4 ms·

Thanks to youtube, we are satisfied enough. These people are asking for $50 for the article. Weird.

knolan 3y ago
Welcome to the biggest scam in science. Research funded by the taxpayer, peer reviewed for free by other scientists in a journal run by volunteer editors all to be hosted as a PDF for massive profit by a ‘prestigious’ journal.
- sgregnt 3y ago
  What is the scum part here?
  - xyzzy123 3y ago
    Well the archival and distribution costs (the only part they really do) don't seem like they should cost $50 for say a PDF file in the 10s of MBs. I think the fair value of what Elsevier (say) provide is > $0, but it's interesting to compare with say Spotify or Netflix - who actually have to pay for content.
    - psychphysic 3y ago
      Don't forget most journals take a publication fee in the hundreds. And pay per reviewers nothing.
      - xyzzy123 3y ago
        Yep, I guess the reality is that they make all their money from "enterprise-like" sales to educational institutions. Speculating: the reason they slap a $50 charge "per paper" for non affiliated access is that they don't actually care about those sales, that's not where their revenue comes from. Essentially that is the "sucker price".
  - shmde 3y ago
    Paying for something to access that tax payers already paid for in the first place ? How is this rocket science.
- psychphysic 3y ago
  Can't believe it's still an issue in 2023. The number of times I've gotten to a paywall for an mildly interesting article and I've just walked away because either the institutional access is broken, or not covered or there's simply no way to work out where the full article is.
  - gorjusborg 3y ago
    It's sad that people who have forgone higher financial reward and pursued a life of exploration and discovery are prevented from discussing their work unless the rent-seeking middleman gets paid. At this point, other than being the arbiters of prestige, what do the journals offer that direct peer review does not?
- olliej 3y ago
  Oh don't forget, the journals charge a fee to submit as well. I believe a number have "open access" submission fees much higher than normal submission.
  - thrdbndndn 3y ago
    Most (at least in my field, can't say about others) don't really charge, but yeah some do. And about open access -- some journals force you to choose open access (and hence more expensive) too.

Welcome to the biggest scam in science. Research funded by the taxpayer, peer reviewed for free by other scientists in a journal run by volunteer editors all to be hosted as a PDF for massive profit by a ‘prestigious’ journal.

sgregnt 3y ago
What is the scum part here?
- xyzzy123 3y ago
  Well the archival and distribution costs (the only part they really do) don't seem like they should cost $50 for say a PDF file in the 10s of MBs. I think the fair value of what Elsevier (say) provide is > $0, but it's interesting to compare with say Spotify or Netflix - who actually have to pay for content.
  - psychphysic 3y ago
    Don't forget most journals take a publication fee in the hundreds. And pay per reviewers nothing.
    - xyzzy123 3y ago
      Yep, I guess the reality is that they make all their money from "enterprise-like" sales to educational institutions. Speculating: the reason they slap a $50 charge "per paper" for non affiliated access is that they don't actually care about those sales, that's not where their revenue comes from. Essentially that is the "sucker price".
- shmde 3y ago
  Paying for something to access that tax payers already paid for in the first place ? How is this rocket science.
psychphysic 3y ago
Can't believe it's still an issue in 2023. The number of times I've gotten to a paywall for an mildly interesting article and I've just walked away because either the institutional access is broken, or not covered or there's simply no way to work out where the full article is.
- gorjusborg 3y ago
  It's sad that people who have forgone higher financial reward and pursued a life of exploration and discovery are prevented from discussing their work unless the rent-seeking middleman gets paid. At this point, other than being the arbiters of prestige, what do the journals offer that direct peer review does not?
olliej 3y ago
Oh don't forget, the journals charge a fee to submit as well. I believe a number have "open access" submission fees much higher than normal submission.
- thrdbndndn 3y ago
  Most (at least in my field, can't say about others) don't really charge, but yeah some do. And about open access -- some journals force you to choose open access (and hence more expensive) too.