Ulrich Herb explores this question in a new blog post, based on a talk he gave on 16 March 2026 at the 89th Annual Conference of the German Physical Society (DPG), Spring Meeting of the Matter and Cosmos Section (SMuK): “Diamond Open Access: Misconceptions, Systemic Constraints, Potentials.”
In the blog post, he discusses:
- The moving target of what “counts” as Diamond OA (scholar‑led, non‑profit, CC licences, Subscribe‑to‑Open, etc.)
- The prestige economy that still governs researchers’ publishing decisions despite widespread sympathy for Open Access
- Why community‑grown initiatives like LIPIcs or SciPost suggest a viable, but clearly niche, role for Diamond OA
Full analysis, data points and examples are on Ulrich’s blog: Diamond Open Access: A Boutique Model for Scholarly Publishing? - pulse49.com
Ulrich asks, ‘would you currently describe Diamond Open Access in your field more as a niche experiment or as a serious strategic option?’
Please share your thoughts in the comments below 