# Academic spam **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013 "2006-07-25T22:17:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/1 "2006-07-25T22:17:18Z")
Now, I’m used to getting all the normal kinds of spam, including missives from widows of African dictators, announcements that I have just won a lottery in the UK, ads for VI!AGRR\*A, mortagage offers, and so on. But I’ve recently received, twice, a new one on me: an invitation to participate in academic conferences in Slovenia and Italy, and to publish articles in some kind of fly-by-night scientific journal. As I am in academia, I imagine they probably harvested my e-mail from a publication in a legitimate journal. Now right off, I am not too impressed with the bona fides of an organization that starts out with this kind of statement: > [@](#): > > Please, excuse us if, for technical reasons, you already received this message from us! The description of the journal also does not inspire confidence: > [@](#): > > The stress is on synergistic multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary interaction, and that enables the researchers to publish research results tipicaly not suitable for traditional journals. I have no doubt they will get a lot of submissions “tipicaly not suitable for traditional journals.” > [@](#): > > Special attention is dedicated to best papers from the above mentioned conferneces, on all topics within the scope of the conferences (see above). > [@](#): > > Each submitted paper first undergoes the editor review, and those who pass this first stage are sent to 12 external experts for a rigorous review; decisions are made after at least 5 external reviewers respond! The review is free of charge, but the authors of the accepted papers are expected to pay the publication fee of E500 per paper (if 4 or 5 or 6 pages of the TIR/TAR format), and the additional fee of E100 per page, for each extra page, till the maximum of 10 pages. Seems like their own copy could stand “the editor review.” :dubious: Anybody else, in academia or otherwise, ever receive one of these? It’s obviously a scam, but anyone know the details? The full text follows. > [@](#): > > Please, excuse us if, for technical reasons, you already received this > message from us! > > If you do not reply to this two-part message (part#1 about our conferences > in Slovenia and Italy, and part#2 about the Special Issues of IPSI > Transactions), we will never contact you again! If you reply, we will be > informing you about our conferences and journals, 4 to 6 times per year. > PART #1: > > Dear potential speaker: > > Based on your explicit interest expressed in the past and/or a > recommendation from a colleague who read your past publication(s), on > behalf of the organizing committee, we would like to extend a cordial > invitation for you to submit a paper to the IPSI Transactions journal, or > to attend one of the upcoming multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and > transdisciplinary (M+I+T++) conferences: > > * * * > > LAKE BLED, in SLOVENIAN ALPS, near ADRIATIC SEA, Slovenia > > IPSI-2006 SLOVENIA (VIPSI-2006 SLOVENIA) > > Arrival: 30 November 2006 / departure: 3 December 2006 > Last Deadline for Papers: 1 September 2006. > > * * * > > IPSI-2006 VENICE (VIPSI-2006 VENICE) > > Arrival: 12 October 2006 / departure: 15 October 2006 > Last deadline for papers: 15 August 2006 > > * * * > > Grand Hotel Miramare in Santa Margherita Ligure, near Portofino > > IPSI-2006 PORTOFINO (VIPSI-2006 PORTOFINO) > > Arrival: 15 October 2006 / departure: 18 October 2006 > Last deadline for papers: September 1, 2006. > > * * * > > Hotel Santa Caterina, Amalfi (near Napoli, Pompei, and Capri) > > IPSI-2007 AMALFI (VIPSI-2007 AMALFI) > > ## Arrival: 22 March 2007 / departure: 25 March 2007. Last deadline for papers: February 1, 2007. > > Centro Culturale Don Orione, Venice > (a medieval monastery near San Marco Square) > > IPSI-2007 VENICE (VIPSI-2007 VENICE) > > ## Arrival: 19 March 2007 / departure: 22 March 2007. Last deadline for papers: February 1, 2007. > > All our conferences are non-profit. They bring together the elite of the > world science; so far, we have had seven Nobel Laureates speaking at the > opening ceremonies. The conferences always take place in some of the most > attractive places of the world. All those who come to our conferences > once, always love to come back (because of the unique professional quality > and the extremely creative atmosphere); lists of past participants are on > the web, as well as the details of all future conferences. > > These conferences are in line with the newest recommendations of the US > National Science Foundation and of the EU research sponsoring agencies, to > stress multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary > research (M+I+T++ research). The speakers and activities at our > conferences truly support this type of scientific interaction. > > Among the main topics of these conferences are: “E-education and > E-business with special emphasis on the Internet related research in > technical and non-technical fields.” All topics directly or indirectly > related to current and future DARPA and NASA projects are also welcome > (all papers from all past IPSI conferneces are stored by NASA). > > Other topics of interest include, but are not limited to: > > - Internet > - Computer Science and Engineering > - Mobile Communications/Computing for Science and Business > - Management and Business Administration > - Education > - e-Medicine > - e-Oriented Bio Engineering/Science and Molecular Engineering/Science > - Environmental Protection > - e-Economy > - e-Law > - Technology Based Art and Art to Inspire Technology Developments > - Internet Psychology > - Internet Phylosophy > - Humanities in General > > If you would like to get more information on either conference, please > reply to this e-mail