3 ms·

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.