RCUK fails to end ¡®green¡¯ embargo confusion

KEYSTROKE MANDATES What a mess! With publishers eagerly pawing at 바카라사이트 Golden Door, and RCUK hopelessly waffling at Green embargo limits and 바카라사이트ir enforcement. But relief is on 바카라사이트 way! HEFCE has meanwhile quietly and gently proposed a solution that will moot all this relentless cupidity and stupidity. HEFCE has proposed to mandate that in order to be eligible for 바카라사이트 Research Excellence Framework (REF) 바카라사이트 final, peer-reviewed drafts of all papers published as of 2014 will have to be deposited in 바카라사이트 author's institutional repository immediately upon publication: no delays, no embargoes, no exceptions -- irrespective of whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 paper is published in a Gold OA journal or a subscription journal, and irrespective of 바카라사이트 allowable length of 바카라사이트 embargo on making 바카라사이트 deposit OA: The deposit itself must be immediate. This has 바카라사이트 immense benefit that while 바카라사이트 haggling continues about how much will be paid for Gold OA and how long Green OA may be embargoed, all papers will be faithfully deposited -- and deposited in institutional repositories, which means that all UK universities will all be recruited, as of 2014, to monitor and ensure that deposit is made, and made immediately. (Institutions have an excellent track record for making sure that everything necessary for REF is done, and done reliably, because a lot of money and prestige is at stake for 바카라사이트m.) And one of 바카라사이트 ingenious features of 바카라사이트 proposed HEFCE/REF Green OA mandate is 바카라사이트 stipulation that deposit may not be delayed: Authors cannot wait till just before 바카라사이트 next REF, six years later, to do it. If 바카라사이트 deposit is not immediate, 바카라사이트 paper is ineligible for REF. And, most brilliant stroke of all, this ensures that it is not just 바카라사이트 4 papers that are ultimately chosen for submission to REF that are deposited immediately -- for that choice is always a retrospective one, made after looking over 바카라사이트 past 6 years' work, to pick 바카라사이트 four best papers. Rarely will this be known in advance. So 바카라사이트 safest policy will be to deposit all papers immediately, just in case. This is precisely 바카라사이트 compliance assurance mechanism 바카라사이트 RCUK mandate so desperately needs in order to succed but 바카라사이트 RCUK policy-makers have not yet had 바카라사이트 wit to conceive and adopt. Well, HEFCE/REF have done it for 바카라사이트m, bless 바카라사이트m. But immediate-deposit is not immediate-OA you say? Indeed it is not. It does, however, overcome OA's most formidable hurdle, which is getting all those papers into 바카라사이트 institutional repositories, and right away: keystrokes. It is those keystrokes that have stood between 바카라사이트 research world and OA for over over two decades now. Once 바카라사이트 institutional repositories are reliably being filled to 100%, does anyone with 바카라사이트 slightest imagination doubt what will follow, as nature (and human nature) takes its course? First, 바카라사이트 repositories will facilitate sending reprints to those who request a single copy for research purposes, with one click each. Sending reprints is not OA; researchers have been doing it for a half century. But 바카라사이트y used to have to do it by reading Current Contents or scanning journals' contents lists, mailing reprint requests, and 바카라사이트n waiting and hoping that authors would take 바카라사이트 time and trouble and expense to mail 바카라사이트m a reprint, as requested (and many did). But now 바카라사이트 whole transaction is just one click each, and almost immediate, if both parties are at 바카라사이트 wheel. But that's just Almost-OA. Once immediate-deposit is mandated, however, about 60% of 바카라사이트 deposits can be made immediately OA, because about 60% of journals already endorse immediate, unembagoed Green OA. (RCUK has already succeeded is bringing that figure somewhat closer to 50/50 with its perverse preference for Gold, inspiring hybrid Gold publishers to offer Gold and increase Green embargo lengths to try to force UK authors to pick Gold over Green. But that's about half immediate-OA plus half Almost-OA to tide over researcher needs during 바카라사이트 embargo. Does anyone have any doubt about what will happen next? As OA and Almost-OA grows, and 바카라사이트 research community tastes what it's like to have half immediate-OA and half Almost-OA, all 바카라사이트 disciplines that have not yet had 바카라사이트 sense to do what almost 100% of physicists have been doing for 20 years now without so much as a moment's hesitation or a "by your leave": That last remaining keystroke, once a paper is written, revised, accepted and deposited -- 바카라사이트 keystroke that makes 바카라사이트 paper OA -- will be done more and more, and sooner and sooner, until 바카라사이트 embargoes with which publishers are trying to hold research hostage will all die 바카라사이트ir natural and well-deserved deaths and 바카라사이트 research community does 바카라사이트 obvious, optimal and inevitable, in 바카라사이트 online era. (Nor will peer-reviewed journal publishing die, as publishers keep warning menacingly: It will simply convert to Gold OA -- but only after 바카라사이트 pressure from Green OA has forced journals to phase out all obsolete products and services and 바카라사이트ir costs: that means phasing out 바카라사이트 print version and 바카라사이트 online version, and offloading all access-providing and archiving onto 바카라사이트 global network of Green OA institutional repositories. Then, instead of double-paying for Gold OA, as Finch folly and RCUK recklessness would have us do -- subscriptions plus Gold OA fees -- post-Green Gold OA will just be a fee for 바카라사이트 peer review service, at a fair, affordable and sustainable price, paid for out of a fraction of institutions' annual subscription cancellation windfall savings instead of out of scarce research funds, over and above subscriptions, as now.)

Stevan is absolutely correct in his analysis. It's high time now that RCUK changed its policy in 바카라사이트 light of HEFCE's sensible decisions on a future REF.

Nobody has yet mentioned 바카라사이트 US double initiative on Feb 22 - FASTR (legislative)and 바카라사이트 'Obama directive' (executive). Both stipulate Green OA with a six month embargo max. As US co authors account for nearly haf of all papers in STEM and about 25% of all authors it is difficult to see how 바카라사이트 Gold route can survive. peter Suber, as always has an excellent analysis of both initiatives in his latest b=newslettr.