We publish EMAIL snippets, on our Twitter account which have probably been sent from predatory journals. These snippets are extracts from emails and do not include any discussion.
The EMAIL’s themselves are often quite amusing but we have not really focused on publishing a full email discussion. In this article, we change that.
We were fortunate enough to be sent a compete email trail, which we thought we would share. The email trail took place over about two months.
This article presents this email trail in its entirety. The nature of the email (quite aggressive, not being able o (easily) contact the editor-in-chief and the person sending the email does not display their name) suggests that this is a predatory journal, although we have not carried out a full analysis.
In some ways, this email is similar to the scam exposure/baiting that people like Jim Browning (Twitter, YouTube), Kit Boga (Twitter, YouTube) and Atomic Shrimp (and there are many more) do so well.
Their aim is two-fold. Firstly to waste the scammers time and, secondly, to expose the techniques that scammers use to a wider audiences. With (literally) millions of followers, the service and information they provide is welcomed.
We see this email providing a similar “service”. It certainly wastes the editorial assistant’s time and also demonstrates how the journal focuses on getting researchers to submit an article by continually asking when the paper will be submitted.
Before we start
This email trail is quite long, for which we apologize, but we thought it was worth sharing it all. In fact, we have missed out a few emails when, for a few days (sometimes hours), the researcher did not respond and the journal sent identical emails to ones sent previously, asking when the paper will be submitted.
You will see that the email discussion ends with the journal still asking when the paper will be submitted. The researcher does not plan to engage further but, you never know, there might be a follow up.
As this email discussion is long, we have generally left off the salutation and signature, really just to save space and your reading time.
The EMAIL Trail
From the journal
Dear Dr. [redacted] ,
Greetings..!!
Inviting eminent personalities to reveal their expertise in context of the below mentioned topic.
Topic: “Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences”
Your expertise knowledge and understanding would add value to our special issue.
Your past research works entitled “[redacted]” have helped to educate members in various scientific aspects.
You may submit any form of scientific study (research, review, short communication, etc.) towards our Journal.
Submission: through mail or online tracking system.
If there are any queries feel free to revert back.
Kind Regards,
Assistant Editor
Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences(ISSN: 2319-8834).
Response from researcher
Dear Assistant Editor
Many thanks for your email. I am honoured that you have looked at my work and seen some potential for submitting to your journal.
I wonder if you could put me in touch with the editor-in-chief?
Since publishing my previous article, I have been toying with the idea of (trying to) publishing a series of articles (3-4) which develops the themes that I have discussed in my previous work.
I am not sure if this is encouraged, or whether the topic is suitable, so I would value the opportunity to discuss this with the editor-in-chief.
Would you be able to provide his/her contact details please?
From the journal
Greetings from the journal..!!
We are very happy for your kind response. You can find the details of editor in chief in the journal website. He might not be able to respond to your mails, as he was very busy in his current works. Kindly send us the titles and abstracts of your articles. so that we will discuss with our editorial board members and will inform you whether the articles are suitable to our journal or not.
Awaiting for your positive response.
If there are any queries feel free to revert back.
Response from researcher
Many thanks for your kind response.
I looked on the web site and can’t see the email address of the EiC. Could you let me have that so that I can reach out to him, in the hope he can find the time to respond.
This is preferable than asking the editorial board?
From the journal
Greetings from the journal..!!
Doctor we cannot provide you any details regarding the Editor-in-chief as per our journal policy.
As soon as your paper got acceptance, we will directly assign a suitable editor for your valuable paper so that he can respond.
So, please let me know your submission date.
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Many thanks for this. It is slightly unusual that I cannot talk to the EiC.
I don’t really understand your journal’s policy but I guess you have your reasons.
Thanks again for your help.
From the journal
Greetings!!
Thanks for your prompt response towards our journal.
So, please let me know your submission date.
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
I don’t know what to submit, which is why I wanted to talk to somebody.
I am not going to submit something to a journal for them to say, it is not suitable, out of scope, you will not entertain a series of articles etc. That is too much work, when a short conversation with the EiC would help us all. It is also unprofessional on my part to waste your time.
