> That is the downside of piracy... by taking the pain out of unfair monopolies, it takes off the pressure to overturn or compete with them. Shadow libraries a

> That is the downside of piracy... by taking the pain out of unfair monopolies, it takes off the pressure to overturn or compete with them. Shadow libraries are a competition to the official ways to access the papers. Just like in any market, the various offerings have advantages and disadvantages. - Advantage of, say, Elsevier website: is legal - Disadvantage of, say, Elsevier website: accessing costs money (even if your university pays) - Advantage of, say, sci-hub: is free - Disadvantage of, say, sci-hub: accessing is somewhere between legal grayzone and illegal, depending on jurisdiction As in any market, by your choices, you decide which offering you prefer: - If you decide to get the paper from Elseviert (even if you can access it "for free", because your university pays), you vote for "Elesvier's business practices are perfectly fine." - If you decide to get the paper from sci-hub, you vote for "what sci-hub does is less evil than what Elsevier does." Choose the market offering that fits your alignment.