For most scientists there isn't another system, and certainly when the system was established nobody was envisaging a time when publishers would make hundreds o

For most scientists there isn't another system, and certainly when the system was established nobody was envisaging a time when publishers would make hundreds of % markup on every access of a paper. The prices reflect print publishing costs and the historical lack of a cheap distribution system like the internet. Now we have a hangover where people's careers are judged on their ability to publish in high-impact journals, all of which charge several thousand pounds extra to make the paper Open Access. So we're not tricked, but we do it under duress. The system is changing, Aaron helped.