[Panurge]

BowerBird: 'it is _not_ our job to make "a faithful representation of the print copy". we don't even _want_ to do that -- even if we could -- and we _cannot_, because any time you move a document from one medium to a completely different one, you're creating a new edition.'

I don't think a representation of the print copy in its visual layout is necessary, just an exact transcription of the content. I want to know that no words (or other linguistic elements, such as punctuation and paragraphing, for instance) have been added or substracted without some sort of indication that something was changed from the original source. That has been solid scholarly practice from the beginning, which is not the same as a facsimile. If the electronic version is guaranteed identical in that sense, then I would rarely need page numbers.

By the way, I find BowerBird's examples very interesting.