I realise that there is a peer review process to go through but I don’t want to waste your (or my) time.
Actually, I have tracked down the EIC (Dr Bhatt and Dr. Suleiman Iguda Ladan) and BCC’ed them on this email. I do not want to open copy them as I do not want to clog their inbox up with this email trail as I appreciate when you said “He might not be able to respond to your mails, as he was very busy in his current works”.
Dr Bhatt and/or Dr. Ladan: If you do have time, would it be possible to ask you about the email thread below and whether the idea I have for a series of papers would fit within the scope of the journal?
From the journal
Greetings!!
Kindly provide us your contact details so that our editor in chief will directly contact you.
And please let me know your feasible time so that EIC can have a talk with you.
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Thank you for this.
You have my contact details, as you are emailing me. It is fine to use these.
From the journal
Kindly provide us your mobile number details so that our editor in chief will directly contact you.
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Hi
I don’t give out my mobile number to people I do not personally know.
From the journal
Greetings!!
Our editor in chief is trying to contact you but unable to connect your call.
And please let me know your feasible time so that EIC can have a talk with you.
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Hello Assistant Editor (do you have a name, please?)
As I said, I don’t give my number to people I don’t personally know, so am unsure how he is trying to contact me.
Please give me his phone number and a good time to call? I will then phone him.
Can you also tell me who I will be calling as I think there are two EiC’s?
From the journal
Greetings!!
You can contact Dr Bhatt’s assistant Phone number : [redacted]
Call @ 11 A.M.
Awaiting for your positive response.
From the journal
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Dear Assistant Editor (do you have a name please?)
I just phoned the number you gave me, at the time you gave me, but it was not answered (it just kept ringing).
Please ask Professor Bhatt to email me.
From the journal
Dr Bhatt’s assistant will call back @ 11 A.M. Because we didn’t get any missed call.
Please respond the call.
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Dear Assistant Editor (sorry to be so impersonal, but I still don’t have your name)
You do not have my number, so you are unable to call me.
In a final attempt, I have just tried to call you on the number of your web site. That is, +44 203 695 816, but this number is not available.
I also tried the phone number at the footer of your web page, that is +34 911 877 608, but that was also unavailable.
I am sure that you are as frustrated as I am, so if Dr Bhatt is unable to email me (or me him), then let’s just forget this for now. I am sure there will be other opportunities.
Indeed, I have spoken to another journal (to the Editor-in-Chief), who is willing to consider a series of three articles, based on my previous work. I am keen to get the first of these submitted, so that the peer review process can start (as you know, this can take several months).
Sorry it has not worked out this time, but unless you are able to get the EiC to email me in the next few hours (or give me his email address), I will submit my paper elsewhere later today.
From the journal
Our EIC ,Dr Bhatt’s assistant is trying to calling this number [redacted]. Is this number working or not?
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Hello
No, that number is not in service, noting that I never actually gave you this number.
From the journal
Kindly provide us your number details so that our editor in chief will directly contact you. Otherwise, You can contact Dr Bhatt’s assistant Phone number : [redacted]
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
I have already tried that number and, anyway, it is not to the EiC, it is to (another) assistant. I have also tried the other two numbers on your web site, and neither of them was successful either.
I explained before that I do not give my mobile phone number to people I do not know, so please stop asking for my number.
Either get the EiC to email me, or let’s just move on.
I realise that the EiC is busy, so will not accept emails from potential authors. To be honest, we are all busy and I no longer have the time to continue this conversation. I am sure it is also soaking up your time.
So, unless I have heard from the EIC, by email, in the next 24 hours, I will submit my paper(s) to the other journal I have been speaking to.
From the journal
Submission process: https://www.longdom.org/global-journal-interdisciplinary-social-sciences/submissions.html
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Hi
I would like to talk to the EiC, please give me their email address or ask them to email me.
Awaiting your positive response.
Thank you.
From the journal
Sorry we do not provide EIC email address, if you want to talk then go with his assistant number.
Otherwise, you can submit paper, we will check premilinary quality if it is suitable to our journal or not.
