Open Access Transition Scenarios and Escher Drawings

There is no realistic or coherent transition scenario to universal Open Access (OA) via the Compact for Open Access Publishing Equity (COPE), a commitment by universities to pay for whatever Gold OA publishing fees they have the funds to pay. Green OA self-archiving first needs to be mandated by universities. That will generate universal (Green) OA with certainty and that in turn may eventually generate the subscription cancellations that will fund a transition to universal Gold OA.