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This is a follow-up/correction of this previous question (which I cannot alter since it has been answered, but was advised to ask a new question instead).

Of course, journal publication has its costs, but some journals/publishers charge excessively from their authors at a rate much higher than necessary to cover the costs, say in excess of 2000$/£/€ per paper.

In times past, the purpose of journals was the dissemination of research results, but now this can be done online (e.g. via the arXiv), so the only remaining purpose of journals is the peer review process. In other words, peer review is the only remaining important part of article processing.

If this is so, shouldn't the reviews get appreciated in a way that reflects their benefit to the publisher? (For example via vouchers that can be used in lieu of (part of) a publication charge.)

Should one keep reviewing for such journals (that charge authors excessively) if they fail to offer appropriate appreciation?

Walter
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    This seems to be an opinion based question, and hence, off-topic. My opinion, I suspect, is different from yours. Review is a service to the profession. It offers benefits to early career academics especially. – Buffy Mar 26 '24 at 13:10
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    Clearly there is a business opportunity to build a high quality, well cited journal that charges less than the $2000 you have picked. But you should run the numbers. People cost a lot (and they cost more than what their paycheck says). As does all the infrastructure supporting them. – Jon Custer Mar 26 '24 at 13:27
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    @JonCuster And the more selective a journal is (i.e. the more papers they reject vs accept), the more money they papers they accept need to "earn" in order to cover the costs of handling the rejected papers (even a desk rejection takes somebody's time and effort, not to mention papers which go through peer review and are rejected on the advice of the reviewers). I would imagine that high-quality journals (with high rejection rates) would need to charge more (which is disjoint from scammy journals charging a lot, but still relevant...?). – Xander Henderson Mar 26 '24 at 13:37
  • @XanderHenderson - absolutely correct. Good people and good service are not cheap. – Jon Custer Mar 26 '24 at 13:41

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As a rule of thumb, I review for journals that I publish in. I know these journals the best, and, agree with their publishing standards.

This would also cover your situation.

Richard Erickson
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