> However the solution really is trivial. I find this statement rather presumptuous. I take it as axiomatic that any problem which Tim Gowers and Terry Tao are

> However the solution really is trivial. I find this statement rather presumptuous. I take it as axiomatic that any problem which Tim Gowers and Terry Tao are in the process of trying to solve, and have not yet solved, is not trivial. Agreement with Gowers' position is widespread but not universal. For example, of the last nine Fields medalists, four are signatories to the boycott. If the other five are still publishing in Elsevier journals, then libraries are still going to subscribe to them. I am personally a signatory and a strong supporter of the boycott, and I know many others who are the same. However, I know others who disagree. They argue that having our work published by commercial publishers such as Elsevier lends dignity to the process, and that having to spend a lot of money makes us look important in the eyes of university administration. A further, very substantial obstacle is that junior scholars have to publish in the best journals they can to enhance their reputation, and thanks to buyouts of Academic Press and others, Elsevier now owns many of the titles that publish good-but-not-great papers. "Our discipline" does not make decisions. That is up to individual researchers, and for the time being, many of them continue to choose to publish excellent papers in Elsevier journals.