Comparison of Defensive Publication Mechanisms

In "DEFENSIVE PUBLISHING: A STRATEGY FOR MAINTAINING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AS PUBLIC GOODS," Stephen Adams and Victoria Henson-Apollonio discuss the five areas for special consideration for organizations that want to take the defensive publication route: form,accessibility, timeliness, unambiguous publication date, and the rights arising from a disclosure. The article ends with a table comparing the aspects of various defensive publication mechanisms, and concludes

In short, if the main concern is to reach a specific audience but there is little interest in using the publication as prior art to trigger the rejection of a patent claim, then self-publication is likely the most cost-effective means of disclosure. But other options should be considered if an organization’s main goal in publishing is to defeat a potential patent application. In this case, using a commercial company that specializes in publications that reach the attention of most patent examiners is the recommended course.

Read more on "Writing technical disclosures, "Getting started with technical disclosures," and
"Solving business problems and managing risk with technical dislcosures" from the Securing Innovation Blog by IP.com (which offers a defensive publication service at http://www.ip.com/prior-art-database/defensive-publishing.jsp)