Ray, I think the most important thing to remember about graphs is that they display patterns of data and should not be used to estimate or present absolute count information. In reviewing my previous comments to the list, my position is quite consistent: contour plots are a great way to estimate population frequencies, not absolute counts. I think we can solve both of our criticisms of data presentation simply by "mandating" that the number of events displayed in a graphic be displayed--preferably on or near the graphic. And yes, I agree that the primary data should be archived and accessible for the general public--this would be extremely useful. However, it may be somewhat problematic--currently, we generate over 5 GBytes of data per week. The amount of data that went into my last paper was 1.5 GBytes--and that did not include all of the "additional samples" not actually displayed in the paper. mr
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