Hiding your research behind a paywall is immoral | Mike Taylor | Science | guardian.co.uk

"Publishing science behind paywalls is immoral. There, I said it. I know, I know. It's an easy trap to fall into – I've done it myself. To my shame, several of my own early papers, and even a recent one, are behind paywalls. I'm not speaking as a righteous man to sinners, but as a sinner who has repented. Having started my scientific life from rather a conventional stance, it took me a while to come around to this position. (You can watch my position evolve, if you care to, through this chronological series of blogposts: 'Choosing a journal', 'Free work', 'Collateral damage', 'Private-sector', 'RCUK submission', 'Irritation', 'Versus everybody' and 'Making public'.) But I've finally arrived. And it's great that the UK government has arrived in the same place. If you are a scientist, your job is to bring new knowledge into the world. And if you bring new knowledge into the world, it's immoral to hide it. I heartily wish I'd never done it, and I won't do it again. But aren't there special cases? ..."