@zleap @ScienceMagazine And if so, so what? What an accusation to level at someone.

Excellent writing and rigor are not conflicting forces, and I'm frankly sick of people (not you in particular) trying to convince me that the status quo of most academic communication is acceptable. It is abysmal, and you need only a cursory web search to see how many researchers acknowledge the rotten "style" of modern academese, while vastly too few actually are willing to take a risk to write well in the face of the deluge of drivel they have to wade through.

Most researchers actually appreciate well written, compelling and evocative research articles (see Helen Sword's Academic Style guide for reference). And frankly, I would argue it should be a requirement for publication. The fact that we use convoluted language as the proverbial lispstick for the poorly-executed-research pig is indicative of what we value as researchers: more than truth or doing good, solid, hypothesis-driven research, we value the veneer of erudition as a shibboleth that obscures the meaning of the work to everyone but those who are in our tiny, siloed off, fiefdoms.

The fact that some researchers want their work to be readable by the masses rather being filtered through the "Science Communicators" who often bastardize the message is an amazing thing. Anti-intellectual sentiment is rising in many areas, and a disdain for "basic" research is following it. What better way to correct for this than to write and publish your papers in an accessible way such that the people actually funding your research can know what is being done with those tax dollars? It doesn't take much extra effort, and the payoff is amazing for everyone.

Open Access is not just about the paywall, it's about making our work accessible on as many levels as possible. If that means writing a companion article, annotating your equations, or deviating from the 3rd person passive laden academese, then do it. Everyone will be better off for it, our societies will thank us, and we can do it while maintaining rigor.