At 13:30 20/04/2005 -0400, you wrote: > >I think this issue of access to journals (especially commercial ones that >tend to be more expensive) for scientists in developing countries is an >important one to address and discuss (and solve!) >
How about a quota system - say 2 papers per person per month? :) More seriously though, as i understand it this mailing list exists as a forum for the discussion of, and as a source of information relating to, our common area of research - crystallography. I guess the issue here is where this information is coming from. Is it reasonable for a member to request a paper relating to a crystallographic problem (asking for a paper not related to crystallography would seem a clear abuse to me)? Is it reasonable to ask for two papers? Three? At what point does it become an abuse? Would it be more appropriate to ask for the information contained within the paper rather than the paper itself? I seem to remember there was a thread a while ago relating to similar requests for information from cystallographic databases. I don't remember the conclusions drawn then, but i would guess they apply equally to this case. Slightly off-topic, i must say that i'm very sorry to hear of Robin Shirley's passing. I didn't know him well, but when i knocked on his office door unnanounced about 3 years ago to ask him a question relating to a diffraction problem i had, he welcomed me in and spent a considerable length of time going through it. I have subsequently ended up in the pub with him on several occasions since, with him memorably (and drunkenly) explaining on one occasion to our postgrad how simple fourier transforms are. He was a unique man. jools ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Julian Tolchard Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cecil Davis Lab Chemistry (C4) Tel: +44 (0)1483 689591 University of Surrey Guildford, GU2 5XH -----------------------------------------------------------------------
