Two Reports: “Librarian’s List of ‘Predatory’ Journals Reportedly Removed Due to ‘Threats And Politics'”

From Inside Higher Ed:

An academic librarian’s lists of “predatory” journals and publishers on Sunday vanished from the internet without explanation. His business partners now say he was forced to shut down the website.
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People first noticed Beall’s website had been wiped on Sunday. The pages that contained the lists now read “This service is no longer available.” Since the content disappeared without notice, many suspected the website had been targeted by hackers or a lawsuit.
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Beall declined to comment.

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More From The Ottawa Citizen: “World’s Main List Of ‘Predatory’ Science Publishers Vanishes with No Warning”

Beall is a regular on Twitter, but he hasn’t posted anything there in days. He isn’t answering email (including a message from the Citizen) or telling anyone what happened. Beall’s List had just been updated for 2017.
A Texas firm called Cabell’s, which also works with academic publishers, hinted that Beall was threatened somehow.
Its Twitter account said on Tuesday: “@CabellsPublish stands behind close personal friend @Jeffrey_Beall who was forced to shut down blog due to threats & politics #academicmafia.” Cabell’s hinted on Twitter that it may take over a Beall-like service in the spring, but gave no details. Calls to its office went unanswered and the voicemail was full.

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