Re: Joe's OA Clearinghouse

[brs4@lehigh.edu]

Well, not to be curmudgeonly, but I do wonder if the users of arxiv.org
consider their reading of the materials archived there as comparable to
flying on Easyjet. Brian Simboli

Quoting "Joseph J. Esposito" <espositoj@worldnet.att.net>:

> "we'll be sure to see journals competing for authors in exactly that
> arena. Imagine the sales pitches to authors: "Professors!  Why spend
> $1,500 to publish in PLoS when you can publish at Joe's OA Clearinghouse
> for $595? We guarantee full compliance with all major international OA
> protocols! Act now - this offer is only good this semester!"
> 
> JE:  I know (or at least I hope) that the reference to "Joe's OA
> Clearinghouse" is to Generic Joe, my half-brother, but as a Personal Joe
> myself, I can't help but comment that even the hypothetical prices at the
> OA Clearinghouse are much too high.  Something like $50 for three-years'
> hosting is more like it.  Bits are free.  Think of flying on Easyjet or
> the IT-accelerated speed of the check-out at Walgreen's--because that is
> where OA is headed.  It is simply wrong to imagine that OA is going to
> look like the wood-panelled world of proprietary journals publishing.  
> And when our knees are rammed into our chins on a flight from Chicago to
> Berlin, all advocates of OA should be thankful that God has answered our
> prayers.
> 
> Joe Esposito