近日,蒋劲松老师发了一篇文章,质疑为何科学网比其它网站管制严厉。他的文章在科学网受到很多人的推荐,也立刻在科学网博客得到了很高的引用率。没有办法,这里也需要再引用一次:-) http://www.sciencenet.cn/m/user_content.aspx?id=335223 不过,我和蒋老师以及不少网友的看法有些不同。我简单地阅读了一下他提及的那篇所谓的“著名的帖子”,虽然没有完全读完,但是觉得那篇文章太无聊了。它的重点不是考证一些网上的八卦,而是排泄个人的愤恨,露骨地对他人进行人身攻击。那种垃圾文字在某些网站上大概是家常便饭,但是这里是科学网。科学网的主旨应该是宣扬科学精神,普及科学知识,促进科技人员的交流,而不是任何人以任何借口搞人身攻击的场所。 几年前我曾经给自然杂志发过一封通信。因为内容相关,这里张贴一下: Misconduct: forum should not be used to settle scores Nature 442 , 132 (13 July 2006) SIR — Although China is developing its science and technology at an unprecedented speed, scientific misconduct is a serious issue, as you have highlighted in your Special Report “Named and shamed” ( Nature 441, 393–393; 2006). Shi-Min Fang, one of your correspondents on this topic ( Nature 441, 932; 2006) and the webmaster of New Threads (www.xys.org), wrote to defend this website’s role in disclosing scientific misconduct on occasions when the authorities had ignored whistleblowers. Like many other Chinese scientists working overseas, I care very much about scientific misconduct in China. However, I have also been concerned for a long time about the quality of articles published on New Threads. Often, I find that there are few facts and little investigation behind the accusations, and that many articles are mixed with assumptions and personal attacks on named scientific researchers. One such example is that of Hualiang Jiang, a principal investigator working at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica. Because I work in a similar field, I am familiar with Jiang’s work and publications, although I have never met him. New Threads contains several articles (urls provided) attacking Jiang personally, using many insulting words such as “idiot”. It seems that some of the articles were written by someone who may have been an unsuccessful job candidate at Jiang’s institute. Disclosing scientific misconduct is not simply about free speech, as claimed by the webmaster of New Threads. It is also about being professional, objective and serious. Only verified facts should be published on the website if it is claiming to monitor incidents of scientific misconduct. It should not be used for unsubstantiated attacks in the name of free speech, not only because of the personal and professional effects on the scientists concerned, but also because readers, especially young students, could be misled.