[csydas]

I think the difference here is that the system itself is vestigal; JSTOR et. al. made sense when there was not a convenient collection or distribution method for journals, but at this point, such groups are not providing any actual benefit that could not be replicated for an extremely minimal cost by the journals themselves, or just abandoning the cost altogether. Already, many fields have started publishing pre-prints for free on various sites and the model works fine.

I appreciate caution as much as the next person, but we've been operating with the natural alternatives for some time now without any issues; the incentives for researchers and universities when it comes to publishing articles hasn't really changed, nor has the incentive for the the public (academics or otherwise) that want to consume them. The only part of this system that has an incentive to keep the old system is the publishers themselves, because they're no longer a required component. Their infrastructure and their pricing schemes are no longer beneficial and have been replaced, while the incentives for the researchers publishing and the audience consuming are provided and met by the replacement systems.

Removing the publishers isn't a hammer destroying it from the top-down, it's an appendectomy like prodecure.