Stephen Downes

The point behind this brief post is to ensure that authors get the critical elements of their work into the open commons before submitting it in such a way that would lead to it being locked down behind a paywall. "Some researchers and teachers who are concerned about their publicly funded research reports, teaching materials and data becoming locked into restrictive publishing arrangements, are using the Commons to develop and publish the elements of the project before going to the private publishers." Another way of looking at it: you can feel less concerned about publishing using a commercial publisher if the major elements of your work are inj the commons.