TMLR swamped by submissions, quizzes 10 authors to prove papers are their own

ylecun · x · 2026-09-19

The open journal TMLR says it has faced a deluge of submissions and is tightening desk-rejection policies due to limited reviewer capacity. Togelius notes that two fairness ideas in publishing — anyone can submit anywhere, with anonymous evaluation — never scaled well and are now breaking down completely.

In a striking move, co-EiC Nihar Shah reached out to authors of 10 papers slated for desk rejection and asked them to answer questions about their own submissions — a test of whether the work is truly theirs.

Related event: TMLR Editor Warns AI-Assisted Paper Flood Drives Desk Rejection to 53%(6 posts)→

Original post →

More from Research

Research channel →