In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, Erik Magnussen writes:
I was recently asked to review a paper and was halfway through doing so when I realized that the author had revealed their identity through a footnote. I quickly contacted the editor to let them know that anonymity had been breached, was thanked for bringing it to their attention, and was subsequently let go as a reviewer (as I think I should have been).
My question is this: would it ever be appropriate to forward my comments to the author in this type of case, or would this be an inappropriate interference in the editorial process? I thought the paper made a valuable contribution to the debate that it centered on, and I had a number of ideas about how the author's argument could be improved, which I had started to outline in my report. These may still be of use to the author, and I'm wondering if there is any definitive reason to keep them to myself.
To be clear, I have not forwarded anything to the author, and don't really have plans to. But it made me wonder about the ethics of doing so, and I know that the community here will have some thoughts on this. Thanks!
My initial reaction here was that this seems like a straightforward case: once a reviewer assignment is over, you're sort of free to do whatever you like (provided you otherwise stay within the bounds of general professionalism). However, after thinking about it for about 5 more seconds, it occurred to that the prudent thing here is probably to ask the Editor in Chief of the journal that commissioned the review to see if they have any objection. This occurred to me in part because, in my experience, some journals have an explicit policy that the peer-review process is supposed to remain confidential, and you never how exactly how this requirement may be understood. Sure, it may be unlikely that the author you reach out to you tattles on you for it (particularly if, as in this case, you let them know that you liked the paper)–but, I guess in general, my general maxim on professional uncertainty is this: "If you are in any doubt, ask before you act!".
But these are just my thoughts. What are yours?
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