MAHansonSep 21, 2023

Wow. Ok. Normally I feel like it's a bit overplayed to individually comment on #MDPI in the whole #AcademicChatter conversation, but this is really a must-see:

A Special Issue where the guest editors are lead or senior author on 27 of the 28 papers it published. Were they also their own reviewers!? Like... that sounds like I'm taking the piss, but... no seriously were they?
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/processes/special_issues/Biologics_Botanicals

I guess this is a preview to an upcoming post. Look forward to it...

Processes

Processes, an international, peer-reviewed Open Access journal.

Show threadMAHanson

@Samuelmoore @petersuber @deevybee @brembs

It's old hat to talk about MDPI being this or that... but this is really a whole other level. I'm amazed. Hats off Jochen Strube and Axel Schmidt. True visionaries.

Sep 21, 2023 at 8:12pmWeb
Show threadAlbert CardonaSep 21, 2023

@MarkHanson @Samuelmoore @petersuber @deevybee @brembs

Is the target audience of these papers the administrators that do the bean counting and haven't yet learned what Goodhart's law is about? Because clearly it isn't scientists.

Show threadMAHansonSep 21, 2023
@albertcardona I mean... right now... I'm getting a lot of shock value entertainment out of them... so maybe I'm the target audience. 😅
Show threadBjörn BrembsSep 22, 2023

@albertcardona @MarkHanson @Samuelmoore @petersuber @deevybee

Probably the right guess.
This looks like blatant abuse to me. There have been similar abuses of entire journals (not just special issues) at various publishers over the decades. Off the top of my head: El Naschie
http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2008/11/chaos-solitons-and-self-promotion.html
There are many more.

Chaos, Solitons and Self-Promotion

Science News, Physics, Science, Philosophy, Philosophy of Science

Show threadHans ZaunerSep 22, 2023

@MarkHanson

"Processes is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We fully adhere to its Code of Conduct and to its Best Practice Guidelines."

- I'm pretty sure COPE's guidelines say that editors can't handle a manuscript (invite reviewers, make decisions) if they are a co-author.

Show threadMAHansonSep 22, 2023
@HansZauner Don't get me started on COPE 😂