The whole “publish or perish” culture is the main culprit - researchers in some countries litterally get cash bonuses for each paper, regardless of quality.
the scientist themselves sometimes freely give the articles if asked/emailed, but when they have to publish its paywalled, if your not faculty or student of a university system.
Academic publishing has always been a racket.
Universities need to run their own journals that trade on their reputations.
The whole “publish or perish” culture is the main culprit - researchers in some countries litterally get cash bonuses for each paper, regardless of quality.
the scientist themselves sometimes freely give the articles if asked/emailed, but when they have to publish its paywalled, if your not faculty or student of a university system.