Minimum and maximum cutoffs imposed by each type of referee.

Impartial referees have no maximum cutoff, and accept any manuscript above their minimum standard. The two types differ by whether that minimum is fixed or moving as the review process proceeds. A selfish referee whose average work quality is Q will reject any manuscript above that mark. Indifferent selfish referees care little about quality of published research, and accept manuscripts of below-average quality. In contrast, conscientious selfish referees share minimum standards with fixed-standard impartial referees. asymptotes to ≈ 141 when the referee pool consists almost entirely of moving-standard impartial referees, and to gradually lower values as more selfish referees are added.