#2085: arXiv

XKCD comic, described below.
Transcript

[Megan and Ponytail are standing together. Megan is talking to Ponytail.]

Megan: Wait, all the papers in your field are posted as free PDFs on arXiv? That must be killing big science journals, since they charge such huge subscription/publication fees.

[Ponytail responds with her arms wide, palms up.]

Ponytail: Nah, we’ve been doing it since the 90s and nobody seems to care.

[Megan contemplates, speechless.]

[Megan slightly raises her arms and Ponytail puts up a hand to shush her.]

Megan: That makes no sense at all!!

Ponytail: Shhh, you’ll jinx it!


(Sourced from explainxkcd.com)

Title text:Both arXiv and archive.org are invaluable projects which, if they didn't exist, we would dismiss as obviously ridiculous and unworkable.


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