A key principle has been that groups participate in the PGC at a time appropriate for their group. In practice, this was usually after their GWAS primary manuscript was accepted for publication. Participation in the PGC does not preclude any other academic effort (for courtesy, however, investigators inform their colleagues about any competing activities). An early decision adopted by all working groups was to publish under a consortium byline with all members of that working group listed as “collaborators” in PubMed. (See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17554300 for an example) This practical decision allowed the focus to remain on collaborative science and negated the otherwise inevitable jockeying for priority authorship positions. As a result of the clear and consistent application of these basic principles, the PGC has been running smoothly for several years despite its large membership. We note that no one who joined the PGC has quit.
