I doubt that there’s a scientist alive who doesn’t get one of these predatory journal pleas on a regular basis. They’re never in my field (this one is in agriculture and soil science!), and they are in deadly need of a 2-page opinion piece for the next issue of their sub-sub-substandard journal.
I’d be tempted to submit something humorous, but a. it’s work and b. it would debase the scientific enterprise. Instead, I’ll show you the email for your delectation.
If you look up the location of the journal’s “offices” in San Francisco, you’ll find they are virtual offices, providing only the appearance of an office with a mailing address and someone to answer the telephone.
In other words, although the journal is real, it’s a predatory journal that exploits scientists who need papers on their c.v.s, making money by charging exorbitant publication fees. I suspect the real offices are overseas given the fractured English in the email (“deadly need”, “please tack the below link”, probably meaning “tick”), which of course means the email is lying.
Perhaps an enterprising reader would want to call up “Emma Megan” at the number and see what transpires.
World Journal of Agriculture and Soil Science <agri@irissciences.com>
Wed 6/17/2020 5:38 AM
To: Jerry Coyne
Dear Dr. Jerry A Coyne,
Greetings!
Hope you are doing very well!
Well, we are in deadly need of only one article to release Volume 5 Issue 2 before End of this Month. Is it possible for you to support us with your 2-page Opinion or Mini Review for this issue?
Please tack the below link to visit on our journal website
https://irispublishers.com/wjass/Please acknowledge this email to submit your manuscript.
Emma Megan | Managing Editor
World Journal of Agriculture and Soil Science (WJASS) | [ISSN: 2641-6379]
Iris Publishers LLC,315 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA.
Web: irispublishers.com| Email Id: agri@irispublishers.com |Tel no: +1-628-201-9788
What was the subject line?
I like to think I’ve read so much spam by now that I could explain how it works. One part, I think, is a writing style that is not exactly like a conversation, but like a busy office, where a supervisor comes over and immediately starts making you (the email recipient) do something, in this case, the “Well, we are …”.
I have lots of examples of this. It’s sickeningly laughable – and of course, trains my own writing.
You could submit a two-page opinion piece on predatory journals to test their editorial processes. It would be amusing if it got published.
You! You are evil!
I like that in a person!
It still would be work, though.
And, c. Someone might take it seriously.
These things are a bloody nuisance. Requests deleted this morning:
Japanese J. of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
J. Integrative Cardiology
Frontiers in Energy
Surgery and Clinical Care Reports
Nephrology Open Access open journal (twice – perhaps they are just too open!)
Annals of Case Reports
Environmental Pollution
Austin J Obstetrics and Gyne
Archives of Clinical Case Reports
Cancer Research and Therapy J
Every morning I wake up and delete a dozen or so of these things. Usually before my eyes are open and as a result I occasionally lose something (in going through the trash folder to compile this list I found a message from a friend in Japan that had somehow ended up in a spam folder). I’m not sure what, if anything, can be done to stem the flow. They seem to regularly change addresses and servers so blocking tends to be ineffective.
I haven’t gotten such letters from predatory journals but many from fake radio shows that wanted to interview me. Authenticity is getting harder and harder to come by these days.
Fake radio shows that wanted to interview you?! What’s that all about?
1. Any interviews of you by legit radio shows that you’d like to share?
2. What the heck are fake radio shows? I can’t imagine why someone would go to the trouble of soliciting interviews for a nonexistent radio show.
They attempt to grab you by making you think you are important enough to be interviewed. They give the show a somewhat reasonable title, like “Southern California Tech News”, and then claim they are interviewing local CEOs. There seems to be some sort of “publicity fee” involved.
I suppose one could regard it as a legitimate form of advertising but I can’t imagine that anyone actually listens to such a radio show.
I’ve enrolled as a senior auditor at UW-Milwaukee the last few semesters. As a student I now get a remarkable number of scam job offers… work at home “jobs” for faculty who just happen to be unavailable to meet with, but if I can do the work at my convenience as long as I give them my bank information so they can pay me. HAHAHAHA.
I’m just a benighted coastal elitist these days, but as a kid we had kinfolk with a spread down in Kentucky. They used to spread somethin’ on the soil there that, we’d go for a visit, whew, you could smell the place miles before catching sight of it.
You think that might be the kinda keen insight into soil science the World Journal of Agriculture is lookin’ for?
In doing some research on Iris Publishers, I note that they are the ones who published the “What’s the Deal With Birds” paper that was featured on WEIT a couple months back.
I receive a fair number of these, and I don’t even have a doctorate, never mind an academic appointment. (I have published sometimes in journals and edited collections, though.)
What I find amazing is how bad the market research is on the part of the scammers: I get asked to contribute to various medical fields, mechanical engineering, etc. none of which I have any qualifications in whatever.
She/it Capitalizes like Our Fearless Leader.
Luckily my University has a very efficient spam filter. Relatively few of these journals succeed to go through (maybe 1-2 per week). The bad side is that periodically I have to insist that WEIT e-mails are NOT spams…
Iris Publishers were responsible for the brilliant “What’s the Deal with Birds” paper that you delighted us with a while ago!
Oops, Terry had already pointed that out above – I must remember to refresh the page before posting!
The reason I remembered about Iris was that in light of the “What’s the Deal with Birds” paper I contacted one of the people they list as an “Editor-in-Chief”. He replied to say his involvement with them was limited to half a dozen peer reviews he had conducted. He had found “several” of the papers to be “excellent” – a couple were “terrible” and he recommended against publishing them. He was surprised to be named as an editor-in-chief and said he would be contacting Iris about that, although I’ve just checked and they are still listing him as one a few months later.
I had two only this morning. One thing I have noticed is that name of the editor on the email is (nearly) always two names that could be first names – Emma Megan in your case, Peter Nicholas and Lucy Helen in mine this morning. I wonder if they send out so many they just have a random name mixer and generator.
They are still at it ! This morning (7th Feb 2022) I received a request from a managing editor Cathleen Andrea for Academic Journal of Microbiology & Immunology (AJMI)lian.wiseman@nottingham.ac.uk
If some addresses me as “Respective Sir!” or “Greetings from…!!” this is definitely Indian style – and with an US address in the contact section it’s time for me to delete such emails. US style is usually “Dear Dr….” and I might spend 2 more seconds on such emails.
I got to this post by googling the phone number: they have changed the managing editor (now is Sarah Clark), but they still can’t English. The subject line was, and I kid you not, “Optimistic contribution”.
Dear Dr. xxx xxxx,
I hope this communication finds you well!
We are pleased to announce the availability of our upcoming edition and welcome your submissions for our journal Annals of Biostatistics & Biometric Applications (ABBA).
We have chosen prominent researchers for this occasion who have significant involvement with the development of research in their field and have the potential to provide the greatest quality articles for the topic.
Date of submission: January 10, 2024.
We hope that you will contribute to our journal by submitting any of your manuscript.
Acknowledge receipt of this email within 24 hours.
Sarah Clark | Managing Editor
+1-628-201-9788
biostatistics@irispublishers.com