That's a great point, I've reached out to researchers a few times to ask about their research and they have all freely just shared the work with me.

My paper was published in MDPI open access and then a whole heap of publishing companies came along, stole it, and now charge money for it. And they're the ones you get first if you search for it in Google Scholar.

I'm so mad. I was proud of that and wanted people to see it, but now 90% of people who come across it will incorrectly think its behind a paywall and not bother.