Slop papers leave a public trail: reviewers remember, and it can sink your research career
cocoweixu · x · 2026-09-22
- A faculty member echoes a viral tweet: publishing at ICLR/ICML isn't a big differentiator, but a public record of low-quality submissions can hurt your career. Senior community members can gradually tell who optimizes for paper count over quality, and those names come up in gossip.
- Anka Reuel adds a first-hand case: while serving as PC last year, she saw a known author submit 8 slop papers, all rejected — and senior reviewers are often the same people you'll apply to for grad school or jobs.
- Takeaway: research is a long-term game; don't become the person people negatively talk about.
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