In light of the ongoing debate on Open Access’ (OA) usefulness, many have discussed on its implications. By now, we should have understood the good and bad sides of OA.
As mentioned in my previous post, despite the negative effects of implementing OA, it could possibly create opportunities for firms to unlock untapped potential. For instance, paywalls restricts users from information and users can only find out if the contents are useful to them after subscribing. Many argued that OA is not a sustainable model as publishers and content producers (CP) might not profit much. To tackle that issue, Klarissa suggested the “Freemium business model” Spotify undertakes, which offers services for free and allows users to have the option to upgrade for more features. There you go – a model that addresses to organisation’s and user’s needs.
I agree with Wan Sia that OA “promotes access at the expense of quality” as it gives rise to ethical concerns. Even online journals accept fake paper without peer-reviewing thoroughly. Many argued the idea behind the increase in irrelevant and unreliable information online hinders the “process of retrieving reliable sources”. In my opinion, we should not associate it with implications of OA. Internet has endless possibilities, anyone is free to publish anything online. I believe the ability to source for “quality and credible” information is based on one’s judgement to evaluate.
Li Ting raised a good point that there is “a fine line between inspiration and plagiarism“. We can still be inspired and influenced in many ways. OA provides an avenue for people to leverage on what is readily available and create more value.
However, is there really a need to make contents free for all? WanNi‘s post taught me we should not demand for free access just because it “benefits us”. Instead, think of what truly matters.
It is hard to find a system that is completely perfect, let’s be contented with what is available and appreciate the efforts. Nevertheless, I would still support the idea of OA, because I believe in new possibilities.
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CHAI.XL 