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| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2025
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| Sujets: | |
| Accès en ligne: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.13256 |
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| _version_ | 1866911007341805568 |
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| author | Bara, Marc |
| author_facet | Bara, Marc |
| contents | The promise of "free and open" multi-terabyte datasets often collides with harsh realities. While these datasets may be technically accessible, practical barriers -- from processing complexity to hidden costs -- create a system that primarily serves well-funded institutions. This study examines accessibility challenges across web crawls, satellite imagery, scientific data, and collaborative projects, revealing a consistent two-tier system where theoretical openness masks practical exclusivity. Our analysis demonstrates that datasets marketed as "publicly accessible" typically require minimum investments of \$1,000+ for meaningful analysis, with complex processing pipelines demanding \$10,000-100,000+ in infrastructure costs. The infrastructure requirements -- distributed computing knowledge, domain expertise, and substantial budgets -- effectively gatekeep these datasets despite their "open" status, limiting practical accessibility to those with institutional support or substantial resources. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_13256 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Accessibility Barriers in Multi-Terabyte Public Datasets: The Gap Between Promise and Practice Bara, Marc Computers and Society Digital Libraries Information Retrieval 68P20, 91D30 H.3.7; K.4.3 The promise of "free and open" multi-terabyte datasets often collides with harsh realities. While these datasets may be technically accessible, practical barriers -- from processing complexity to hidden costs -- create a system that primarily serves well-funded institutions. This study examines accessibility challenges across web crawls, satellite imagery, scientific data, and collaborative projects, revealing a consistent two-tier system where theoretical openness masks practical exclusivity. Our analysis demonstrates that datasets marketed as "publicly accessible" typically require minimum investments of \$1,000+ for meaningful analysis, with complex processing pipelines demanding \$10,000-100,000+ in infrastructure costs. The infrastructure requirements -- distributed computing knowledge, domain expertise, and substantial budgets -- effectively gatekeep these datasets despite their "open" status, limiting practical accessibility to those with institutional support or substantial resources. |
| title | Accessibility Barriers in Multi-Terabyte Public Datasets: The Gap Between Promise and Practice |
| topic | Computers and Society Digital Libraries Information Retrieval 68P20, 91D30 H.3.7; K.4.3 |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.13256 |