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There are thousands of papers published each month in some fields. Are you going to read and evaluate them all? No, you want some sort of structure where you h

There are thousands of papers published each month in some fields. Are you going to read and evaluate them all? No, you want some sort of structure where you have people you trust do some sorting. That's what the publishing system does. (Plus the editing process). Elsevier is earning money because they have created a structure of evaluation that's not entirely garbage, and that is self-reinforcing. It might be good to replace them with a non-profit approach, but isn't easy.

landryraccoon 9y ago
> Are you going to read and evaluate them all? Elsevier doesn't read or evaluate them either. They use academic peer reviewers who don't have any equity or salary from Elsevier. > No, you want some sort of structure where you have people you trust do some sorting. None of those people are paid by Elsevier. > That's what the publishing system does. (Plus the editing process). No, the publishing system provides brands. If Elsevier actually curated, hired and paid a fair salary to the peer reviewers and researchers who actually performed and evaluate the research I think you would be right. But it still seems to me they're purely a marketing middleman that takes public funding and public laborers and turns a private profit.