It's not nitpicking even though it might seem that way to someone who doesn't deal with these journals regularly. The two are so wildly different that making sure you are clear about the difference is quite important.
I've published in Nature Photonics for instance and if I listed it as a Nature paper on my CV then I would be lying. Any potential employer would also see that as an intentional misrepresentation (given how prestigious Nature is and how "normal" Nature Photonics is) and end the hiring process right there.
It's annoying that they took the name, but they are still literally two different journals. Saying that this questionable paper was published in the super prestigious journal Nature which is well known for desk rejecting most manuscripts is misleading and incorrect. It was really published in a much more commonplace journal.
It's important because I would be hugely surprised if it was accepted into Nature (and would be a much bigger story). Not so much for Nature Communications.
Whether or not Nature is tarnishing its name with these offshoots is a different story completely, but it is still true and an important distinction that the article was not published in Nature proper. It's to the point where I think most practicing scientists would know to look for whether it was Nature Nature (as one of our lab techs says) or some other derivative.
I've published in Nature Photonics for instance and if I listed it as a Nature paper on my CV then I would be lying. Any potential employer would also see that as an intentional misrepresentation (given how prestigious Nature is and how "normal" Nature Photonics is) and end the hiring process right there.
It's annoying that they took the name, but they are still literally two different journals. Saying that this questionable paper was published in the super prestigious journal Nature which is well known for desk rejecting most manuscripts is misleading and incorrect. It was really published in a much more commonplace journal.
It's important because I would be hugely surprised if it was accepted into Nature (and would be a much bigger story). Not so much for Nature Communications.
Whether or not Nature is tarnishing its name with these offshoots is a different story completely, but it is still true and an important distinction that the article was not published in Nature proper. It's to the point where I think most practicing scientists would know to look for whether it was Nature Nature (as one of our lab techs says) or some other derivative.