The Elsevier Manuscript Submission System

So, I recently had to use the Elsevier Manuscript Submission System to change the corresponding author on an article that one of my former graduate students and I had submitted. What a nightmare! The system seems like it was designed by Nazi psychologists who got frustrated when the waterboarding took too long to work.

Even though I had previously filled out all their forms, and then consolidated my various journal profiles--a complex and confusing set of tasks--the system would not let me get to the dashboard or do anything until I had filled out several more screens full of additional information.

I was tempted to write to the editor and withdraw the submission, and I might have if doing so would not have caused problems for my colleague.

Am I the only one who hates it when people use their power to force you to do things you don't want to do? Might there be something just a tad unethical about doing that?

The information they were requiring had something to do with my research foci--I wasn't paying close attention because I was so annoyed. I don't remember what I filled out, but I do recall that I didn't do it carefully.

If they start asking me to peer-review articles on the sex lives of dung beetles, I guess that will be an indication of what I put down.

Do you find their system frustrating, or am I being oversensitive?