How to Reject a Paper: Advice from a Chain Letter

You have to keep in mind that no matter how crappy the paper is, the authors are going to be pissed that it is rejected, and they are going to immediately begin wracking their brains to identify referees who might have done the dirty on them. Most will form a list of at least 5 or 6 people that they think are likely to have screwed them. Since most papers are reviewed by no more than 2-3 reviewers, this means you have a good chance of being on the list even if you were NOT the reviewer. Thus, particular pains must be taken to direct the authors ire elsewhere.

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1. Pretend that you are British. (Note — this does not work well if you actually are British).

Most importantly, it tells you how to pretend to be British (though not necessarily being Mr. Nesbitt of Harlow New Town), or how to be obviously pretending to be British in case you are, as well as some other tactics.