  Science is a complex system comprised of many scientists who individually
make collective decisions that, due to the size and nature of the academic
system, largely do not affect the system as a whole. However, certain decisions
at the meso-level of research communities, such as the Human-Computer
Interaction (HCI) community, may result in deep and long-lasting behavioral
changes in scientists. In this article, we provide evidence on how a change in
editorial policies introduced at the ACM CHI Conference in 2016 launched the
CHI community on an expansive path, denoted by a year-by-year increase in the
mean number of references included in CHI articles. If this near-linear trend
continues undisrupted, an article in CHI 2030 will include on average almost
130 references. The trend towards more citations reflects a citation culture
where quantity is prioritized over quality, contributing to both author and
peer reviewer fatigue. This article underscores the value of meta-research for
research communities and the profound impact that meso-level policy adjustments
have on the evolution of scientific fields and disciplines, urging stakeholders
to carefully consider the broader implications of such changes.
