I have no connection with the ChemWeb preprint server, but I continue to watch its evolution with some interest. One interesting (to me) feature is that it attempts to provide some simple statistical indicators for each article, such as: (see http://preprint.chemweb.com/):
number of views number of responses rank (ranked by self-selected visitors to the preprint, on a 1-5 scale) It remains to be seen, at some time in the future, which of these indicators (if any, or perhaps combinations of them) might best predict the subsequent impact of these preprints (or of published papers based on them, as assessed, for example, by citation data). Via the Browse button, one can also access data about the numbers of preprints that have been posted to date (last updated April 12, 2001): Classification.........................Total....% Analytical Chemistry....................20......10 Biochemistry............................11.......5 Chemical Engineering....................16.......8 Environmental Chemistry.................10.......5 Inorganic Chemistry.....................23......11 Macromolecular Chemistry.................6.......3 Medicinal/Pharmaceutical Chemistry.......6.......3 Miscellaneous............................9.......4 Organic Chemistry.......................22......11 Physical Chemistry......................83......40 Total..................................206.....100 It may be noteworthy that the largest number of preprints has been in the subfield of physical chemistry. Might this be another example (along with the arXiv server) of physics-oriented scientists choosing to be early adopters of preprint servers? Or, is physical chemistry simply a very large subfield, in comparison with other kinds of chemistry? (I'm not a chemist, so the answer isn't obvious to me!). Jim Till University of Toronto