RE: [semi-OT] PDFs vs. Word (was Re: Comments and questions)

["Eric Benson" <ebenson@xxxxxxxx>]

According to Juha Uusikartano, on Sat, 14 Apr 2001 the word on the street
was...

> Finally, I'd like to ask that at least the tables would be made
> available in Microsoft Word format, so we could edit them a bit for GM
> screens and other purposes. Why are they in .pdf format anyway?

As an author, I'll add that sometimes the authors don't want the recipient
to be able to easily modify the file.  The work that is being passed around
often represents a not insignificant amount of work on the part of the
author.  The authors give the work away for free, and in exchange, have
their name associated with the product.

Gurth and Rob Hansen pointed out some good arguments for pdf versus word
files, but let's also not forget that the pdf is often significantly smaller
than the original file.  I'll ignore the flamefest wars about lossy
compression, etc.  It's not always smaller, but normally it is.  The size
difference is important when you're trying to distribute the material to as
many people as possible.

-Eric