The advice recently given to aspiring authors (T.W. Durso, "Editors' Advice To Rejected Authors: Just Try, Try Again," The Scientist, Sept. 15, 1997, page 13) fosters an imperfect status quo. It fails to address those really troublesome problems that are particularly the bane of any newcomer to a field. Intentionally or not, Durso's article puts the onus subtly but firmly on authors to meet publishers' criteria, as though there are well-defined standards that may be met reliably by careful comp

J.M. Campanario has proposed (Letters, The Scientist, May 12, 1997, page 9) establishment of a "metajournal" to support a system of "journal scouting" as a means of salvaging unappreciated papers and of alleviating the author's burden in attempting publication. The aims appear laudable, but the proposed means are very suspect. Such a system would entrench middlemen and emphasize the relative impotence of authors; whereas reliable communication normally necessitates direction by the author. (Ima