Article refused by editor due a to a preprint being available on the Institutionnel Repository

Helle Crossref Community,

I am managing the Institutional repository of my university (University to Namur and the institutional repository).

One of our authors is facing a refusal fro an editor because of a control performed by crossref:
Here is the message:

"Dear authors,

Eslevier uses the CrossREF system to find a strong similarity between your paper and the following publicly available online information (pure.unamur.be/ws/portalfiles/portal/75332956/2302.05154v1.pdf). The academic community does not consider this to be an authoritative preprint website, but rather an Internet open information portal.As a result, we are unable to assess the innovation of your paper. It is recommended that you use the system to check the similarity information for yourself.

Thank you again for your support of ISWA"

Please do let me know if I can be of any further assistance …"

The paper is a preprint pushed on ARXIV and on the institutional repository (Pure from Elsevier) and so I don’t understand why an Institutional repository is not considered by Crossref as a valid source for preprint?

Any ideas to manage that are welcome/

All the best
Bernard Detrembleur
CRIS Manager - University of Namur -Belgium

Hello,

I am sorry that the author is having problems with this preprint.

On your question, please note that it is not Crossref that does not consider Institutional repositories as a valid source for preprint. This is purely a decision that was made by the journal editor, based on their evaluation of the similarity check report that they received.

As a note, we understand that you are trying to publish your article in a journal, but the publisher should not necessarily reject your article because a preprint has been published. Please take a look at our documentation concerning preprints here: Understanding your Similarity Report - Crossref

A high Similarity score resulting from a valid preprint should not, in most cases, result in a rejection of the publication.

Thank you.

Best,
Evans

Ensure that the metadata associated with the preprints in your institutional repository is complete and accurate. Crossref places importance on metadata quality, and providing comprehensive and accurate metadata can enhance the chances of acceptance.

Thanks for your help, we have escalated the issue the editor and we are waiting for its feedback.

Season’s greetings

Bernard