It's Not Me, It's You

In the past two days, I sent some requests out for some papers/preprints. Invariably, I get a very kind email back with the attendant paper and a word saying that the author like the blog. As much as I can feature papers that are behind a paywall, I don't like it. I am going to go with the opposite of George Constanza on this one: It's not me, it's you, Sure, I could read your paper and be thrilled, but what about those 50 to 500 potential readers that the blog can provide to your paper ?. I want you to be a rock star, not some curiosity behind some walled garden. If you think you cannot put your work on your personal web site, then please reconsider your position in light the Sherpa/Romeo database. This database provides a summary of your self-archiving rights. For instance, here is the result for the American Astronomical Society or the Optical Society of America. Given that, you might also be interested in patronizing the green publishers for your next paper. Remember even your future employer or your tenure track committee know how to search on the web these days. What are you waiting for ?

Related advice: Nobody Cares About You and Your Algorithm