At 12:17 +0000 1998/12/02, Robin Fairbairns wrote:
>the majority of phd students here still do their dissertations in
>latex (characteristically awful latex, but there you are...).
>
>a goodly proportion of undergraduates do final year project
>dissertations that way, too.  (although they often produce better
>latex since they don't have as much time to invent awful habits.)
>
>i see no reason why a *ml "that can't do the job" would be inhibited
>from encroaching.  not doing the job hasn't stopped word, after all...

Your description seems to indicate what I think is the case, TeX/LaTeX is
used when one gets serious in the sense that one has this manuscript in
which the details must come out right. WYSIWYG does then normally not
suffice, at least not with the math details, so TeX comes into place.

I think it is well-known by now, that all these mass-consumer movements,
which the *ML currently represents, usually lacks crucial quality.
Eventually such quality might built in, of course.

But until then, there will be a need for TeX/LaTeX.

  Hans Aberg
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