But anyway, in the context of the discussion about this webpage/project, it's not relevant to ask why these PDFs exist. They do, and the scientific community is nowhere near a transition away from them. So bfirsh is trying to find a solution to consume those existing PDFs.
So think as not getting downvoted for expressing your opinion, but more for not contributing to the discussion about this particular project.
What I don't understand is why I got at least 2 downvotes. These days I'm getting downvotes for every opinion I express on HN. It's very annoying.