5. Revisions in the Afterlife.
This is the fifth post in a seven-part series about Distance, a quarterly journal for long essays about design. Support Distance on Kickstarter. Earlier posts:
- Distance’s introduction.
- 1. Essays and rants.
- 2. Editorial strategy.
- 3. Citation technique.
- 4. Rebuttals and responses.
While there’s no undo button in print media, publishing a text doesn’t have to freeze it in time. Distance’s essays deserve to have a life beyond their publication date. Inaccuracies and typographical errors are bound to appear, but more broadly, new research can change the findings, previous research may exist that we didn’t find while writing, and new technological developments can undermine premises. Essays gain value for authors and readers when they adapt to their unforeseen futures.
And so, as developments warrant, we plan to update Distance’s essays after each issue’s release. Edits will be included in the digital edition, and major revisions will be pushed to existing customers. The original version will always be included, changed content will be subtly highlighted in the PDF edition, and all changes – no matter how small – will be posted to Distance’s errata page.
There may come a point when we deem that this revision process isn’t necessary anymore, at which point we’ll declare an essay closed to further modification. When that happens, errata will continue to be published to clarify minor points or correct issues of proofreading, but the broader argument will remain frozen in time.
