Open Access options: community publishing, communityranking

Abstract

Open Access (OA) is increasingly gaining ground among the access methods of scientific publications, in addition to the subscription-based system. There are, however, many tasks waiting to be solved before we can definitely declare that OA has become THE access mode of scientific articles. Two questions are quite important to consider: can publisher-guided OA be replaced by an access resembling community media; further, how can authors be protected from becoming victims of fraud? Community publishing is not a new method. Several operating models are known around the world, but the ScienceOpen initiative raises this method onto a new level. This platform gives a chance for many readers to review an article within a short period of time. In areas with many contributors feedback is coming in relatively fast. The system allows that articles be rewritten, based on reactions. By the end of the process articles will have been peer-reviewed. The whole process is open, anyone can follow it up, and anyone can participate. Scientific standard is guaranteed by the serious professional criteria of the registration of participants. There is a huge pressure on authors to publish. Cheater OA journals (aka predatory journals) take advantage of this and try to elicit a good amount of money from unsuspicious authors. The Quality Open Access Market (QOAM) initiative, based on the Beall list, offers defence against predatory journals. It does not just list scientific journals to be avoided but groups and ranks them. QOAM is community-based: anyone whose professional profile corresponds to the platform’s criteria can register in the platform and can rank the scientific journals.