[retcon]

>My advisor taught me that the point of a citation is not to give your opinion on which other papers are good or bad; it's to tell the editors which other scientists should be on your paper's review committee

As a professional consumer of academic papers paying commercial rates for decades I appreciate your candor profoundly. Nevertheless what you say is a statement at least of disingenuity and in my opinion prima facie admission of the existence of a defrauded system.