Lenten reflections on the OA year

From: N. Miradon <nmiradon_at_YAHOO.FR>
Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 02:29:39 -0500

Lent is a time for reflection and for self-criticism. Today, 4 March, is the
second Sunday in Lent.

I reflect that the Open Access movement has not been idle. But I conclude
that results have fallen very short.

This Forum has been busy. In 2007, fifty three persons have already posted
257 messages (59.890 lines of text). In 2006 one hundred and thirty one
people posted 869 messages (160.661 lines of text) - though 431 of those
messages (72.719 lines) came from one person. But most of this was sectarian
debate between OA-Gold-believers, and OA-Green-believers, and
OA-other-believers. The debate failed to reach the agnostics, the don't
knows, and the don't cares.

There was a Petition for guaranteed public access to publicly-funded
research results. 1.763.995 of Europe's 1.786.971 researchers have still not
signed.

There was a "Communication from the European Commission to the European
Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee on
Scientific Information in the Digital Age: Access, Dissemination and
Preservation". The OA movement completely failed to comprehend the
Commission's strategy and tactics.

Therefore the following day, when the European Commission held a vast and
expensive conference on "Scientific information in the digital age", the new
and concrete results were - nothing.

For the debate in the European Council, the Open Access movement has
prepared - nothing.

For the debate in the European Parliament, the Open Access movement has
prepared - nothing.

Sadly

N. Miradon
Received on Mon Mar 05 2007 - 13:07:38 GMT