Submission process: https://www.longdom.org/global-journal-interdisciplinary-social-sciences/submissions.html
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Thank you
Given that the number you have given me is in America and the EiC is based in India, there is little point in phoning as, I suspect, I would not get to talk to the EiC, even if the phone was answered.
I am sorry that the journal is so opaque in its dealing with potential authors.
Fortunately, I am sure you’ll be pleased to learn, that i have connected with the EiC on LinkedIn and, contrary to what you suggest, he was happy to accept my request to connect immediately.
From the journal
Dr.Bhatt’s
email id: [redacted]
Kindly send the mail regarding your query.
Awaiting for your positive response
Response from researcher
Dear Dr Bhatt
The email trail below is self-explanatory (but it is quite long). The short version is, would you be happy for me to send you a proposal for an article in the journal for you to give me your view whether it falls within the aims/scope of the journal.
I don’t want to waste your time, or that of the reviewers, if the article is not in scope.
Of course, I am also personally keen to get the article published as quickly as possible and, realising that peer review takes a couple of months, anything I can do to speed up the process is good.
From the journal
Greetings from India.
Thanks for your email.
I am really happy to learn that you want to publish your articles in GJISS.
Kindly send me only titles of your articles so that I may comment about the scope for publication as desired.
Response from researcher
Dear Professor K.N. Bhatt
I was approached by the journal after they (you?) had seen my article entitled [redacted].
I have it in mind to follow up this article, which was really a review with a series of articles that follow on from the work of [redacted].
The ideas I have in mind are:
Title: How many editors does a conference need?
Brief Outline: There are some conference series around that have hundreds (literally) of editors on their editorial boards, yet they only publish a handful of papers. We would like to expose this practice as we do not believe that a conference requires (say) 360 reviewers for (say) 10 papers.
Title: How quick can peer review be?
Brief outline: We have collected evidence that some journals review papers in a matter of days (sometimes hours). We would like to explore how this is possible. That is, can a high quality journal carry out high quality reviews so quickly.
Title: Do you know you are on the editorial board?
Brief outline: As part of our other investigations it came to light that some editors did not even know they were listed on the journal and those that did, did have not handled any papers. We have data from a number of journals and publishers that show they are using unscrupulous practices and we would like to report this in a high quality, peer reviewed article.
Would any of these be of interest to GJISS?
From the journal
Yes, I saw the titles of your papers. In my view, these issues are very much in the scope of GJISS as it deals with social sciences. These problems are social problems.
GJISS management knows the process of review and paper publication.
May I request you please send your papers to GJISS editorial office as suggested in its website. The editorial office only decides about the reviewers and publication process. I am only in an honorary position as EiC with a view that good quality papers in social sciences are published well.
From the journal
Greetings..!!
Kindly let me know the Feasible time of submission.
Awaiting for your positive response.
Kind Regards,
Assistant Editor
Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences(ISSN: 2319-8834).
From the journal
Greetings..!!
We are waiting for your submission, as soon as possible.
Kindly let me know the date of submission.
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Dear Assistant Editor
Thank you for your email. I am now completing the paperwork for the publishing charges, to ensure that my institution will pay (assuming the paper is accepted). This will take a while as I have to provide a lot of information (such as editors, whether the paper can be returned in our carious research returns, the impact factor, registrations with COPE/DOAJ etc.) I am sure you know the type of stuff.
I cannot submit until they agree to pay, as I cannot afford the fees personally.
From the journal
Greetings..!!
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Dear Assistant Editor (still don’t know your name, sorry)
As I mentioned, I have completed the paperwork for my institution, asking for the funds for a series of three papers.
They have come back with a number of queries, most of which I can answer. The one I can’t, which I hope you can help me with is about indexing.
I said that the journal was indexed in JournalTOC’s, as well as others. I was working from the screen shot below [see Figure 2].
They have asked for more details, as they do not know what JournalTOC’s is and they want to know what others there are.
I have clicked on the JournalTOC’s link, as well as the “View More” link, but they do not seem to work.
Are you able to provide more details of the indexing for this journal, along with links that I can send them so that they can verify?
From the journal
Greetings..!!
