Your arguments are cogent but the big question that remains in my mind is
this: once PMC gets to be more or less like all journals (those not
on-line) what makes it special? Different? My own feeling is that once
one has to subscribe and the journal comes out in its current format, I'd
much rather sit in an armchair (or out in the sun!) and read it between
two covers than bother to scroll down the screen.
I think electronic journals have a different mission. I like EBR, edited
by Joe Tabbi at Illinois very much because of its speed in turn-around and
high quality of argumentation. When I reviewed Franco Moretti's book for
EBR, I had the pleasure of seeing my review on line within a month or less
and then his response and my response--ditto. That creates dialogue.
This is what electronic publication can do. But PMC has increasingly
followed the "normal" model--a bunch of essays, a bunch of reviews--and
now the need to subscribe, so what is the ADVANTAGE of this over any
normal print journal?
Marjorie Perloff