There should be a way for the editor comments box to be inserted into the decision email
I understand that the the editor's comments box is technically for internal use, and that the idea of not having an email tag for this box is based on the fact that the deciding editor can just type the letter directly into the decision email, but I can't tell you how much confusion this causes. Editors often type the comments into that box and then don't realize they aren't being automatically transferred to the decision email. It would be great if this could be added to the email tag options.
Agree strongly! The copying over of Editor Decision Comments into the Decision email has to be done manually and is time consuming and open to human error.
There is already a field for confidential notes from the Editor. What we need is a field for comments for the author.
Please capture and pull through this text as is possible for AE recommendation and Reviewer forms.
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I agree with you. I added this idea a while ago and described it as follows.
"The “Decision Comments” box data the EIC, or CO-EIC, uses is not shared with the authors. There is no tag to pull the comments into a decision letter to authors and reviewers. Authors will miss key items to improve on their manuscripts that the CO-EIC wanted making extra work for authors and the administrator (me) in finding these comments and passing them along."
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Agree- it's very confusing as it is because many editors think the authors will see it. We get round this by renaming it and then creating ANOTHER field that can go in the decision email but it would be a lot easier if the existing one could be a) made optional and b) could go in the decision email if we wished (ie a configuration setting)
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This is an important consideration - and it isn't totally clear what purpose the Editor's Comments box is intended to serve.
If the objective is for the Editor to be able to memorialize something for the record, this could just as easily be done with a Note.
On the other hand, the presentation of this box on the Editor's Decision page certainly suggests that is is intended as a way for the Editor to add comments that are intended for the author, and in that case, they most certainly should be appended to the Decision Letter.
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