Journal Author - Who To Write To?

[Marziecat]

If you have just read a science (or any) journal article which has two or more co-authors, and you want to ask a question, which one do you write to? Do you write to all the authors and copy them all in? Do you write to the one that is first in the list of authors?

[Sqad]

I don't think it really matters......I usually write to the one that I know personally OR the first mane on the paper.

[Toorak]

If it doesn't say who the corresponding author is I would write to the first author

[jim360]

It may also depend a little on the journal conventions. In many journals the authors are credited in rough order of involvement -- ie being the "first name" implies that the paper is much more to do with you than others, so you might want to write firstly to the first few named authors rather than the entire set. In other journals the authors are listed alphabetically so you can't tell from ordering who was most involved.

Either way I'd say it wouldn't hurt to send a message to all authors, although be aware that you might not get an answer all the time, either because the authors have since moved on or because if you aren't someone they know they might be less inclined to spent time responding.

[Peter Pedant]

I dont think I would be that please to be written to and spend time replying and then find s/o else had done the same

The convention is that s/o is designated the corresponding author - or the one with the most complete address or the first one
( in that order )
depending on where it is - they will be pleased that s/o has read it and thought about it

only once in thirty years did I get a snotty reply (Doug Altman: stats) that he was too important and busy to reply could I ask s/o else ?
Life changing reply - I determined myself thenceforth not to be short with any technical correspondent, to thank them for writing and give a reasoned reply. - and that if I didnt know the answer - to say so.

if it is an email - then write formally - Dear Sir, etc
not "Hi Pete ! sozza, do you a mo'?"