Worst People In The World : Edwin Mellen Press

So because someone on the blog The Scholarly Kitchen writes a post or two criticizing publisher Edwin Mellen Press (EMP), EMP sends their lawyer after the blog with the equivalent of a 'cease-and-desist' letter -- not just to the blog but to a person who left a comment on one of the offending posts. Huh?

I know diddly-squat about Edwin Mellen Press and even less about the quality of their work but this way of reacting to criticism does nothing but lend credibility to the arguments of their detractors.

The two offending posts have since been removed but both are still available thanks to online archival services (h/t Gary Price):

• When Sellers and Buyers Disagree — Edwin Mellen Press vs. a Critical Librarian (2/15/2013)
• One Down, One to Go: Edwin Mellen Press Blinks One Eye (3/5/2013)

On the Nature of Train Wrecks

Matt Enis from Library Journal writes about the 'Fail4Lib pre-conference workshop' at this year's Code4Lib Conference where people talked about failed or problematic projects and the lessons they learned.

As I wrote in comments to the piece, I find the greatest cause of failed projects to be those based on received wisdom. Let’s call it, the ‘Wrong Bandwagon Effect’. Some mis-identified trend is taken up and you can’t argue against it because “everyone knows” (i.e. received wisdom) that it's the way of the future. Everyone knows! Only "everyone" never seems to include the end-user. But that doesn't matter since before you know it, yet another mis-identified trend pops up and nothing says ‘cutting edge’ like jumping from one of these trends to the other. (Classic example.)

This isn’t an argument against innovation. Rather it’s an argument against not doing one’s homework, of coasting along without anyone ever looking back and asking, what’s the guru's record so far?

UPDATE (3/28/2013): Here's an even better, not to mention more contemporary example ...