, various state geological surveys,
> numerous commercial publishers (such as Cambridge, California,
> Colorado, and Arizona university presses), and a bunch more (I
> actually wrote out a list of 18 sources). None uses anything remotely
> akin to the IEEE style.
>      I think the editors need to seriously rethink this decision.
>  
> 2. Perhaps the intention is to publish maps at full-page size. But if
> not, then maps should be submitted at the anticipated publication
> size, for it is at that size where it needs to be legible.
>  
> 3. While of course it is the desire for the Transactions volumes to be
> as professional in appearance as possible, I feel the detailed
> submission requirements will turn off a number of
> potential contributors. Remember that I do have some experience in
> this matter. Even with the comparatively lax requirements during my
> tenure, some contributions were lost because those people simply did
> not wish to expend the effort or expense necessary to comply with the
> request.
>  
> OK, I'm not the editor, so......
>  
> Scott Bryan
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