Is Alexandra Elbakyan in real trouble this time? • Hacker News Board

Re: Is Alexandra Elbakyan in real trouble this time?

#311

Post by matsemann » Mon, Jul 05, 2021, 9:43 AM UTC

jazzyjackson wrote: post #94

Is injecting malware into PDFs still a thing? If so, it could be a national security matter to give people access via a trusted source so they don’t have to go to a grey market to get their research papers. And I’ll just +1 here that even when I did have access through university, the flow for logging into elsevier was like 8 clicks, and then after finding the paper, the button to download and read it was hidden on t…

Or it was configured to only allow IPs from library computers. Or one had to use VPN if working from one's dorm room and not campus to get access. Just all around a big hassle.

Reminds me of being a kid living in a small town in the mountains of Norway. The only music I could buy was the Top10 CDs on display at the kiosk. Being rotated only a few times a year and not at all my taste. But with p2p filesharing I could listen to all kinds of music. Often times the illegal way is just so much more convenient, not because it's free, but because it doesn't have lots of artificial hurdles.

Re: Is Alexandra Elbakyan in real trouble this time?

#312

Post by kzrdude » Mon, Jul 05, 2021, 9:45 AM UTC

We can say here that entrepreneurs in Russia - like Alexandra Elbakyan - have certain possibilities that other's don't have! That's awesome. And SV people have something to be jealous of - something they couldn't pull off. I hope she pulls it off.

Different possibilities in different legal spaces. Any others like that, that you can think of?

Re: Is Alexandra Elbakyan in real trouble this time?

#313

Post by cf141q5325 » Mon, Jul 05, 2021, 9:46 AM UTC

martin1975 wrote: post #34

mrtksn wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think persistence will win this one because the moral dilemma is pretty weak here. Unlike with the software and arts, we don’t need to seek a funding model for the researchers when we take their work for free. It’s my impression that it’s a matter of adaptation before the free access becomes the norm. Therefore technical help and civil disobedience should eventually do the job. In this case, we are stealing from th…

free is a flawed concept - energy and time went into publishing each paper meaning someone paid. If the authors want to give permission, then she ought to seek it for each paper she's put on her website or seek permission from whomever owns the copyright. Otherwise it's theft. And no amount of civil disobedience can justify theft.

That "ownership" didnt change hands freely. Its a protection racket people are forced into.

It is very simple, i have to publish if i want to get my phd. And due to years of corruption those publications have to be in certain journals.

My work isnt financed by the publishers. Neither is the review process, my doctoral supervisor gets nothing out of doing reviews like these. I also pay to attend the conference, which is mandatory to get published.

I am coerced into signing away my (publicly funded) research to then see it put behind a pay wall. Preventing me from sharing it freely robbing me of the feedback from my peers.

Elsevier are a cancer and only function through forced labor. Not only are they rentseeking on somebody elses work, they are creating a worse situation for everyone involved. Including Science itself.

Re: Is Alexandra Elbakyan in real trouble this time?

#314

Post by faeyanpiraat » Mon, Jul 05, 2021, 9:46 AM UTC

cf141q5325 wrote: post #306

lima wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is injecting malware into PDFs still a thing? Nope. Most people read PDFs inside the browser, with the same sandbox protections as other web content.

Sandboxes can be escaped from.

You can only get guaranteed protection from malware infections through the internet if you turn off your machine.

Even then there might be some remote management exploits which would work on turned off machines, so unplug the cables aswell.

Re: Is Alexandra Elbakyan in real trouble this time?

#315

Post by subroutine » Mon, Jul 05, 2021, 9:49 AM UTC

krastanov wrote: post #255

andi999 wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One problem is that open access journals get paid by the author. So all so called predatory journals (not doing peer review, just taking the money and publishing the paper) are open access. Recently there was some hysteria about this, even if you publish by accident in one of those journals your career takes a very big dent.

It seems reasonable to me to pay a small one-time publication fee for an open access journal, to cover clerical and typesetting work (professional typesetting is important and expensive). Predatory journals exist and would exist independently of what the best practices of good journals are. I have received plenty of emails inviting me to submit work to predatory journals, but their low quality and lack of peer review…

In your opinion what would constitute a small fee? $10? $100? $3000?

https://www.frontiersin.org/about/publishing-fees

Re: Is Alexandra Elbakyan in real trouble this time?

#316

Post by PicassoCTs » Mon, Jul 05, 2021, 9:57 AM UTC

jacobolus wrote: post #265

IshKebab wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For researchers in most universities almost every paper is obtainable without scihub.

