ISSN numbers are useful and easy enough to get. They are not as
useful as they could be because they are too short, too unstructured,
and because you don't have to pay for them. There is a payment
mechanism keyed on ISSN numbers - in the US, the "Copyright Clearance
Center" - but it's done at the article level and is widely ignored.
ISBN numbers cost money, but not that much; you can put a number on a
document for not more than a buck or two, much less in quantity.
People on this list (O'Reilley in particular) already have them. All
we need is a few more network publishers to get up to speed and we'll
be set. ISBN numbers in the USA show up in "Books In Print" - if you
want to have Tim's "WWW Provider's Style Guide" show up in Books In
Print you better be prepared to send someone a copy (on disk or on
paper) if they decide to order it at the listed price :)
Edward Vielmetti, vice president for research, Msen Inc. [email protected]
Msen Inc., 628 Brooks, Ann Arbor MI 48103 +1 313 998 4562 (fax: 998 4563)