The two faces of the corresponding author and the need to separate them

Key points The role of corresponding author means one thing in the eyes of editors, journals and publishers, but researchers often take it to mean something more. There are two different roles for the corresponding author: pre‐publication corresponding author and post‐publication corresponding author. Journals should explicitly acknowledge these separate roles for corresponding authors in order to increase transparency. The role of the corresponding author should be kept distinct from other responsibilities than those of communication.