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| | The processed book |
 | | The connection between the physical book and our sense of a book-length idea is important because the literal physical package has come to define what we mean by a well-thought-out argument or story — because such an idea would fill the pages of a book. |
| | Indeed, one of the alleged virtues of PDF files, namely, that they can prevent tampering with the text, may in the context of a processed book prove to be a liability, as uneditable files are less likely to have a network of comments built around them. |
| | If the network is usefully developed (and this is an important "if," for links and other connections for their own sake can be a distraction), the value of the book-as-node is greatly enhanced by being part of it. |
| www.firstmonday.org /issues/issue8_3/esposito (12949 words) |
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