Our journal Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences is indexed in the following categories kindly go through it:
- Worldcat
- Index Copernicus
- Cite Factor
- CROSSREF
- JournalTOC
- SJIF
Kindly let me know your opinion towards publication as soon as possible.
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Many thanks
Do you have links for these to show where that the journal is indexed, as I have never heard of some of these?
From the journal
Greetings..!!
The articles which are published in our journal are automatically published in the following indexing fields.
Kindly, let me know the possible date of submission, as soon as possible.
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Dear Assistant Editor
Thank you.
My university funding committee wants me to provide links to these various indices. I was hoping they were on your web site somewhere?
Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to track them all down myself.
From the journal
Greetings..!!
Our journal Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences is indexed in the following categories kindly go through it:
- Worldcat
- Index Copernicus
- Cite Factor —https://www.citefactor.org/journal/index/10543/global-journal-of-interdisciplinary-social-sciences#.YTnm6p0zbIU
- CROSSREF
- JournalTOC–https://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/index.php?action=search&subAction=hits&journalID=41232&userQueryID=88249&high=1&ps=30&page=1&items=0&journal_filter=&journalby
- Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Thank you.
I appreciate this. I’ll ask my library to try and track down the ones that are still missing (Worldcat, Index Copernicus, CROSSREF and SJIF), as I need t provide to all the indexes that you mentioned.
It may take them several days.
From the journal
Greetings..!!
Our journal Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences is indexed in the following categories kindly go through it:
- Awaiting for your positive response.
From the journal
Greetings..!!
Awaiting For your positive response.
Response from researcher
Thank you – I am still searching (when I have the time) for links to all the indexes you mention. Only then can I get authorization for claiming the publication fees. I have tried to find SJIF, but cannot find that at the moment – I will try again when I have the time.
Response from researcher
… actually, I have been informed that SJIF is not a recognised index for publication fees purposes. They also do not recognise Worldcat.
They have said that Scopus and Web of Science are required. Are you indexed by either of these?
From the journal
Greetings!
We can understand your concern that you need to publish your articles in a SCOPUS indexed journal. We have a sister journal which is indexed in SCOPUS.
The journal details are mentioned below:
Clinical Schizophrenia & Related Psychoses
url: https://www.clinicalschizophrenia.net/
Kindly let us know your opinion.
If there are any queries feel free to contact us.
Response from researcher
Thank you.
I’ll reach out to the EiC, as it is not apparent how the articles I planned for your journal would fit with your proposed journal. They appear to have totally different aims and scope?
From the journal
Greetings!
Kindly, Let us know your feasible time to submission your article.
Awaiting for your positive response.
Response from researcher
Hi
You suggested another journal to me, which I am looking at. Just trying to figure out how the articles I suggested fits with their aims and scope
From the journal
Greetings!
Kindly, Let us know your feasible time to submission your article.
Awaiting for your positive response.
From the journal
Greetings!
Kindly, Let us know your feasible time to submission your article.
Awaiting for your positive response.
From the journal
This is a Remainder mail.
Kindly, Let us know your feasible time to submission your article.
Awaiting for your positive response.
Concluding Remarks
If you have got this far, after reading all the above, congratulations!
We have read this email trail a few time and we do find it amazing that a journal says that it has a policy that it does not give out an editor-in-chief’s email address. In this regard, you might be interested in a survey that we recently ran, which asked “Should an Editor-in-Chief make their email address available?” You can read about this survey here.
We also note that the journal does not provide any names for the editorial staff, but they are very pushy in trying to get the potential author to submit their paper.
It is also apparent that the APC (Article Processing Charges) are never mentioned by the journal. They were raised by the researcher. Even then, there was no mention of the scale of the fees. Perhaps the researcher should have opened up that line of questioning?
A final comment we would make is with regard to the phone numbers. The researcher did make an attempt to contact the editor by phone but was not successful. You may have also seen the comment that at one point he/she was given a phone number in the USA for an editor that was from India. We don’t really know what to make of this.
Anyhow, we hope you enjoyed this transcript. If this type of post gets a favorable reaction, we may look at doing some more like this.
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