message. > > If you plan to submit an abstract and paper, please let us know that > immediately for planning purposes. Remember that you can submit your paper > also to one of the two IPSI Transactions journals, as indicated here: > > Part #2: > > We are pleased to inform you that both IPSI Transactions journals are > planing some special issues in late 2006 and early 2007, and you are > welcome to submit your paper(s), at your earliest convenience. The > selection process will start as soon as we receive 48 papers per topic > (only 12 will be accepted for publication). > > Special attention is dedicated to best papers from the above mentioned > conferneces, on all topics within the scope of the conferences (see > above). > > The stress is on synergistic multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and > transdisciplinary interaction, and that enables the researchers to publish > research results tipicaly not suitable for traditional journals. > > * * * > > IPSI Transactions on Internet Research (TIR): > > The topics covered are those directly related to the Internet, and > absolutely all relevant aspects of it: > > - Internet, Economy, and Finance; > - Collaboration Systems and Technologies; > - Workflow Systems and Technologies > - Internet Engineering > - P2P > - Information Systems > - Intelligent Systems > - E-Commerce Systems > - Concept Modelling > - E-Education Systems > - Computer Communications > - Distributed Systems > - Advanced Web Programming > - Security, Reliability, and Protection on the Internet > > * * * > > IPSI Transactions on Advanced Research (TAR): > > The topics covered are those indirectly relevant for future development of > the Internet, and for the Multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary research > related to the Internet: > > - Enterprise Management > - Issues in Management and Business Administration > - Project Management > - Content Management > - Application Software > - System Software > - Computer Architecture > - Computer Design > - Newly Emerging Technologies > - Tools for Web and Related Applications > - Decision Making in Business Environments > - Any aspect of the Internet related medicine > - Mobile Technologies > - Mechanical Engineering > > * * * > > Each submitted paper first undergoes the editor review, and those who pass > this first stage are sent to 12 external experts for a rigorous review; > decisions are made after at least 5 external reviewers respond! The review > is free of charge, but the authors of the accepted papers are expected to > pay the publication fee of E500 per paper (if 4 or 5 or 6 pages of the > TIR/TAR format), and the additional fee of E100 per page, for each extra > page, till the maximum of 10 pages. > > Rigorous reviewing is the major strength of IPSI journals, which is the > major contributor to their high quality! Soft copies of the existing > issues of TIR and TAR can be seen at the web, and hard copies can be > obtained on a special request by email, as indicated on the web! > > If you are interested for submiting your paper for IPSI Transactions, > please reply to this message, and we will send you additional information. > Sincerely Yours, > > Prof. Veljko Milutinovic, Chairman, > IPSI Conferences, Journals, and Tutorials > > - > - > - CONTROLLING OUR E-MAILS TO YOU \* \* \* > > If you like to obtain more information about a conference from this call, > please reply with the conference CITY and COUNTRY in the subject. > > If you would like to continue to be informed about our future conferences, > please reply to this e-mail message with a subject line of SUBSCRIBE. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/2 "2006-07-26T02:22:37Z")
Is good transdisciplinary? Yes! Paper you are to submit on ecommerce wood bird welcome! 500 EU only and much reviewing. Don’t wait! Be in line now for expert synergistic multidisciplinary discipline! ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/3 "2006-07-26T03:02:59Z")
If there was ever an application for the autohinker, this is it. Paging messieur **Mangetout**. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/4 "2006-07-26T04:09:03Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > If there was ever an application for the autohinker, this is it. Paging messieur **Mangetout**. Do you think he knows something about **Internet Phylosophy**? [HERE IS IPSI WEBSITE!](http://www.internetconferences.net/) SEND EMAIL IF YOU LIKE TO BE INFORMED ABOUT IPSI BgD CONFERENCES! ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/5 "2006-07-26T04:15:37Z")
[Wipes away a tear] That is a truly beautiful call. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/6 "2006-07-26T04:19:26Z")
Some selected verbiage from their website: > [@](#): > > 1. Only the elite VIP scientists are invited (those listed in the SCI, Science Citation Index), from industry and academia, with special programs for young talent. > [@](#): > > 1. Young researchers and top Ph.D. students represent the majority of > attendees! :dubious: > [@](#): > > 1. Special emphasis is dedicated to hospitality! We like that attendees and their accompanying persons feel good. Those who visit the IPSI organized conferences/workshops once, always like to come back! Music is the essential part of post dinner social activities at all conferences! Neither I nor my accompanying person would _think_ of going to a scientific conference without music at the post dinner social activities! ---
**Author:** ![Merhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Merhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merhouse)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/7 "2006-07-26T15:26:13Z")
“All your papers are belong to us” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/8 "2006-07-26T16:09:02Z")
