Accessing *any* Research Article, for free

As a scientist and philosophos, I have always believed that knowledge should be as easily accesible to the public as possible, especially when public funds are often dedicated to public and private insititutions. It is non-sensical to then have to pay to access the literature that we have funded.

Previously, before the rise of the internet and rapid developments of electronic appliances the publishing companies needed the cash flow to print out research journals and distribute them to various libraries to be accessed by other scientists.  This is hardly the case any more. While publishing companies still provide valuable services (such as peer-reviewing studies), most of the logistical and economical reasonings behind ridiculous paywalls (e.g 50$ to access a study) have evaporated. In fact, what they now do is cripple universities and independent researchers by demanding exorbitant yearly subscription fees. To add insult to injury, the researchers who conducted the study receive pitiful compensation in return for their labours.                                    

Having said that, there is a site that unlocks practically *any* research article.

The Website: http://sci-hub.cc/

How does it work?

Let me demonstrate.

Suppose that I've recently developed an interest in the treatment of childhood epilepsy. Naturally I search the available literature for the best evidence and land on this study by the prestigious Lancet journal:

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(08)70092-9/fulltext

And then I'm faced with a paywall of 31.5$.

I copy the URL and paste it in the sci-hub page and press the "key" button on the right.

This leads me to another "prove you're human" page, where after typing out the word I see I press the download button on the left hand side.

Now I have full access to the article. The almost comedic aspect of all this is that this method is actually *easier* and more time saving than inserting my username and password of my institution's account every time I want to access a study or piece of research.

Final words:

I find it disgusting when academics and their students (particularly from many institutions that struggle financially) cannot access scientific papers, and quite often can't access the papers THEY published. For that reason and the reasons stated above, I find it morally and ethically just to use this website, to pressurize the publishing companies into reviewing and adjusting their prices.

Thank you for the read, I hope this helps you in your journey to find the truth.

P.S: I would really appreciate it if you could share and distribute the information on this post. 

Help the scientists, the sceptics, the inquisitive! 

(Re-posted as I've added a banner and fixed some spelling mistakes).