Two strategies for using a model as “null” are distinguished.Null modelingevaluates whether a process is causally responsible for a pattern by testing it against a null model.Baseline modelingmeasures the relative significance of various processes responsible for a pattern by detecting deviations from a baseline model. When these strategies are conflated, models are illegitimately privileged as accepted until rejected. I illustrate this using the neutral theory of ecology and draw general lessons from this case. First, scientists cannot draw certain conclusions using null modeling. Second, these conclusions follow using baseline modeling, but doing so requires more evidence.