I’ve completed the derivative spreadsheet columns (that is, data derived from or based on other data in the spreadsheet) and prepared the outline, so now I’m gearing up to (that is, procrastinating on) writing the actual book/C&I issue, a long but rewarding process. And this question is serious:
I encountered 65 gold OA journals (in DOAJ) that either McAfee Side Adviser or Malwarebytes or Office 2013 flagged as being or containing possible or probable malware. Since I was actually infected by a nasty virus last year that was present on at least three different journal sites, I consistently flagged these journals as “XM”–excluded as malware–and did not attempt to analyze them. (Unless somebody wants to give me a Chromebook, there’s no way I’m going to ignore malware warnings…)
In general, I don’t name names in this project–neither journal names nor publishers. That’s not what it’s about.
But in this case I’m sorely attempted to make an exception: These 65 journals have sites managed so badly that they’re flagged as being or containing malware or phishing attempts. I think that’s pretty much unforgivable.
The question:
Should I name these journals in the book/Cites & Insights issue, now tentatively titled The Gold OA Landscape 2011-2014?
Comments welcome here or directly to me, waltcrawford@gmail.com. I’ll need to decide by mid-September.