Open access has long been an ideal of academic publishing. Yet, contrary to initial expectations, cost of access to published scientific knowledge increased following the advent of the Internet and electronic processing. An analysis of the ethicality of current arrangements in academic publishing shows that monetization and the sequestering of scientific knowledge behind paywalls breach the principle of fairness and damage public interest. Following decades of failed effort to redress the situation, there are ethical grounds for consumers of scientific knowledge to invoke the right of collective civil disobedience, including support for pirate open access. Could this be the best option available to consumers of scientific knowledge for removing paywalls to knowledge that rightly belongs in the public domain?

中文翻译：

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作为电子公民不服从的盗版开放获取：违反货币化学术出版的付费墙是否合乎道德？

长期以来，开放获取一直是学术出版的理想选择。然而，与最初的预期相反，随着互联网和电子处理的出现，获取已发表科学知识的成本增加了。对当前学术出版安排的道德性的分析表明，付费墙背后的货币化和科学知识的隔离违反了公平原则并损害了公共利益。经过几十年的努力未能纠正这种情况，科学知识的消费者有道德理由援引集体公民不服从的权利，包括支持盗版开放获取。对于科学知识的消费者来说，这是否是消除理应属于公共领域知识的付费墙的最佳选择？