But to access it, you need to login i.e. its not a resource for the profession but for members only.
Old-style professional societies aspire to be synonymous with the profession, and they work toward that by adding value that everyone in the profession will want.
Paying professional society dues is a normal thing in most professions. It isn't weird for the ACM to act this way; it's weird (or at least new) for people to want to work in a high-paying, technically specialized profession, not pay professional society dues, and still get all the benefits of a professional society. Hey, if you bring us that utopia, more power to you, but I don't see anything broken about the current model from an adult's point of view. Students and faculty get access through their university, and everyone else makes good enough money to pay ACM dues. The weak point is kids, who are excluded by the current system (which was never meant to work for kids) unless they live near a university.
Old-style professional societies aspire to be synonymous with the profession, and they work toward that by adding value that everyone in the profession will want.
Paying professional society dues is a normal thing in most professions. It isn't weird for the ACM to act this way; it's weird (or at least new) for people to want to work in a high-paying, technically specialized profession, not pay professional society dues, and still get all the benefits of a professional society. Hey, if you bring us that utopia, more power to you, but I don't see anything broken about the current model from an adult's point of view. Students and faculty get access through their university, and everyone else makes good enough money to pay ACM dues. The weak point is kids, who are excluded by the current system (which was never meant to work for kids) unless they live near a university.