Biologists rename our own biology to work around Excel "bug"

[IanB]

Usually academic conferences/journals use a LaTeX template, Word templates are more the thing for business/governmental documents.

There are many conferences that have an engineering/technical flavour (as opposed to scientific subjects). I have never seen LaTeX used in engineering, actually. By engineering, I mean conferences like this one: https://escape33-ath.gr/

[Someone]

Usually academic conferences/journals use a LaTeX template, Word templates are more the thing for business/governmental documents.

Really depends on the field, even in engineering I doubt the majority are submitting in LaTex.

Nature:

Microsoft Word is preferred

Lancet:

We prefer to use Word in PC format
...
Supply tables in Word, rather than Excel or pdf
...
a separate Word document from your main text

Science:

We prefer files to be prepared using our updated Word template. LaTeX users should use our LaTeX template and, at the submission stage, either convert files to .docx format or submit a PDF

PLOS ONE:

Manuscript files can be in the following formats: DOC, DOCX, or RTF...
LaTeX manuscripts must be submitted as PDFs

[ConKbot]

"ugh, what aren't they using [latex, gnumeric, R, matlab, octave, python, ad infinitum] why are they using software that is likely on their work PCs anyway, and not fighting with IT to get more software installed on their PC, and the convincing coworkers they need to do the same to exchange data"

[Infraviolet]

A self-respecting academic won't be fighting with an IT department, they'll use their own machine. And plenty should find their uni IT department won't mind giving them a blank PC to put Linux (self-administered) on so long as the only thing it connects to the uni network for is wider internet access not any secure services internal to the uni.