There is a possibility in the OJS system to conduct and register correspondence for the subbmision at various stages of its processing. I have a question about the possibility of conducting and recording correspondence for the issue. Is there such a possibility and where? I don’t think there is.
I am using OJS v3.3.0.15.
Hi @Dariusz.Lis,
Can you elaborate further on your use case - how would you envision this working - what emails would you expect to be sent in response to which events occurring within OJS?
-Roger
PKP Team
[Context]
My experience in editorial work - mainly in the remote cooperation mode - indicates that the “correspondence” tool is a very useful functionality when processing editorial submissions. My reasoning is simple - since there are other editorial activities (at the level of the issue, editorial office, journal, its website, and others), then applying the correspondence tool to them should also prove very useful. I even see it as a practical need.
[Answer to your question]
Initially, a correspondence tool for these activities could be made available for each issue of a journal that OJS already supports. These are:
An example of another activity is printing an issue. Let’s remember that there are also journals with paper editions.
[Comments]
I want to share a few more comments about the correspondence tool in OJS.
[First comment] Entering/reading messages in the system or in the email client.
Currently, OJS has implemented correspondence (“discussion”) consisting in (1) the need the sender of the message to log in to the system to enter message, (2) email notification of all correspondence participants about the appearance of a new message and (3) the need to the recipients of the message to log in to the system to read the content of the message. This is not the same as entering/reading messages by correspondence participants directly in their email clients. I hear numerous voices of correspondence participants that they would much prefer to participate in it directly from the level of their email client, i.e. as they are used to correspondence with others. Such organization of correspondence in OJS will probably be quite a challenge, but it will meet the expectations of OJS users. Please note my comment on the matter.
[Second comment] Lack of email notifications about some events in the system.
As an OJS user with the roles of administrator and lead editor, I notice the lack, and therefore also the need, of using an email notification mechanism for other events in the system than those currently supported. For example, file transfer done by Copyeditor or Layout Editor. I am aware that the request to them includes an instruction to inform me about uploading files to the system, but why expect them to do so when the system could do it automatically? If they don’t - and unfortunately such cases happen in practice - it forces me to periodically check if files from them have been uploaded. It’s unnecessarily bothersome. I don’t know if other OJS users with admin/editor roles have a similar observation, but I see it as a lack. I will add that the issue from the first comment applies especially to Copyeditors or Layout Editors. They - usually external service providers - correspond mainly using their email clients and treat the requirement to log in to the system as a burdensome and unnecessary necessity.