JUNK RUNTAH

ask not what your editors can do for you

I recently read an edited volume, in which one person serves the role of 1) editor; 2) author of a chapter; 3) co-author an"afterword" to the book, which is highly critical of many of the chapters published in the volume which she has edited. Anticipating that this might seem strange, the afterword includes a footnote which explains that a deliberate decision was made by the editor to "present an accurate picture of the field as it stands today," replete with all the inconsistencies, oversights, and theoretical lacunae for which she has just lambasted her contributors.
So, now Im curious - what are your expectations of the folks who serve as editors of the books, journals, etc. to which you contribute? I am inclined to think that what this editor did is inexcusable, but perhaps I am needlessly depriving myself of rationales which could increase significantly my available beach time.

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