🧨 Authorship at a Price? CCF C-Level Conferences Embroiled in Ethical Storm!
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Recently, a controversial issue regarding academic ethics in the field of computer science has sparked widespread attention.
It has been discovered by the International Conference on Intelligent Computing (ICIC) 2025 that an accepted author openly sought someone willing to pay to be listed as the corresponding author. Even more astonishingly, the author posted the title of their accepted paper publicly. Upon discovery, the ICIC 2025 committee promptly withdrew the accepted papers.
This incident — happening at a conference classified as CCF C-level conference — has raised serious concerns about academic integrity and the legitimacy of authorship standards in the scientific community.
Notes: What are CCF Category C Conferences?
CCF (China Computer Federation), an authoritative organization that regularly publishes recommended lists of computer science conferences and journals. These are categorized into three levels based on global recognition and academic influence:
- Category A: Top-tier international conferences or journals, highly prestigious and extremely competitive.
- Category B: Internationally recognized and widely acknowledged conferences or journals.
- Category C: International conferences or journals with moderate recognition and impact — often considered ideal targets for early-career researchers and graduate students due to a more accessible acceptance bar.