From: Sandy Thatcher <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2015 18:47:13 -0500

I suspect this work-around might run afoul of the law because it is
someone else than the author sharing the article.  Stevan Harnad has
long recommended the practice of people who want access to an article
writing directly to the author and asking for a copy. a practice that
reflects the long tradition of scholars sending their articles to
other scholars when asked by them to do so.  Courts often give
deference to such traditional practices, and it is why I believe
Harnard's suggestion is probably safe to follow.  I'm much less sure
about a system of widespread sharing like this that is specifically
aimed at replacing publisher fees.

Sandy Thatcher


> From: Ann Shumelda Okerson <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2015 19:17:47 -0400
>
> Many readers have seen these pieces making the rounds today.  Do folks
> regard this practice as hacking or as normal scholarly sharing of
> single articles?  Why?
>
> http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-34572462
>
> http://qz.com/528526/academics-have-found-a-way-to-access-insanely-expensive-research-papers-for-free/
>
> "Scientists are tweeting a link of the paywalled article along with
> their email address in the hashtag-a riff on the infamous meme of a
> fluffy cat's "I Can Has Cheezburger?" line. Someone else who does have
> access to the article downloads a pdf of the paper and emails the file
> to the person requesting it. The initial tweet is then deleted as soon
> as the requester receives the file."