This. Journals aren't science. They aren't even good for science. They create the wrong incentives for scientific publishing and are a primary driver of the replication crisis.
Open forums with science publishing for the sake of science should be the direction of travel, but we see a trajectory towards gatekeeping infected by corporate profiteering.
Same with assuming that prestigious schools are more likely to produce amazing research. I have found the absolute worst papers from otherwise respectable ivies. A case of someone buying their PhD, I assume.
Open forums with science publishing for the sake of science should be the direction of travel, but we see a trajectory towards gatekeeping infected by corporate profiteering.