Your PhD is obviously not in history. Academia itself would not exist if what you said was fundamentally true. The assertion to placate the layman with the response "still enough to educate yourself and attempt to contribute" is simply laughable. If you fear getting shitty research from people -- that's fine -- but I believe that the current journal system addresses that fear, or at least attempts to.

There was not really an assertion that "randos-at-home" are the equivalent of academics - only an assertion that they could and do provide great value again and again and again. Every goddamn century people come out of the fucking woodwork and shock the world; Ramanujan anyone?

With all that being said - I believe in the right of the data owners/distributors in choosing whatever 'licensing' they want.