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A list of low-quality science journals has been taken down without an apparent explanation:
A popular blog that lists "potential, possible, or probable predatory" publishers and journals has disappeared, but it is not clear why. The blog—started in 2010 by librarian Jeffrey Beall of the University of Colorado in Denver (CU Denver)—now states: "This service is no longer is available." Beall declined to comment. But a CU Denver spokesperson told ScienceInsider that Beall made a "personal decision" to take down his list of low-quality journals that charge authors a fee to publish, often with little or no review or editing. The spokesperson says the blog was not hacked, nor was it taken down as a result of legal threats, and Beall will remain on the school's faculty. The spokesperson could not confirm whether the blog's removal is permanent.
[...] Some are circulating a cached version of Beall's list on Twitter. Others speculated on social media that the shutdown may have something to do with the transfer of its lists to the company Cabell's International in Beaumont, Texas. But the firm has publicly said it is in "no way involved" with the blog's closure. Nevertheless, Cabell's noted that it has been developing its own blacklist, working with Beall as a consultant, since 2015, and plans to launch it later this year.
An executive at Cabell's later said that Beall shut down the blog due to "threats and politics". Here's some more analysis of the predatory publisher problem.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 23 2017, @03:34AM
I don't understand the need for this list, it seems to only be useful for people who want to do something they shouldnt be: blindly believe something they read somewhere.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by butthurt on Monday January 23 2017, @04:09AM
Judging by a few pages archived from his site (of which I was previously unaware), it looks to me as though the blogger explained, in at least some instances, his reasoning. He's a professional person and, unlike you or I, is forthright about his identity. Certainly one could follow his recommendations unthinkingly, or one could use them as a starting point for one's own inquiries into the quality of a publication.
If I may live up to my username for a moment: a blind person sometimes relies on the advice of people who are better informed; doing so isn't necessarily incautious. Being blind is an obvious limitation, but we all have limitations; for example our mortality means we have finite time.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 23 2017, @07:10AM
I dunno, no one who would need such a list is going to be able to productively read a paper. Identifying BS is a primary skill of reading the reports.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by shrewdsheep on Monday January 23 2017, @09:51AM
If I get an invitation to review a paper or a request for another service from a journal that I do not know, I first consult this list. You might say: if they ask for a review they might have bettered their way, however, I strongly believe that the companies behind these journals need to be punished as strongly as possible even if they are only partially malpracticing.