Hiding Your Research Behind A Paywall Is Immoral

As a scientist your job is to bring new knowledge into the world. Hiding it behind a journal's paywall is unacceptable

Publishing science behind paywalls is immoral. There, I said it. I know, I know. It's an easy trap to fall into – I've done it myself. To my shame, several of my own early papers, and even a recent one, are behind paywalls. I'm not speaking as a righteous man to sinners, but as a sinner who has repented.

Having started my scientific life from rather a conventional stance, it took me a while to come around to this position. (You can watch my position evolve, if you care to, through this chronological series of blogposts: "Choosing a journal", "Free work", "Collateral damage", "Private-sector", "RCUK submission", "Irritation", "Versus everybody" and "Making public".) But I've finally arrived. And it's great that the UK government has arrived in the same place.

If you are a scientist, your job is to bring new knowledge into the world. And if you bring new knowledge into the world, it's immoral to hide it. I heartily wish I'd never done it, and I won't do it again. But aren't there special cases?...