[SXX]

Yes they doing illegal things, her goals might be horrible or or awful and you might have right ideas. Problem is that all around the globe scientist need this problem solved ASAP and they need access to papers today, right now.

It's enough that few companies like Disney absolutely abused copyright. Yet we can live with it as long as it's just entertainment. Ok, they also put some horrible broken crap like DRM and DMCA and bunch of other things in our lives. Still it's not very important and might be after 10 years it's will be fixed somehow.

This is not the case for science. I can't even explain how wrong it could be to delay progress for years until "proper solution" is there. It's simply not acceptable. Sci-Hub might be illegal crutch, but it's important to have it.

I think good analogy for Sci-Hub would be Uber. It's might be absolutely hateful company for many here on HN that break every rule imaginable. Yet it's significally improved quality of life for millions of people and pushed taxi companies all around the globe to improve service.

PS: Also if you live in the US you might truly don't understand problems Sci-Hub solve, but there are people in ex-USSR who doing science on salary of $300 / month and they have no budget whatsoever on any papers. It's that bad. Yet some of these people still contribute.

[Fins]

Being from exUSSR, and knowing quite a few people who are trying to do science there, I would say that the whole Dynasty incident perfectly demonstrates what Sci-Hub (or Elbakyan at least, but she's Sci-Hub's public face, so same difference...) is about. Progress of humankind it ain't.

I also don't think this is the case when ends justify the means. But stealing is much easier than trying to change copyright laws, let alone setting up a proper alternative publishing system, so there we have it.