> Generally I like supporting people's hard work even if I can't benefit hugely from it - I bought several books that the authors published for free online, jus

> Generally I like supporting people's hard work even if I can't benefit hugely from it - I bought several books that the authors published for free online, just to support them. Even one I found here on HN. I don't know how it works in medicine, but, at least in math, I benefit not at all financially if someone buys one of my papers. (Book purchases earn their authors a pittance.) I would personally way rather someone download one of my papers from the arXiv than that they pay the journal. Journals are parasitic vestiges currently used only for status signalling, and I can't afford not to play that status game as an author, but I don't want you to have to play it as a reader, too. (tempay (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28423848 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28423848) made the same point slightly earlier, and brought up the important point that, also, most authors are willing to send you a copy for free if you don't otherwise have access to it.)