Declan Butler on PLOS

["Joseph J. Esposito" <espositoj@gmail.com>]

Declan Butler's recent piece on the PLOS business model was cited 
on this list.  I think Butler is attempting to hold PLOS to a 
standard that few publishers attain, including Butler's own 
employers at the Nature Publishing Group.

What PLOS is doing (whether you like the practice or not) is 
simple brand extension.  There are highly presitigious and 
selective PLOS publications, whose aura is being transferred to a 
new program, PLOS One, which has a different editorial 
methodology.  We are all familiar with this; most members of this 
list work with Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Internet Explorer, 
Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel; renegades may own an iMac, 
iPod, and and iPhone.  The Nature Publishing Group has been among 
the most aggressive STM publishers in extending its brand to new 
publications. Indeed, a rival of Nature wryly remarked to me 
(enviously, perhaps?) that Nature had put its name onto so many 
publications that he was awaiting the announcement for "Nature 
Nature."

PLOS is not above criticism, but let's not insist that an OA 
service compete with toll-access publishers on what are truly 
spurious grounds.

Joe Esposito