I have no formal training in statistics, meta-analysis, meta-science, open science or philosophy of science. None. My publications on these issues have always been tangential to my own research. But I have engaged with these topics over the years because of deep frustration with the publication process. It is an on-going challenge to be ethical while trying to get research published; and uneasy pacts have to be brokered between the devils and the angels to be a good PhD mentor in a field where numerous publications are an entry level requirement for an academic career. I can’t offer a deep analysis of the problems we face as ecologists and evolutionary biologists. Instead I will take the scenic route and describe my personal experiences over three decades. I will touch on publication bias, meta-analysis and P-hacking. I hope that this will, at least, give hints as to where real progress has been made, and to where reforms are still needed. It might even cause you to be more sympathetic to the failings of your older colleagues (i.e. my generation).