[R] Packages - a great resource, but hard to find the right one

[hadley wickham]

On 11/23/07, hadley wickham <h.wickham at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Above all there are lots of packages.  As the software editor of the
> > Journal of Statistical Software I suggested we should review R
> > packages.  No one has shown any enthusiasm for this suggestion, but I
> > think it would help.  Any volunteers?
>
> There are two common types of review.  When reviewing a paper, you are
> helping the author to make a better paper (and it's initiated by the
> author). When reviewing a book, you are providing advise on whether
> someone should make an expensive purchase (and it's initiated by an
> third party).  Reviewing an R package seems somewhat in between.  How
> would you deal with new version of an R package?  It seems like there
> is the potential for reviews to become stale very quickly.
>
> Another model to look at would be that of an encyclopedia, something
> like the existing task views.  To me, it would be of more benefit if
> JSS provided support, peer review, and regular review, for these.
> Entries would be more of a survey, and could provide links to the
> literature, much like a chapter of MASS.

Yet another option would be to provide a site where users could post
reviews and comments, much like the reviews on amazon.

Hadley

-- 
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