Hey Sheila,
I know the original post is a month old, but I just joined and have opinions to share!
Short answer: DON'T give up!
I agree, it seems everyone is of the opinion that resistance is futile and you should just do it the way "everyone else does." I am hear to tell you that "everyone else" most certainly does not do it that way, well, not exactly the way you describe it.
First, don't worry about PDF anymore as it is no longer a proprietary format. As of July 1, 2008 it is an ISO standard which can be implemented by anyone, making it a very viable format. Currently PDF docs can be viewed and edited in Mac, Linux, Unix and Windows.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Document_Format)
You didn't really mention the CMS system you use, but you are right, many of them talk the same way, if its not easily converted to their formats, just PDF it and put it up. But to be honest, lots of documents should be PDF for any number of reasons, and that's not a bad thing. Many organizations are required to make public documents that must be exactly like the originals. White papers, monthly/annual reports, technology plans, lots of documents have no need to be dynamic, and can be more accessible and reliable in PDF format.
Does that mean you should put everything in PDF? I think you know the answer to that. But more importantly, you mentioned putting DOC files up, which is something that should not be done, especially if it is DOCX. The Internet is built on open, and freely implementable standards, things anyone can use and deploy for free, and as you know, MS Office is not free, in any sense of the word, and the vast majority of people cannot even view DOCX, much less work with it.
Ideally, if the content producers care at all about the data they are posting and/or their audience they should want it to reach as many people as possible, with the least hassle for them as possible. Formats that require the audience to have specific software installed is not the way to do it.
If they are publishing using MS Office, shame on them for being lazy! hit File>Save As.. and change the file type to html. That's it! Worst case it warps the content to look horrible, but serves them right for using a word processor for web publishing (BIG NO NO). What will more likely happen, however, is that you now have an easy to drop in html file. Of course this is just one example of how it could easily be done.
Content provider format issues are commonly attributed to a lack of a formal submission process, but that is an issue for another time.
,Harper
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If experience was so important, we'd never have had anyone walk on the moon.
~Doug Rader
