When I use a word . . . . Bioscience journals—an open and shut case?

The term “open access” as applied to journals, widely and now inescapably used, is misleading. It implies that access to other journals is restricted. The important factor, however, is not openness or restrictedness, but who pays for access, readers and their sponsors (reader-directed access) or authors and their sponsors (author-directed access). Emerging evidence suggests that authors in low income countries can be disadvantaged by current author-directed fees in the open access framework, a problem that needs to be tackled. The recent “diamond” model may be beneficial, but it is much too soon to know.