Let me rephrase my original statement. We need to segregate data from a single format/layout. I do not think the analogy to spreadsheets applies here. There ar

Let me rephrase my original statement. We need to segregate data from a single format/layout. I do not think the analogy to spreadsheets applies here. There are (at least) thousands of perspectives on/presentations of scientific data that are completely meaningless. In that case the perspective and presentation matters (though the sharing the original data opens up the opportunity for others to find new perspectives as well, though at the moment they do need to 'plot their own charts') That said, once the author has chosen the perspective that perspective will be conveyed via some medium. At that point the data should be able to stand on its own. I used the word presentation, but 'layout' is probably closer to what I meant. If we take my use of presentation literally then we agree and this is why someone posting slides for a talk without also posting the talk is a terrible idea. With regard to expertise, I would argue that everyone is an expert on what format/layout they find easier to use (sort of like why we let people move their windows around in a window manager instead of forcing them all full screen, re: tablets are major offenders here). I'm not talking about letting people change the words here or put the legend for figure 1 with the data for figure 3.