It was twenty years ago today ...

TL;DR

This paper reflects on the 20-year history of arXiv.org, highlighting its development, impact, and future prospects in the context of theoretical physics dissemination.

Contribution

It provides a historical overview and personal insights into arXiv.org's evolution, emphasizing its significance and future challenges in scientific publishing.

Findings

arXiv.org started in 1991 as a pioneering preprint archive

The platform significantly influenced scientific communication in physics

Future developments may include technological and community-based enhancements

Abstract

To mark the 20th anniversary of the (14 Aug 1991) commencement of hep-th@xxx.lanl.gov (now arXiv.org), I've adapted this article from one that first appeared in Physics World (2008), was later reprinted (with permission) in Learned Publishing (2009), but never appeared in arXiv. I trace some historical context and early development of the resource, its later trajectory, and close with some thoughts about the future. This version is closer to my original draft, with some updates for this occasion, plus an astounding $2^5$ added footnotes.