Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"Greed Is a Paywall Blocking Human Knowledge"
Greed Is a Paywall Blocking Human Knowledgeby Thor Benson at Truthdig
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/greed_is_a_paywall_blocking_human_knowledge_20141217
"SNIP......................
One of the most widely read academic journals, Nature, just became accessible without a paid subscription. Macmillan, its publisher, announced Dec. 2 that it would be making 49 of its journals, including Nature, available to read on the PDF viewing service ReadCube. That said, readers cannot simply go to ReadCube and view any journal they want; they have to get a link to the journal from an existing subscriber in order to read it for free.
This method is a way of imitating open access without actually instating it. Although being able to link directly to scientific documents in an online article is useful for letting a reader see the exact source of what the article is reporting, relying on direct links leaves behind the academics and the researchers who want to search for specific journals and may not have a subscription. Those without a subscription will be relegated to beggar access, as Scientific American put it, where they can read something only if they ask subscribers to share it with them.
The issue with hiding academic articles behind paywalls is that the research featured in these kinds of journals is often paid for with government grants or through public university funding. To ask the public to pay for a subscription is thus a kind of double tax, in that would-be readers pay taxes that fund the studies that provide the basis for the journal articles and then pay again to read the finished product. The authors of the research do not receive a payment from the journals when the article is accepted or when it is published, and the money from subscribers instead goes directly to the publisher.
The worlds entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a handful of private corporations, the late Internet activist Aaron Swartz wrote in 2008 in the Guerilla Open Access Manifesto. He fought against the privatization of knowledge, becoming a warrior for the open access movement.
.......................SNIP"
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
7 replies, 1019 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (6)
ReplyReply to this post
7 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
"Greed Is a Paywall Blocking Human Knowledge" (Original Post)
applegrove
Dec 2014
OP
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)1. Bless Aaron
orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)2. Ecstatic Droids existing only for sensations.
applegrove
(118,696 posts)4. Que?
orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)7. The result of mindless greed .
daleanime
(17,796 posts)3. K&R....
JEFF9K
(1,935 posts)5. Some things are getting better.
With my Cleveland library card I can access for free, over the Internet, the Cleveland Plain Dealer back to 1845, with great search capabilities. Also the New York Times and other publications.
No more going to the library and dealing with microfilm rolls!
applegrove
(118,696 posts)6. That's so cool.