Re: history of the DDG

Jonathan Kirwan wrote:
On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:44:12 GMT, James Arthur wrote:

I don't think journals have any right to appoint
themselves middlemen between publicly-funded research
and the public good.

They impede progress and the free flow of information.
And they overcharge to boot.

Well, I'm not going to fight you on that score. I'd rather it's all
immediately in the public domain. Perhaps, with universities taking
action and with scientists also taking individual action, there will
eventually be a sea change. There is already some impact.

But I'll also repeat again that I've never had to pay for a single
paper; and I've asked for papers that were only announced and hadn't
even "hit the stands" yet. So while I agree with the idea of "free
flow of information" as did every scientist I've talked with about
this, I'm not sure about the "impede progress" part of your comment.
The fact is, it seems from my experience anyway, that one does not
have to pay for ANY published article. Just write the authors.

Jon

It's not just the money it's the awkward access. It becomes
impossible to quickly collect, peruse, and compare papers.

For example, it's usually faster to fetch one of my books than
to find something on the web.

Once the thing is found, the 5 seconds it takes to paint
a web page makes thumbing through an online book impractical;
in person with a real book it's easy and natural.

So, it's the delay, cost, and all such impediments that
limit the free flow of information.

A test: It's great you can get articles free by asking, but
how many articles have you skipped because of the hassle?

And, in theory, it's illegal to disseminate them--they're
copyrighted by the journals.

Cheers,
James Arthur
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: history of the DDG
    ... They impede progress and the free flow of information. ... impossible to quickly collect, peruse, and compare papers. ... reviewed and ready for publication. ...
    (sci.electronics.design)
  • Re: history of the DDG
    ... They impede progress and the free flow of information. ... impossible to quickly collect, peruse, and compare papers. ... reviewed and ready for publication. ...
    (sci.electronics.design)
  • Re: history of the DDG
    ... They impede progress and the free flow of information. ... impossible to quickly collect, peruse, and compare papers. ... reviewed and ready for publication. ...
    (sci.electronics.design)