Abstract
Ensuring that public feedback on preprints is focused, appropriate, specific and transparent (or FAST) will help to develop a thriving culture for reviewing and commenting on preprints.
Main text
The FAST principles offer a fantastic approach to preprint papers. They provide a radical and extremely positive reimagining of research outputs which is democratic and open. Ideas not only reach us faster, where is the opportunity for collegiate discussion and mutual/real time exploration.
In practice, most feedback on preprints is quite positive: indeed, one study of comments on preprints found that praise was more common than criticism by a factor of almost 2.5 (Malički et al., 2021). However, while we all like to receive positive feedback, there is also a valuable role for critical feedback: for example, debates and dialog between researchers with opposing models and interpretations can help to move a field of research forward. Such debates can also help students and other newcomers understand the open questions and frontiers of the field. Critical feedback, if framed constructively and delivered appropriately, can make research more robust.