[temp8964]

If what you said is true, then it seems unreasonable to make the whole thing depends on her. Isn't it? So not only we need distributed storage of the database / files, we also need distributed method to update the database / files.

[wongarsu]

Sure, but that's hard to do in the face of bad actors (Elsevier etc) who have the law on their side. Making sure that sci-hub changes academic publishing before academic publishing changes sci-hub seems more achievable.

[nlitened]

Yes. Unfortunately, not that many free countries are left on earth, where one can download and distribute scientific papers without getting into jail.

[jjoonathan]

Non-cooperation with US authorities is a very different thing from general freedom. I wouldn't conflate the two unless I was intentionally trying to shill for RU or CN. In the case of scientific publishing, the US authorities are in the wrong and I'm glad their reach does not extend everywhere.

[DiggyJohnson]

> I wouldn't conflate the two unless I was intentionally trying to shill for RU or CN.

This sounds like some "... assuming your not a Red ..." Cold War-era dialogue to me.

Is that really the best way of expressing your point about the differences between personal freedom and non-cooperation with US law.

[scoopertrooper]

OP's point was that Russia and China are objectively less free than America, but yet they are the centres for academic copyright infringement.

To suggest that China or Russia were in any way more free than America, would be intellectually dishonest and could only be explained someone acting as a shill.

I'm not from America and I am clear-eyed about its foibles, but being more free than either of the aforementioned countries is a pretty low bar to cross.