Secrets: Difference between revisions

[[File:Creation date of diamond journals.jpg|thumb|Timeline of the amount of journals that are created that are open access and do not charge readers or authors. By using Sci-hub you essentially cause a risk of bankruptcy of closed-access systems, which would force the academic world to use open access systems like these in the first place, which may not necessarily be a bad thing.]]

Using Sci-hub can not be recommended, as it illegally gives you access to vast numbers of otherwise closed-access articles that you would otherwise have to pay to view. In the same manner, if your hospital blocks access to Sci-hub, or if you are worried about cyber-police, it cannot be recommended to use your own smartphone to access such articles, potentially using VPN to browse anonymously. It can be argued, however, that using Sci-hub is ethically right if you access an article through Sci-hub that you wouldn't have paid for anyway, and that you cause an overall good effect in the world when you use the knowledge therein to help others.