I mean, if you consider how much a study costs to get to the point of publication, the publication costs are peanuts in comparison.

Fine! .csv.gz ftw!

The thing is, “research” doesn’t speak, humans do. If a tree falls in the woods… and so on. Part of being a scientist is communicating what you’ve done, otherwise no one else will know. It’s a skill that has to be developed in some more than others, and it was a key part of my training as a scientist. I don’t really like that part as much, but I do it because it’s what makes my work have any impact.

Are they smoking or ARE THEY POLYPEPTIDES??

They do different things. Microblog/follow people vs discussion forum/follow topics. Just because they share a protocol doesn’t mean it’s compatible at a practical or desirable level. I wouldn’t want microblogging coming to Lemmy personally.