A disagreement has flared up in the JISC Repositiories discussion list following the publication of this item suggesting that Jimmy Wales is being brought in to consult on the open standards that will have to be agreed upon and implemented in order for open access to be a success. A leading proponent of open access, Stevan Harnad, erupted in disagreement, saying "Wikipedia is based on the antithesis of peer review. Asking JW to help make sure peer-reviewed research is available to all is like asking McDonalds to help the UK Food Standards Agency make sure that wholesome food is available to all." Of course this raises the question of whether open access and peer review need necessraily be tied together. But while I may disagree with Harnad on the details, there is a flavour of "we just discovered open access and now need a famous face" aspect to this story.
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