Review
Editorial accountability
Who answers for a decision, and what a decision contains.
Who signs a decision
Acceptances are reviewed and signed by a named editor, who is accountable for the decision. All other outcomes are issued under the rule that produced them, applying the same published criteria. The rule is named to the author, so that any decision can be traced to its stated ground.
What a decision contains
The result is stated plainly at the top. The reasons follow in ordinary sentences, with the relevant check named beneath each. Every outcome other than acceptance states what would change the result.
Correcting a decision
Decisions may be appealed on factual grounds, including a check that misread the manuscript, a reference resolved to the wrong record, or a stated reason that does not correspond to the manuscript. The manuscript is re-read by a person, and the response states what was re-examined.