[phonebucket]

While I agree that academic fraud is a blight upon academia, this comment generalises over many thousands of academics.

> _nobody_ cares about any of this. Universities don't care, journals don't care, peers don't care, nobody within the academic system cares.

Please be mindful about generalising over such a large number of people. Maybe those who care have little power to do anything about it.

[GauntletWizard]

Academia is far from a democracy, but it's far from being a totalitarian hellscape, either. Nobody gets that far without the significant consent of those around him.

Maybe somebody cares, but an awful lot don't.

[fidgewidge]

Yes, there are people who care. But they tend to get disgusted and leave, so I think it's fair to say that ~nobody in academia cares. We know they'll write open letters and organize outrage mobs at the drop of a hat if a conservative speaker is invited to campus, where is the similar behavior over scientific misconduct?

[getoffmycase]

People care. A lot people care very deeply. The problem is that those whose care powerless and there is no incentive to fighting the system. If we try, we risk our careers.

[fidgewidge]

I mean, yes at some level I totally agree, universities will not back you up if you complain about misconduct or poor work. Absolutely.

At the same time, we (outsiders) see academics set up massive political and pressure campaigns against the public, politicians and each other - that aren't directly sanctioned by the management - and this seems to happen all the time. Academics are some of the most powerful members of society. They are one of the few groups whose collective beliefs are actively dangerous to criticize in public. So the idea that they're all powerless victims in this regard is just so hard to take seriously. If the academy really wanted to, it could hold its own staff to account just like it does over the ideology of the day.