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Who was the original poster? I can't find his message. But if he thinks
that starting a chapter on the verso is aesthetically acceptable, and solves
a technological problem that's making him nuts, and doesn't impact
usability, YAY! There are ways to mitigate the problem of not being easy to
flip through the book -- perhaps bleeds on the edges of the page that make
it easy to see the end of one chapter and the start of the next, or
something.
That said, I always start my chapters on a recto. I think it looks neat,
tidy, consistent, and professional. But that's MY aesthetic. So it's what
we do here. Further, I've flipped through my technical books here and
didn't find ONE that didn't do it that way.
But that doesn't really mean anything, except that it's a pervasive
convention.
And after all, hell, aren't we the last bastion of typographical convention?
Wish I could find the original note -- I'm sure the poor guy is hiding under
his desk somewhere.