  Axions have for some time been considered a plausible candidate for dark
matter. They can be produced through misalignment, but it has been argued that
when inflation occurs before a Peccei-Quinn transition, appreciable production
can result from cosmic strings. This has been the subject of extensive
simulations. But there are reasons to be skeptical about the possible role of
axion strings. We review and elaborate on these questions, and argue that
parametrically strings are already accounted for by the assumption of random
misalignment angles. The arguments are base on considerations of the collective
modes of the string solutions, on computations of axion radiation in particular
models, and reviews of simulations.
