The xxx or e-print archive, conceived by Paul Ginsparg, was constructed as a "raw archive" on the WWW. Ginsparg modeled the "global raw archive" on research databases, like High Energy Physics (hep-th), developed in 1991. These databases began to supplant journals as a primary mode of communication and thus are challenging traditional publication paradigms. The e-print archive, a highly formalized electronic distribution system, accepts all submitted articles with corresponding abstracts, allowing researchers to retrieve indexed entries as needed. Ginsparg has been enormously influential in promoting the development of electronic archives, arguing that other disciplines might reimagine themselves in light of a dying print culture--at least for academic researchers.

The xxx archive cannot be defined as a heterotopia because it doesn't exhibit the six Foucauldian principles. However, it does produce a mirror effect by challenging traditional models of print publication. In addition, it was developed, not just as a resource, but for a working community (designed by scientists for scientists--specifically physicists and mathematicians). Paul Ginsparg, in "Winners and Losers in the Global Research Village," notes that scientists have quickly gravitated to this "fully automated electronic archive" because other distribution systems have been supplanting journal publication since the early 70s; notably, in high energy physics.

The e-print archives subvert the publisher/author relationship by sidestepping the publisher entirely at the preprint stage. Though the majority of the papers that appear on this website are later published in print journals, the pre-print publishing function is assumed by the researchers, readers, critics, and authors who self-publish their work in this archival space.

Ginsparg speaks for scientists frustrated by "patronizing attempts [of publishers] to assure them that the unthinking preservation of the status quo is in their best interest." He opposes publishers' values (financial capital) with researchers' values (cultural capital) in arguing for the fully electronic archives. Publishers "measure the success of their journals by the number of pages published, . . . whether they're published 'on time' (i.e. with regularity, not with speed)" and how marketable and cost-effective they are. Academic authors are more concerned with how useful, readable, and innovative journal articles are. If distribution of new knowledge for scientists and mathematicians is time-dependent, then electronic dissemination is obviously the method of choice. If it is space-dependent, then electronic distribution is even more attractive. If it is cost-effective, both authors and readers will gain maximum benefit through free network distribution. Authors will benefit by controlling format, presentation, and length of entries, by speed of distribution, and through access to new and improved authoring tools. Just as importantly, they are encouraged to produce scholarly work and retain rights to their own intellectual property, thus, reflecting John Guillory's notion that distribution should drive production.

In the e-print archive, authors can submit their papers either using the on-line World Wide Web interface, using ftp, or using e-mail. Authors can also update their submissions if they choose. This archival space, although not a true heterotopia, challenges the "social orders" and "cultural patterns" long operating in academia. By introducing new models and new language, the e-print archive subverts the dominant print mode (finished product) accepted by publishers and authors and foregrounds work in progress. In this sense, the archive is organic and living.