Machine Learning (journal)
Machine Learning, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, had been running for fifteen years when its own editors turned on its publisher. In 2001, forty of them resigned at once, taking their editorial credibility with them. They were not unhappy with the science. They were unhappy with the price of reading it. Their complaint named a problem that the internet had made newly visible: expensive, pay-access archives were holding researchers back. What kind of journal did they walk toward? And how did the publisher they left behind respond?
The Journal of Machine Learning Research had built its model on two commitments. Authors kept copyright over everything they submitted. Research archives were open and free on the internet, no subscription required. The editors who left Machine Learning argued that charging for archived papers was genuinely harmful to researchers in an internet age. When sharing a paper costs almost nothing, requiring readers to pay for access is a policy that concentrates knowledge rather than distributes it. JMLR stood as proof that a different approach was workable.
Kluwer, the publisher of Machine Learning, did not let the departure pass without response. Following the resignation, Kluwer changed its publishing policy. Authors were now permitted to self-archive their papers online after peer-review. This meant that once a paper passed review, its author could post a copy freely online. Readers who could not afford journal subscriptions could access the research directly. The journal continued publication after the policy shift, and has since been abstracted and indexed in several research databases.
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Common questions
When was the Machine Learning journal first published?
Machine Learning has been published since 1986. It is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in the field of machine learning.
Why did editors resign from the Machine Learning journal in 2001?
The editors argued that in the internet age, expensive pay-access archives were detrimental to researchers. They believed that distributing research online had become nearly costless, making subscription-based access an unnecessary barrier to the scientific community.
How many editors resigned from the Machine Learning journal in 2001?
Forty editors and members of the editorial board resigned together in 2001. The coordinated departure was a public protest against the journal's subscription-based access model.
What is the Journal of Machine Learning Research and how does it differ from the Machine Learning journal?
The Journal of Machine Learning Research is an open-access journal where authors retain copyright over their work and archives are freely available online to anyone. The editors who resigned from Machine Learning named it specifically as the model they supported as an alternative to pay-access publishing.
What policy did Kluwer change after the Machine Learning editor resignations?
Kluwer changed its policy to allow authors to self-archive their papers online after peer-review. This meant researchers could freely post accessible copies of their work once a paper had cleared the review process.
Is the Machine Learning journal indexed in research databases?
The Machine Learning journal is abstracted and indexed in several research databases. The journal continued publication after the 2001 editorial resignations and the policy changes that followed.
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4 references cited across the entry
- 2JournalMachine Learning's Editorial Board DividedPeek Robin — 1 December 2001
- 3Machine Learning
- 4Machine Learning – Abstracting and indexingSpringer Nature