(Updated 2016-03-12 to re-add the links)
I am probably the last person you would want to consult on tips to write a scientific publication. I’m slow, I procrastinate, my English is not the best, much work lies on the cutting room floor - skeletons of half assembled papers. Still, ‘that which we are, we are’, though my skills are lacking I’m very interested in improving, and certainly enjoy reading a well written paper.
My one new year’s resolution is to use DVCS everywhere.
With free BitBucket Academic accounts (unlimited private / public repos), http://blog.bitbucket.org/2012/08/20/bitbucket-academic/, there’s no reason not to use it for every paper, internal document, code snippet or website. From a Linux / OS X console there is very little friction in automatically using “git add + commit, push & pull”. It’s also a very nice + fluid way to share finalised data & code between HPC facilities, colleagues, collaborators & workstations.