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Sci-Hub: Removing barriers in the way of science

sci-hub.io

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

#51

Post by StavrosK »

tombrossman wrote: post #44
StavrosK wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Pirates that don't pay attention to security don't last very long, so I would tend to agree with that statement. Try a quick survey of the most popular pirate sites and see how many support HTTPS. You might be pleasantly surprised.

That's not caring about security, it's just not wanting to get blocked by firewalls. I don't think you can seriously argue that pirate sites care about security when the biggest thing on a page is an adware-installing, fake "DOWNLOAD" button.

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

#52

Post by lambdaelite »

kasbah wrote: post #49
mpclark wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I too am disappointed to see this here, though the young hotheads are obviously out in force today and relishing sticking it to the man. Surely we are better than this. One of the earliest lessons I was taught, and I taught my kids, is that if somebody else has something we want and doesn't want to share it, it's not OK to just take it.

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.

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

#54

Post by r3bl »

Cyph0n wrote: post #32
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.

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?

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

#55

Post by chris_wot »

zanny wrote: post #28
StavrosK wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I just checked, the two most popular public torrent sites have COMODO CA default-on https. These sites do want to maintain security, so their users can keep coming back rather than getting copyright strikes or worse fines and getting scared off. That doesn't stop them from putting viruses in the ad banners, but that is not getting their users arrested.

Except that torrent sites are not necessarily completely used for pirating.

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

#56

Post by lambdaelite »

zanny wrote: post #25
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…

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.

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

#57

Post by bhouston »

smanzer wrote: post #43
Rainymood wrote: post #39

(1) Isnt this illegal? (2) How do they get access to those papers?

(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.

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

#58

Post by Riesling »

mpclark wrote: post #37
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…

I too am disappointed to see this here, though the young hotheads are obviously out in force today and relishing sticking it to the man. Surely we are better than this. One of the earliest lessons I was taught, and I taught my kids, is that if somebody else has something we want and doesn't want to share it, it's not OK to just take it.

> One of the earliest lessons I was taught, and I taught my kids, is that if somebody else has something we want and doesn't want to share it, it's not OK to just take it.

Like the absolute power of a dictator?

Of course this is a hyperbolic example, but the real world is not only black and white and simple rules like that cannot cope with the complexity of it. The question is, where we should draw the line. And many people in here agree, that publicly funded research should be made available to the public at no further costs for the greater good.

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

#59

Post by tombrossman »

StavrosK wrote: post #51
tombrossman wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pirates that don't pay attention to security don't last very long, so I would tend to agree with that statement. Try a quick survey of the most popular pirate sites and see how many support HTTPS. You might be pleasantly surprised.

That's not caring about security, it's just not wanting to get blocked by firewalls. I don't think you can seriously argue that pirate sites care about security when the biggest thing on a page is an adware-installing, fake "DOWNLOAD" button.

How does HTTPS help circumvent firewalls? I wasn't aware this was a feature. My understanding is that a firewall blocking file-sharing sites would do so whether the site was HTTP or HTTPS.

My point is that by using HTTPS, these sites have demonstrated a higher level of proficiency with security tools than many more popular mainstream sites. I agree the scammy fake download buttons are a problem though, but that's what ad-blockers are for...

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

#60

Post by kasbah »

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.

Because it currently wouldn't be possible to make a site of this scale with that method.
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