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Sci-Hub: Removing barriers in the way of science

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

#201

Post by EGreg »

mgr86 wrote: post #131
nokya wrote: post #73

I am happy she is doing this. The price that paywalls are charging for accessing research papers is unacceptable: the money does not flow back to the researchers, nor to the institutions. Most of the paywalled research has been sponsored by taxpayer money and hence should be publicly accessible or at a very low "maintenance fee".

I work at a small academic database as a developer. We charge a pittance compared to what a lot of the larger players in this market do. And I'm conflicted. We are a registered non profit, and are actively losing money. Developer costs, of which there are only two. Building costs--I also shovel snow!, marketing costs, hosting costs, and much more. We have the workload where we would benefit from a staff 3 times the s…

Where are all those hundreds of millions of dollars going, from university subscriptions??

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

#202

Post by tripzilch »

bpg_92 wrote: post #158

Welp, I used to get books, papers and software from non-legal sources when I was in undegrad, because I just couldn't afford it, now that I make some money I buy most of this stuff. The thing is, without all those resources in the past I couldn't have made it to where I am now. Just my 2 cents.

I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing here?

Say you need to research some scientific algorithm or other, you paid $40 per paper just to do that? There will be 3-5 papers that are must-read, so $120-$200. Then there's another 5-10 papers that are referenced in the former, you might want to check, just for the few paragraphs that are referenced, which may contain crucial elements of the algorithm you are trying to write (often not explained in full in the original papers).

Even if you have that money to spare, wouldn't your research be hampered by the choice you stand whether that one extra paper at $40 is going to be worth the money?

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

#203

Post by JabavuAdams »

pen2l wrote: post #199
JabavuAdams wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Race, yes, but nobody born here asks me "where are you from?" upon first meeting, whereas I get this a lot from europeans and people from more tribal societies.

I'm an American, and I get asked "where are you from?" almost every time I meet a new person here (in America). I look very non-American and have an accent most people find hard to pin down, so I'm thinking that the question is just not posed to people who look and 'speak' very American.

Well, I'm Canadian, so we can't really compare. I look brown, but have a basically Toronto / SF accent.

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

#204

Post by pdonis »

coliveira wrote: post #167
bpg_92 wrote: post #158

Welp, I used to get books, papers and software from non-legal sources when I was in undegrad, because I just couldn't afford it, now that I make some money I buy most of this stuff. The thing is, without all those resources in the past I couldn't have made it to where I am now. Just my 2 cents.

Kudos to you, there is little respect these days for personal decisions in the area of information access. Pirating information is wrong, doesn't matter how you twist it. There is big difference between creating and promoting free content (great) and trying to break the law to access content that already exists and is subject to copyright law. After all, requesting payment is a deal between publishers and writers. By…

> requesting payment is a deal between publishers and writers

Not in the case we're talking about here. Sci-hub doesn't provide copies of novels. It provides copies of scientific research papers, for which we, the public, have already paid with our tax dollars. The payments to journals are not deals between those publishers and the scientists; they are deals between those publishers and the government, to get us to pay again for something we've already paid for.

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

#205

Post by amatic »

coliveira wrote: post #198
alextgordon wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Going to a library and getting a free copy is exactly what people are doing. The library is online, freely accessible without discrimination. Since when have we asked authors permission to add their book to a library? In many places (including the US) if you publish a book it is mandatory to submit it to a library.

I have never seen an illegal library, have you? Don't try to confuse a respectable institution with pirate web sites that didn't ask permission to anyone to do their illegal thing.

What is the difference, asside from someone deeming copying 'illegal'?

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

#206

Post by Eudyptula_minor »

As a student who is studying to become a Theoretical Mathematician, I hope Sci-hub stays open for many years ahead. In Finland, we have pretty good access but only if one is a student. Mathematics is so interconnected, that removing paywalls and any obstacles could help uncover breakthroughs by combining ideas from other fellow Mathematicians. I hope UN exercises Article 27 of Human Rights and aligns itself on the right side of history in order to better Science and to encourage curiosity in today's minds and definitely tomorrow's! Pardon my English. Thank you.

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

#208

Post by dineshp2 »

Sometimes we have no option but to break the law until what is considered illegal is made legal.

Storing research papers behind paywalls is absolutely ridiculous. The law literally prevents the development of science.

Having personally seen people benefit directly(for purposes of research) from this initiative solidifies my whole hearted support for sci-hub.

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

#210

Post by astazangasta »

tosseraccount wrote: post #108
astazangasta wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plos or NLM or any number of people will host the content for free; bandwidth is not at issue.

But opening and accessing the data used in the analysis is a big problem.

The big problems are the legal structure strangling us (and the greed and power behind it); we can fly to the moon, making a way to download PDFs is nothing.
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