Sci-Hub should be able to freely share its scientific resources for those who want to learn

abernard102@gmail.com 2016-02-17

Summary:

"Sci-Hub is an online domain where scientists and students can freely access academic articles and journals that are otherwise priced around $30 per paper. Although this sounds like a great alternative, Sci-Hub has been affiliated with the dark web, an unofficial section of the Internet that harbors illegal activity like the Pirate Bay and the Silk Road. If people are having to essentially steal articles to learn, then something needs to be done about the pricing issues of these journals. Publishing companies are operating under the guise that their articles are priced as such because they are all peer-reviewed and specially sorted. But are they really doing the work? ... Publishing companies like Elsevier, the largest publisher of scholarly articles, are being pointed out because of the exorbitant prices they charge for their papers. An open letter to Elsevier by free software advocates explains the impact the company has had on the public and how its actions are akin to the power-hungry star collector from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s tale, 'The Little Prince.'  Their plea is for people to have access to Elsevier’s databases free of charge. There is no justice in capitalizing on knowledge that should be available to everyone.  The letter refers to the recent lawsuit filed against Sci-Hub for millions in reparations for damages towards Elsevier, but that isn’t going to stop the site.  What Elsevier doesn’t get is that taking Sci-Hub’s money won’t stop them.  After being shut down, Sci-Hub reappeared under a differently titled domain. Their fight for free access won’t stop and it shouldn’t.  This is where the dark web comes in; the deep underbelly of the Internet. People are familiar with the everyday World Wide Web, but the dark web is a different wave that isn’t seen by the untrained surfer, hence, dark ..."

Link:

http://www.dailytitan.com/2016/02/sci-hub-should-be-able-to-freely-share-its-scientific-resources-for-those-who-want-to-learn/

From feeds:

Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) » abernard102@gmail.com

Tags:

oa.new oa.comment oa.sci-hub oa.piracy oa.elsevier oa.publishers oa.business_models oa.takedowns oa.guerrilla

Date tagged:

02/17/2016, 08:33

Date published:

02/17/2016, 03:33