[ECOLOG-L] Are reviews anonymous?

[David Anderson]

Another problem with the review process is that often a reviewer or  
associate editor will be considered sufficient authority to provide  
objective and accurate comments on a manuscript, yet often this is not  
the case.  They may be much less familiar with the material and its  
larger context than the author(s), but their opinions are given more  
weight because of their status or invited role in the review process.   
Therefore, comments by these persons may at times be misdirected or  
aligned outside the context or intent of the manuscript, or lacking  
sufficient perspective to appreciate the true strengths AND weaknesses  
of the manuscript. This casts doubt on the decision to accept or  
reject a paper, for which the author often has no recourse.  These  
decisions, as stated in previous emails, will affect famous or unknown  
authors differently, with good and bad papers being more likely  
accepted for the famous, and good and bad papers more likely to be  
rejected for the unknown.  It's hardly objective.

David Anderson