Macilwain's astute article (BioScience 63: 7–11) on the status of open-access publishing is a welcome summary of recent developments and associated major issues being vigorously debated. One gets the strong impression that the big questions are centered on profits for the big corporate publishers and support for this from governmental and private granting institutions. The essay, however, does not explicitly mention the large number of research scientists, from all parts of the world, who are working with little or no grant support. For them, support for open-access publication can mainly come only from their own institutions or their own pockets. Traditionally, of course, this component of the scientific community depends heavily on publication through their professional societies and associated journals. If this route is phased out without the finding of some realistic alternative, this major segment of the scientific enterprise will be hard pressed to survive. We need to come up with a more comprehensive open-access scheme that accommodates all aspects of good science, not just the well-funded parts.