[zvrba]

> It's a shock because people are used to uploading their papers in final published form

How common is this? Aren't people used to reading what they're agreeing to before they sign a contract? Because:

> but I don't think it's a crazy thing for Elsevier to do

I don't think that either. Elsevier _clearly_ defines the terms ("accepted author's manuscript", "final published version", etc.) in their contract and clearly states what you're allowed to do with each one. For example, click on the "Author posting" tab on this link:

http://www.elsevier.com/journal-authors/author-rights-and-re...

I'm not a fan of the big publishers, I'd be very happy if all journals became open access overnight, but the original article is on a witch-hunt on Elsevier and they didn't even fully check the facts first.