It’s Free to Be Nice and to Comb Your Hair: Civil Discourse in Scholarly Publishing Social Media

The thing I love most about our scholarly publishing world is the community we’ve built together. Our professional societies, including the Council of Science Editors, the Society for Society Publishing, the International Society of Managing and Technical Editors, and many more, are welcoming and inclusive. Diversity of thought and experience is not only encouraged, but championed. And the willingness to share knowledge and best practices is so special. Not only is our world one of intelligence and innovation, but its foundation is built on kindness. I have lifelong friends I never would have had without my beloved profession. My publishing friends are the ones I text first in good times and bad. I’ve performed in a scholarly publishing musical (only Heather Staines could get me to dance and sing in public when I’ve said loud and clear for my entire life that I don’t do either of those things). Heck, I’m even the one that Chhavi Chauhan and Jason Roberts asked to co-lead the Wine & PJs event at the CSE Fall Symposium because they know my favorite thing is to vibe with our colleagues. The victories of our colleagues are all of ours to share, and when one of ours suffers, we suffer along with them. I’ve learned a lot since 2020, when I began writing this Science Editor social media column. We’ve discussed all facets of social media, where it intersects with publishing: different platforms, using emojis, social media influencers, and more. And as long as Jonathan Schultz […]