If we don’t uphold minimal reviewing standards, what does that say about our commitment to quality and integrity in research?

Science deserves better.

But if we can’t find the time to carefully review a manuscript, we should decline the request—or deliver a thorough review, but late.
Peer review is the backbone of science. A superficial review isn’t just unhelpful; it undermines the entire process.

Yet, neither the two authors, two reviewers, nor the guest associate editor noticed.
This highlights a worrying trend: reviewing without reading.

Yes, we’re all busy, and yes, the flood of papers feels relentless.

As editor of a computer science journal, I recently encountered a troubling incident: a paper recommended for acceptance had untranslated Russian in four tables. This wasn’t subtle—it immediately stood out typographically without even needing to study the text.