[7777777phil]

Elsevier had no reason to stop this. Inflated citations mean higher impact factors, and higher impact factors justify higher subscription prices. Lucey published 56 papers in one year, the publisher got better metrics to sell. Hard to call that a rogue actor..

[jcattle]

> Elsevier had no reason to stop this

If Elsevier had no reason to stop this, why did they stop this?

[ceejayoz]

They had no reason to stop this until it became publicly embarrassing for them.

[science_casual]

Right — and once someone is pumping out 56 papers/year, the journal becomes dependent on their output. Who in the chain is going to flag a problem that looks like productivity from every direction?