An Ethical, Editorial Quiz

Imagine that you are the editor of an online, open-access journal called Composition Currency: A Journal of Writing Program Economics.  Though CC began publication some ten years ago as a print journal, it has been a completely digital publication for the last four years.  CC is peer-reviewed, so all published manuscripts have been read and approved by multiple reviewers, and publication generally takes place on an “as-ready” basis rather than being limited to a prescheduled release date for each issue.  Before an article “goes live,” however, it is formatted into Web galleys that are carefully proofed and edited by author(s) and editor(s).

Suppose that you receive the following email six months after an accepted article has been published:

Given this situation, what would you do?

    a.)    Refuse to make the change.
    b.)    Make the change with an erratum.
    c.)    Make the change with no erratum.

Now consider whether you would handle the situation the same way if you had received this email instead:

How would you respond in this situation? 

    a.)    Refuse to make the change.
    b.)    Make the change with an erratum.
    c.)    Make the change with no erratum.