Q. Why isn’t there free access to the web version of the journal?
A. We wish we could make the site completely free access and with time we might do that, at least to the extent of giving free access to the back issues a year old or longer. But in practice there are running costs associated even with web publishing and authors to this kind of journal do not pay any manuscript handling or submission fees, so we don’t raise any revenue that way or receive grants (unlike PLOS and similar journal set-ups). Furthermore, many people receive journal access as part of their subscriptions to a professional organisation, so that has some bearing on the question. All articles published over 5 years ago can be freely downloaded.
In practice if you have a good bona fide reason why you cannot afford access (low income country, difficulty of transferring funds etc) then requests will be considered sympathetically as described on the how to subscribe page.
It is also worth emphasising that as journal prices go, this one is very reasonable.
Q. Why can I not read or down-load articles from my computer?
A. The usual reason for this is that you are using rather old versions of web-browsers and it is difficult to make a site like this work properly with old browser configurations. Also there are a few tips given at the top of the Contents page that might help you. If you are really stuck then send in an e-mail using the contact page and we will try to sort out the problem.
Another reason why you may not be able to read or down-load the text is because your subscription has expired.
Q. Why is the quality of the print not so good going back in time from Issue 8/1?
A. Issues 8/2 onwards were already available in electronic format whereas the older Issues had to be generated electronically by scanning in from print copy. It would have been simple to generate better quality scanning data, but only at the cost of making the pdf files too large for down-loading quickly by those readers who do not have Broadband connection to the web. This also explains why the pdf files of articles back from Issue 8/1 are larger.
Q. Why are the files only in pdf format and not HTML as well?
A. This is simply a cost-cutting exercise. Also Acrobat Reader is a free down-load so everyone can read pdf documents.
Q. Why are the Book Review, Debate sections etc all down-loadable as single pdf files?
A. Again, a cost-cutting exercise, that’s all. We are trying to keep subscription costs and society membership costs as low as possible, and all these small short-cuts taken together actually make quite a difference to the final cost. In any case it’s quite simple to down-load the Book-Reviews section and then just print off the particular Review that you need. Page numbers are provided for that.
Q. Why can I not log in to the site with my present subscriber number and password?
A. If you are trying them for the first time and they don’t work, then it could be that the settings on some computers and/or browsers render them perversely case-sensitive. So try putting all the letters in your subscriber number in CAPS or all in lower-case and see what happens. Likewise try keeping all your password in lower-case. Another possibility is that your subscription agent did not update your details on the site correctly when you last renewed and so you need to contact the relevant organisation.