So what exactly is the point of this spam? I didn’t feel like reading the whole thing, but do they ask for a “reviewing fee” or something for a paper that you submit? if all they do is say, “You to send a paper! Up to E500 be paid for pages not to exceed 10! Reviewed by external reviewers of there are 12!” then I don’t see the scam. ---
**Author:** ![Dottygumdrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Dottygumdrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dottygumdrop)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/9 "2006-07-26T16:47:13Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > So what exactly is the point of this spam? I didn’t feel like reading the whole thing, but do they ask for a “reviewing fee” or something for a paper that you submit? if all they do is say, > “You to send a paper! Up to E500 be paid for pages not to exceed 10! Reviewed by external reviewers of there are 12!” then I don’t see the scam. If you read it again, you will see it says, “authors of accepted papers to pay […]” - scam! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/10 "2006-07-26T17:16:46Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > So what exactly is the point of this spam? I didn’t feel like reading the whole thing, but do they ask for a “reviewing fee” or something for a paper that you submit? if all they do is say, > “You to send a paper! Up to E500 be paid for pages not to exceed 10! Reviewed by external reviewers of there are 12!” then I don’t see the scam. The scam is the pretense that these articles will be legitimately peer-reviewed and have some real scientific standing. They talk about a review process, but it is nothing like a legitimate one. Although they say that “only 12 out of 48 papers submitted” will be published, I’m willing to bet that virtually every paper submitted is accepted. Although the “review” itself is free, you have to pay to get your paper published. This is nothing more than a kind of vanity press for would-be authors. While some legitimate journals do request authors to pay page charges, not all of them do, and these can be waived for authors who do not have organizational fiunding to pay them. They claim there is a list of published papers on the website, but when you click on the link, all you get is this: > [@](#): > > All papers from past IPSI conferences are held in the NASA Aeronautics > and Space Database (NA&SD). Access to this database is limited only to > U.S. Government Agencies and Contractors. Interested readers could ask > paper copies by writing to authors, or to the CMO of IPSI conferences! > > Address in NASA! It appears that this is not actually held by NASA itself, merely by an individual who works at NASA. The address given is: > [@](#): > > All CDs and papers from past IPSI conferences are stored at a NASA > location given below, and can be obtained on request! > > June P. Silvester > NASA CASI Acquisitions Team > ASRC Aerospace Corp. > 7121 Standard Drive > Hanover, MD 21076-1320 As for the conferences, my guess is that they are actually set up to be junkets for officials or professors, especially ones from developing countries, who can scam their own organizations into believing they have been invited to give a paper at an international conference, and thus get their attendence paid for by their organizations. To some extent, the organization is probably scamming naive participants who think they may be getting something worthwhile. However, it is also helping more savvy participants to scam others. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/11 "2006-07-26T20:15:42Z")
I’ve never heard of a fee for a legit journal, **Colibri**. How could the journal claim to be unbiased/scientific if payment were required? Can you give me an example? (I’m familiar with writing contests that require an entry fee, though more along the lines of $5-10 an entry.) Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/12 "2006-07-26T20:50:52Z")
> [@Shoshana](#): > > I’ve never heard of a fee for a legit journal, **Colibri**. How could the journal claim to be unbiased/scientific if payment were required? Can you give me an example? It’s quite common. However, as I said, the fee can be waived if an author does not have institutional support. One example in my own field is _The Auk_, the journal of the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU). [Instructions for authors](http://www.aou.org/auk/authors.php3) > [@](#): > > The AOU requests that authors bear all or part of the cost of publishing their papers when grant, institutional, or personal funds are available for the purpose. Current costs per printed page are US$75. Authors who do not have access to publication funds may request a waiver of this payment directly from the Publication Office. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/13 "2006-07-26T20:54:53Z")
Interesting! That’s not done in psychology, at least in the US. ---
**Author:** ![bitwise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@bitwise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bitwise)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/14 "2006-07-27T05:32:37Z")
This might be of some interest to you. [http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/scigen/](http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/scigen/) [http://goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au/~jz/sci/](http://goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au/~jz/sci/) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-spam/366013/15 "2006-07-27T17:10:22Z")
> [@bitwise](#): > > This might be of some interest to you. > > [SCIgen - An Automatic CS Paper Generator](http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/scigen/) > [http://goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au/~jz/sci/](http://goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au/~jz/sci/) Thanks. That’s pretty hilarious. I didn’t know the scam-conference and scam-journal cons were so widespread.