The two documents under study are of similar character on the surface. Each contains discussion of topics in a subfield of complex-systems research. Each contains a significant fraction of information of an objective, data-base character: lists of references, and the like. Nonetheless, there are significant differences in the style, authority, and timeliness of the information presented. The first of these, "Artificial Life Simulators and Their Applications", [3] henceforth referred to as AL-SIM, is traditional in approach. It consists mainly of a critical review of various computer programs, packages for simulation in the field of Artificial Life. It contains as well an extensive bibliography and list of hypertext pointers to other, related, documents. The bulk of the interest of this article, then, is in its "written" section. This written section is definite in its authorship, and uniform in style. No updates of this document are planned or have been performed. Without renewal, the useful life of this document is limited. It treats a subject, computer simulation software, which is itself under rapid evolution. Detailed analysis of existing computer programs will necessarily become obsolete within a few years at most.
The second document, "Frequently Asked Questions About Cellular Automata", [2] is more network-oriented in approach. This document, henceforth referred to as CA-FAQ, contains contributions from many individuals in answer to questions posed by beginners in the field of cellular automata. It is edited by one person, but the editorial hand is applied very lightly. Nearly half of CA-FAQ consists of a bibliography on cellular automata. Most of the rest is a summary of the contents of electronic mail traffic on a email distribution server over the course of several years. The editorial job consists of organizing these messages into themes, and routine correction of English. Few of the "articles" (answers to questions) are written entirely by the editor. Thus, a multiplicity of styles is evident and styles may vary from paragraph to paragraph. Still further in this direction is the section of "loose threads". A "loose thread" is simply a hypertext bag of mail messages treating a given subject. Aside from the selection of threads and the messages to include in each thread, no editing is done. Finally, there are pointers to the mail archives for the last several years, in hypertext format. In summary, there are four levels of authorship in this document 1) an effectively anonymous reference section, 2) a moderated ensemble section, 3) an essentially unmoderated ensemble section, and 4) an absolutely unmoderated ensemble section. All of these levels are distinct from the level of authorship of AL-SIM.
While AL-SIM is dated material, CA-FAQ is periodically added to and updated. Further, reminders of the existence of this document are periodically distributed to various newsgroups and mailing lists.