VDRL4u

joined 5 months ago
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/4694531

Linked from sci-hub.se when I searched for an unavailable DOI

Sci-Net will ask for a minimum amount of 1000 Sci-Hub tokens to register. The tokens will appear on your account after registration and will be used to reward uploaders. That is the most controversial part: some people argue that Sci-Net introduces paywall similar to publisher.

Even though both might appear similar at a first glance, the differences are profound. Compared to insane publisher paywalls, the entry tax on Sci-Net is symbolic and is not higher than an equivalent of a cup of coffee in most countries. The next difference is that in traditional approach, profits are made by publisher, and ordinary researcher has no control on how the money are used. On Sci-Net, you're using tokens directly to reward uploaders. Payments go to fellow researchers, not to the platform.

But the most important is that publishers will charge for access to the same paper again and again. Sci-Net will only do that once when paper is uploaded and after that, it will remain free forever and for everyone -- even users who are not registered on the platform will be able to access it. That is, all Sci-Net transactions contribute directly to public domain, and the number of knowledge accessible to everyone grows with Sci-Net usage.

The more people use Sci-Hub token, the more valuable it becomes. That way Sci-Net indirectly contributes to maintenance and further development of Sci-Hub.

The only downside is that obtaining Sci-Hub tokens on the Solana network can be a non-trivial puzzle for a user who are new to crypto. But that only makes the process more interesting.