WebMath: web-based math research papers

[June Lester]

Question:  once we are able to publish mathematical text online easily, how
should mathematical research papers be written and published?

The typical mathematics research paper published in a paper journal is in a
sense ideally suited to "hierarchical" hypertext: there is usually a main
theorem, with a proof via several lemmas with their own proofs, etc..  So
for a web version, we can envision a main page with an introduction, say,
some motivation, a statement of the theorem, comments, etc. - the important
parts of the paper on a single page, ideally understandable on their own -
a sort of précis.  Then links from this page to the details: the lemmas and
their proofs, etc., with their own links to sub-proofs, and so on.

Should papers in web-based mathematical journals ultimately be written and
published this way?  It would definitely by more useful to the readers:
rather than having to carefully pick the "meat" from a long linear sequence
of statements with proofs, the important ideas would be available for
perusal on a single page.  (OTOH, having to write their papers like this
would discomfit those who publish small ideas with detailed proofs and
label each and every fact along the way a lemma.)

There are other issues here too, like how and where does one usefully
introduce interactivity into an online math paper?  Can interactivity (e.g.
a draggable diagram) be a legitimate part of a proof? Etc., etc,
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