Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Sci-Hub: Removing barriers in the way of science

sci-hub.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 225 posts

Re: Sci-Hub: Removing barriers in the way of science

#61

Post by smanzer »

bhouston wrote: post #57
smanzer wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(1) Yes. In USA anyway. Creator is not in USA, however. (2) Academics donate their institutional login credentials to the site.

Springer doesn't watermark based on logins? They could easily and then she the academics.

Usually being on the general university network is sufficient to get journal access. Using the university network credentials for the academic, it probably goes SciHub -> School -> Journal. So the school would have to block SciHub/discipline the academic. Disciplining people with tenure is hard, although maybe it is just graduate students giving the credentials idk.

Re: Sci-Hub: Removing barriers in the way of science

#62

Post by chris_wot »

supergreg wrote: post #38
lambdaelite wrote: post #20

Silicon Valley and YC don't exactly have a stellar reputation for ethical behavior. Having a "pirate website" at the top of the news page doesn't exactly change that perception. I totally get that journals are evil, and charging money for research generated with public funds is questionable. It's very frustrating as a small entity needing to view articles, and being asked to cough up $25-50. That said, there are legi…

Does YC wants to change that perception? In this other thread from today people suggest civil disobedience regarding copyright: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11092016

And? That's not HN's stance. That's the opinion of people who have a login here, in an ongoing and free wheeling discussion! Sheesh.

Re: Sci-Hub: Removing barriers in the way of science

#63

Post by Riesling »

lambdaelite wrote: post #52
kasbah wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firstly, copying isn't the same as taking. More importantly most of the scientists want their research to be read and studied as widely as possible but have their careers to worry about. The journal system is being widely criticised but academics are not in the best position to take action against it. The dissemination of knowledge, with it's potential for reducing inequality and increasing social mobility, is much m…

So why not email the corresponding author? I have yet to not get (or give) a manuscript that way. From my own perspective, each time I respond I'm possibly getting another citation. It's also a great form of networking.

When I do research I go through a lot of papers, many of them are discarded after the first couple of sentences. It would slow me down a lot, when I had to contact all of the authors in the first place.

How useful would google really be, if you had to contact every author before reading the actual website?

Re: Sci-Hub: Removing barriers in the way of science

#64

Post by sidarape »

r3bl wrote: post #54
Cyph0n wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're a student, your university likely has a proxy service that allows you to access journals from anywhere using your credentials. My previous uni gives access to alumni for life, so I can access journals for free from wherever.

And what are people outside of the U.S. supposed to do?

I don't think it is unique to the US... I'm in Canada and also have that.

Re: Sci-Hub: Removing barriers in the way of science

#65

Post by vezycash »

freshyill wrote: post #36
travjones wrote: post #19

I've used sci-hub a few times. It's a little buggy and not every article can be accessed, but it works well enough to try when I'm not on campus. $30 to read a single article is ridiculous anyway and presents a barrier to scientists who don't have, can't afford, or don't want to pay for access. I hope sci-hub stays up and improves for some time.

No doubt $30 is expensive, but many journals do provide free access to their content in developing countries.

Kindly give a few examples. Tired of seeing $$ to read beyond the abstract.

Re: Sci-Hub: Removing barriers in the way of science

#66

Post by qft »

travjones wrote: post #19

I've used sci-hub a few times. It's a little buggy and not every article can be accessed, but it works well enough to try when I'm not on campus. $30 to read a single article is ridiculous anyway and presents a barrier to scientists who don't have, can't afford, or don't want to pay for access. I hope sci-hub stays up and improves for some time.

Instead of paying the publishers, who contribute nothing to the work at all (remember they also charge us researchers hundreds of dollars just to get our work published), I'd rather donate the same $30 to sci-hub.

Re: Sci-Hub: Removing barriers in the way of science

#67

Post by wolfgke »

lambdaelite wrote: post #56
zanny wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Distinguish ethical from legal. Not all laws are ethical (depending on where you live, most laws could easily be unethical ), and this website goes out of its way to say why the laws they violate are not.

One guidance for the ethical side are the guidelines agreed upon by professional associations. I can't think of any that condone copyright infringement.

Another guidance for the ethical side is the concrete behaviour of working scientists: If they would send you the paper if you asked them by email, this is a clear statement that copyright violation is perfectly okay.

Re: Sci-Hub: Removing barriers in the way of science

#68

Post by cyphar »

r3bl wrote: post #54
Cyph0n wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're a student, your university likely has a proxy service that allows you to access journals from anywhere using your credentials. My previous uni gives access to alumni for life, so I can access journals for free from wherever.

And what are people outside of the U.S. supposed to do?

I'm in Australia and we have the same service. But it is bullshit that academic papers are hidden behind paywalls.

Re: Sci-Hub: Removing barriers in the way of science

#69

Post by cyphar »

StavrosK wrote: post #16
Jeaye wrote: post #13

Umm, "pirate website" that uses a secure.sci-hub.io, but not actually a secure connection. Really, Let's Encrypt has made this a no-brainer. Anyone making a site should be expected to be using SSL. Especially those making anything related to anything "pirate" or "secure."

Because if there's one thing pirates are known for, it's their commitment to your security.

I'm fairly sure that raiding ships isn't very good for the security of the crew. Although, it might teach them to invest in better cannons.
Post reply on HN