GoKawiilArXiv caps researchers at two preprint submissions per month
ArXiv began enforcing a limit of two paper submissions per month per researcher on October 1, after monthly uploads jumped from about 30,000 to 40,000 in September. Scientific director Steinn Sigurðsson says the surge, driven largely by AI-generated 'slop', has overwhelmed arXiv's roughly 300 volunteer moderators, who now screen about 1,000 manuscripts daily with nearly 4,000 submissions backlogged. Social-sciences server SocArXiv has similarly moved to limit authors to one submission per week.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The policy signals that preprint servers, long valued for open and rapid sharing of research, are struggling to maintain quality control as AI tools make it easier to mass-produce manuscripts. Some researchers, like Siddhesh Zādéy, see the cap as a reasonable check that won't hurt genuine productivity, while others, like Victor Galitski, warn it could be gamed by having co-authors rotate submissions, suggesting the rule may only partially solve the underlying moderation crisis.
- ArXiv now limits each researcher to two preprint submissions per month, effective October 1.
- Monthly submissions rose from about 30,000 to 40,000, which arXiv attributes partly to AI-generated content.
- Critics argue the cap could be circumvented via co-author rotation, while SocArXiv has imposed a similar weekly limit.
Source: nature.com — Singh Chawla, 2026-10-15
Published there as: “ArXiv versus AI slop: will capping preprint submissions work?”
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