Withdrawal and correction

Nothing posted here is ever deleted. Somebody may already have cited it, and a citation that leads nowhere helps no one.

Correcting a paper

Post a new version. The old one stays exactly where it was, at its own address, and the paper's page lists every version with the date and a note saying what changed. Corrections are free and go live at once.

We do not edit a version in place. Anyone who cited version 1 cited those words, and rewriting them underneath would make their citation a lie.

Withdrawing a paper

An author may withdraw their own work; a moderator may withdraw anything that should not have been posted. Either way the reason is recorded and shown.

The page keeps answering. It says the paper was withdrawn, when, and why, and the manuscript is no longer available for download. The link never breaks.

When we withdraw something ourselves

• It is not the authors' own work.
• It is unlawful, or hosting it would put somebody at risk.
• It was posted without the agreement of the people named on it.

We do not withdraw a paper because somebody disagrees with it. That is what the scientific record is for.