“Fair” Pricing Is a Euphemism
cOAlition S spends more to get a lousy Excel spreadsheet and euphemisms concealing an elitist program of top-down uniformity
As part of its ongoing spending spree, cOAlition S hired a UK consultancy (Information Power) to conduct a survey of pricing practices and construct a framework academic publishers could use to achieve “fair” universal pricing. This included building a tool, which proved to be an Excel spreadsheet of such laughable quality that I actually slapped my forehead in bemusement when it downloaded and opened. (Not only is it Excel instead of an online form, but it is cumbersome to use and poorly built, and even the “dummy data” in it is inaccurate.)
The project reeks of OA politics, even down to the password to unlock the Excel spreadsheet — which is another euphemism you may know and love . . . “Equity.”
And, yes, the “E” has to be capitalized. It is “Equity” with a capital “E”!