This is not true for most universities around the world. Only wealthy ones in first-world countries. All of my father’s academic colleagues in Mexico use Sci-Hub daily, and rely on it for access to literature. But beyond that, there are paywalled journals which Harvard does not subscribe to. There are journals which the University of California does not subscribe to. (Or pick your favorite university, and there will…

The Journal system is basically academic job protection for wealthier countries, but this factor is never talked about aloud, as it is a) unscientific and anti-enlightenment behavior and b) exposes the hypocrisy that is creating loads of competition for unskilled labor, while crippling the competition for mental labor.

So why not call the system what is? The guild of knowledge.

I still vividly remember when the eastern-block opened, and all those excellent Russian mathematicians who went into the west, were not recognized when it came to there degrees in europe. "The brightest minds of a generation work here" in the university brochure? Don't make me laugh.

Re: Is Alexandra Elbakyan in real trouble this time?

#317

Post by Comevius » Mon, Jul 05, 2021, 9:58 AM UTC

martin1975 wrote: post #34

mrtksn wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think persistence will win this one because the moral dilemma is pretty weak here. Unlike with the software and arts, we don’t need to seek a funding model for the researchers when we take their work for free. It’s my impression that it’s a matter of adaptation before the free access becomes the norm. Therefore technical help and civil disobedience should eventually do the job. In this case, we are stealing from th…

free is a flawed concept - energy and time went into publishing each paper meaning someone paid. If the authors want to give permission, then she ought to seek it for each paper she's put on her website or seek permission from whomever owns the copyright. Otherwise it's theft. And no amount of civil disobedience can justify theft.

The authors of these often publicly funded research works don't actually make money, publishing companies like Elsevier do.

Elsevier is basically a rent-seeking monopoly. They also publish fake journals, and manipulate the impact factor of their journals by coercing citations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsevier#Academic_practices

Re: Is Alexandra Elbakyan in real trouble this time?

#318

Post by refurb » Mon, Jul 05, 2021, 10:04 AM UTC

kzemek wrote: post #298

refurb wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. This is an example of “have your cake and eat it too”. Scientists want to publicize in a prestigious journal. Elsevier is prestigious. Elsevier charges a subscription fee. Other scientists can’t access it. So what scientists want is to be able to publish in the most prestigious journals and have free access to them. It’s like if I said “i want to be able to attend the most prestigious school but I don’t want to p…

> It’s like if I said “i want to be able to attend the most prestigious school but I don’t want to pay for it”. I think it's interesting to note that in many European countries the top schools are free to attend.

Sure, but it's because the gov't subsidizes the cost of schools. Are you suggesting they subsidize the cost of journal subscriptions to the point they are free?

Re: Is Alexandra Elbakyan in real trouble this time?

#319

Post by cf141q5325 » Mon, Jul 05, 2021, 10:07 AM UTC

refurb wrote: post #160

krastanov wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people (me included) consider "intellectual property" an oxymoron. But you do not need to go that far in the extreme to be supportive of scihub and similar entities: I am a scientist. I am paid from research grants, this is what makes it possible for me to write a paper. I am also involved in reviewing papers, but that I do for free. Then I pay a journal to store my paper (the journal did not pay the paper revie…

“Didnt contribute anything but prestige”? If that’s such a minor contribution, then instead of publishing with a journal you hate, publish with an open source journal? Put your money where your mouth is.

Thats not an option. I need some publications in "highly scored" journals to get my Phd. I dont have the option to publish in open access instead. Its not a matter of having a worse resume with less prestige but one of not getting my dissertation accepted. Its something forced onto me through a process created through corruption.

Re: Is Alexandra Elbakyan in real trouble this time?

#320

Post by chakkepolja » Mon, Jul 05, 2021, 10:10 AM UTC

martin1975 wrote: post #34

mrtksn wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think persistence will win this one because the moral dilemma is pretty weak here. Unlike with the software and arts, we don’t need to seek a funding model for the researchers when we take their work for free. It’s my impression that it’s a matter of adaptation before the free access becomes the norm. Therefore technical help and civil disobedience should eventually do the job. In this case, we are stealing from th…

free is a flawed concept - energy and time went into publishing each paper meaning someone paid. If the authors want to give permission, then she ought to seek it for each paper she's put on her website or seek permission from whomever owns the copyright. Otherwise it's theft. And no amount of civil disobedience can justify theft.

It's not even about someone charging for their work.

It's about the mediator overcharging for the littlest work they do.

Also about taxpayer funded research being available to everyone, why should tax money go into the pockets of the publishing racket?