[Foundation-l] Access to academic journals (was Re: Remarks on Wikimedia's fundraiser)

[Fred Bauder]

> On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 9:39 PM, Andreas Kolbe <jayen466 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Of course we would expect that providers and universities will only be
>> able
>> to provide a limited number of users with access. But access rights
>> could be
>> awarded on the basis of merit, say, to users who have written at least
>> one
>> Featured Article (Exzellenter Artikel, etc.), or have contributed 50
>> DYKs,
>> or what have you. This would actually provide users with a motivation
>> to
>> create quality content as well
>
> I object to this strongly. The FA, and DYK processes are absolutely
> useless as a measure of an editor's worth to the project. There's
> plenty of wikignomes and other mostly unrecognized editors that will
> be able to do more than someone just focused on brownie points. The
> only thing that should be a consideration is that the editor is
> committed enough to use the resources to improve articles, and that
> the editor doesn't already have access to the resources another way
> (like through their local library). FA and even DYK processes are too
> political on some wikis, at least from my experience on en - the
> process needs to be aimed at making sure regulars have resources, not
> about a reward for some token "achievement".
>
> If we have to base it on numbers, a pattern of contributions over
> several months is what we should look for - something that suggests
> the editor will keep contributing.
>
> -Stephanie

You are correct, of course. We don't need to adopt only one formula.
Expense, need of our projects, and capacity to use the information must
always be considered. Finer, better determination of such questions is
progressively either more expensive or labor intensive.

One good reason for individuals who receive access to pay a substantial
amount themselves; it would not be worth it if they were not highly
motivated to use the material.

We all, already, pay an entry fee (internet access). Much of our
vandalism comes from people who are granted gratis access, as at schools.

Fred