[chrisseaton]

> It’s truly horrific that as an interested layman I am completely UNABLE to read most scientific papers.

You can usually find a pre-print by Googling the title.

Or ask the author for a copy.

(You shouldn't have to do this, but you can until all papers are open access anyway.)

[andi999]

Why is it legal for the author to send you a copy (asking as an author)

[chrisseaton]

They usually send you a 'pre-print' which (in their opinion - I'm not a lawyer) is not subject to the same copyright as the final reversion which was sent to review.

[andi999]

Thanks. Any sources for their opinion? Probably I shd read the copyright release form in more detail, but if you think terms of copyright this won't fly.

[Someone]

With at least some of the major publishers, it nowadays is even legal to put the final paper on a public web site or the Archiv.

https://www.springernature.com/gp/authors/how-to-share:

“Authors publishing via subscription models may also self-archive a copy of the accepted version of their manuscript (post-peer review, but prior to copy-editing and typesetting) in an institutional or subject repository, where it can be made openly accessible after an embargo period, in accordance with the relevant Springer Nature self-archiving policy (Nature, Springer, or Palgrave Macmillan)”

(More info at https://www.nature.com/nature-portfolio/editorial-policies/s...)

https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/sharing:

“Accepted Manuscript

Authors can share their accepted manuscript:

Immediately

- via their non-commercial personal homepage or blog

- by updating a preprint in arXiv or RePEc with the accepted manuscript

- via their research institute or institutional repository for internal institutional uses or as part of an invitation-only research collaboration work-group

- directly by providing copies to their students or to research collaborators for their personal use

- for private scholarly sharing as part of an invitation-only work group on commercial sites with which Elsevier has an agreement

After the embargo period

- via non-commercial hosting platforms such as their institutional repository

- via commercial sites with which Elsevier has an agreement“*

(Seems a bit less constrained than SpringerNature)

[chrisseaton]

> but if you think terms of copyright this won't fly

Wooah there I'm not giving any legal advice. Ask a lawyer.

[gmueckl]

Even if it is potentially technically illegal, I don't know about anyone who tried to stop it. Note that some release forms explicitly allow author's versions of the covered work for download on the author's website. There's usually a stipulation that they need to be different in some way, for example by not using the same formatting template as the journal/conference version of the paper.

[aurizon]

The journals always want their 'pound of flesh' as Shakespeare spins in his grave.... Some insights:- https://www.editage.com/insights/what-are-the-differences-be...

[gmueckl]

I don't see any new insights on the page that you linked. I personally signed copyright transfer forms that allowed for author's versions. There were some conditions that I don't remember in detail. But the gist is that a commercial publisher still allowed me to have a version of the article text online.