It can cost quite a bit to get published, and yet many journals still have paywalls — while failing to filter out the ever-increasing supply of AI slop & other bad studies from paper mills. There are movements to address this, but Journals are very profitable
if you can't find a free version on any of the sites where free versions exist in abundance, you are simply not trying hard enough and don't want to read it bad enough. also, stop being a pussy and just email the author, no academic worth the name will say no. bitches love to get their work read.
I did my masters during 2020/21, I literally couldn't go to the library during my thesis, so my entire paper was put together by finding free versions, mostly through zlib or emailing authors. it isn't as convenient as having it at your fingertips, but it still takes very little effort.
Comments
https://seek.rockefeller.edu/scientific-publishing-needs-fixing-but-how/