No. 111/2020

15 HUMBOLDT KOSMOS 111/2020 think the public nature of networks is integral to their inclu- sivity because they allow individuals who are simply scan- ning for resources to connect with a community that they may not have otherwise found and had access to. But I think as well, it allows people who may not be members of a cer- tain identity group to listen in to topics of interest or per- haps be an advocate for these groups,” says Montgomery. Looked at historically, novel networks are usually linked to technological developments. This also holds true for the world of science and especially its digital networks. The dig- ital science platforms ResearchGate and Academia.edu, for example, have more than 15 and 108 million registered users respectively. According to ResearchGate, some 10,000 researchers, who are merely required to state to which insti- tution they are affiliated when they register, log on every day. They want to contact each other and gain access to the papers that are available so quickly there because they do not have to go through the protracted editing and redact- ing processes at a publisher’s. A broad mass of users has THE PUBLIC NATURE OF DIGITAL NETWORKS IS THE KEY TO MORE DIVERSITY.” “ ›