I have recently been quite confused about how to deal with questions asking for a copy of a specific published paper. These questions are usually tagged reference-request or paper-request (the latter apparently being the more appropriate tag).
In some cases, such as here and here, an answer provides a Dropbox link to a digital copy of the paper, and that answer is later accepted.
I see two possible issues with this:
- The link may eventually die, rendering the answer effectively useless, as happened here and here.
- If the paper is not otherwise available online, there may be copyright reasons for that.
So, are we actually allowed to share links to digital copies of published papers? If not, should questions requesting such copies be allowed in the first place?
I have had a similar experience myself. I once asked for a reference without success. I eventually obtained a copy of the paper, but I could not bring myself to post a link to it.
This post was prompted by a recent paper request. The author asked for someone to send the paper by email, which may be more copyright-friendly. However, requiring someone to share a personal email address creates a separate concern. Moreover, sending the paper privately does not help future readers who encounter the same problem, which seems to defeat part of the purpose of this site.
There is also a practical question: if someone sends the PDF privately, is it acceptable for them to post an answer such as "check your inbox" and receive reputation for it?
Related discussions:
- What to do when a post contains a "suspicious" link (possibly with copyrighted material)?
- Are Links to Articles Behind a Paywall Acceptable Answers?
- Is linking to sci-hub allowed on Stack Exchange network/MathOverflow?
- Paper request(s)
- Should this site be "a shortcut to substitute for literature searches"?
- Should "does anyone access this paper" questions be community-wiki?
Some unanswered paper requests:
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