Predatory journal list author faces ongoing harassment

Months after an academic librarian deleted lists of ‘predatory’ journals and publishers from his blog, a website with derogatory comments about his academic qualifications and mental health remains online, writes Carl Straumsheim for Inside Higher Ed.

Jeffrey Beall, scholarly communications librarian at the University of Colorado at Denver, for years maintained lists of scholarly journals and publishers he deemed “predatory” – meaning they abused open-access publishing practices for their own monetary gain. The lists, while controversial – one publisher threatened to sue Beall for US$1 billion – were a resource for many scholars wondering if the invitation to publish a paper or present at a conference sitting in their inbox was legitimate.

Beall in January removed the lists from his blog, scholarlyoa.com, reportedly because he “was forced to shut down [the] blog due to threats and politics”. Beall has declined to speak publicly about the decision. Scholarlyoa.net, however (note the different top-level domain), remains. The website, which records show was created in 2014, bills itself as a “critical analysis of Jeffrey Beall’s blog [on] open-access publishing” and goes on to label Beall an “academic terrorist”, a “predatory blogger” and an “alcoholic and drug addict” who “utilises his blog to extort open access journal publishers to feed his drug habits”.
Full report on the Inside Higher Ed site