I am become Mark

Interesting repost from Tywkiwdbi about charity-scamming.  Using the sprat of a $check$ you become caught as the mackerel that will keep being solicited`by the whores of the charity sector.  I've commented before about overhead in the fund-raising sector. You are exhorted to do some research before you Give: to ascertain how much of your donation goes to front-line services and how much filling the waist-bands of the CEO, the Board of Trustees, the Fund-raising Liaison Officer. We were naive enough to get some of our work published in what some have flagged as being a predatory journal - an academic journal which lives off the page-charges rather than for scientific credibility.

This has had the unfortunate effect of flagging my mail-box for "we'll have some of that money, stupid " campaigns. Targetting your mail-campaigns is less crucial now that you no longer have to pay to put a stamp on an envelope but being efficient must have some benefits. These solicitations have been quaintly illiterate and wonky on apostrophes and I will not be responding to them directly.  I enclose an editted list, so as to help you-the-reader get "your vast expertise and eminent contribution" Out There.

The breadth of subjects which some of these publications embrace is almost as butterfly-like as The Blob: aging, badgers, calendars, drugs, engineering, flags, genetics, haematology, islands, jokes, karyotypes; languages, maps . . .

• Dear Dr. Bob Scientist, Greetings for the day!! I am glad to reach you on behalf of World Geochemistry 2017 Organizing Committee, after having a view at your vast expertise and eminent contribution in the research relevant to Geochemistry. We urge you to speak . . . wide range of subjects, to foster learning, inspiration and wonder . . .Warm Regards,, James Michael, Program Manager 
• Dear Dr. Bob Scientist, Greetings of the day! In view of your past publications & research areas, we would like to invite you to the special edition on Community Medicine: Population Health. We are also receiving articles for our Special issues on Entertainment-Education, Community Mental Health Services, Cortisol, Upper respiratory tract infections, Undernutrition, Anaemias. Grace Christy. Jacobs Journal of Community Medicine
• Respected Bob Scientist, Hope this mail finds you in jovial mood! Dentistry [Journal Impact Factor: 1.08] Journal editorial team is in quest of clinical and research articles in subjects such as Prosthodontics, Operative dentistry, Implantology, Endodontics, Periodontics and Dental materials. Kindly let us know your interest towards our invitation. We are waiting for your response. Suruchi Ahuja, Journal Coordinator, Dentistry.
• Dear Colleague,  Greetings from Pollution Control 2017. We have attempted to contact you earlier regarding the Conference and as we are aware of your busy schedule and your engagement in many other activities, we would like to take the pleasure of contacting you again regarding registration towards Pollution Control 2017. It is to inform you that we are providing huge discount on registration packages. Katherine McKnight, Conference Manager.
• Dear Dr.Bob Scientist, I hope you are doing fine. I am pleased to introduce you to the Journal of “Archives in Chemical Research” .The journal is inviting eminent personnel’s for the contribution towards the upcoming Issue. Best Regards, S.Shreena, Journal coordinator, Archives in Chemical Research.
• Dear Author/Researcher, International Journal of Medical Research and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Invites you to submit your research paper for publishing . . . Editor in Chief:
• At least that's blunt and impersonal rather than faux-chummy.
• Attn: Bob. How are you today ?. I have an urgent transaction i want to disclose to you and which will be of great interest to both of us. Thanks. Mr. patel Hassu. READ BELOW CONTENT AND GET BACK TO ME. You may have heard about huge sums of money being stached away and some hidden in private houses,water tamks,warehouses and some shops in shopping malls in Nigeria, Recently Nigeria Government placed certain percentage etc etc.
• Dear Bob Scientist B, Greetings from the Journal of Climatology & Weather Forecasting. Please consider this friendly reminder! It’s a great privilege to write an expert like you about our journal ‘Journal of Climatology & Weather Forecasting’ comprehends focused and broad areas of research . . . Oceanography, Sea surface temperature anomalies, Flood, Thunderstorm, Radar reflectivity, Vertical wind shear . . .in Climate and Weather. With regards, Jerry Pinto, Journal Manager
• Dear Dr.Bob Scientist, Greetings from Advanced Materials 2017! We are happy to bring to your notice that Conference Series is hosting the “13th International Conference and Exhibition on Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology”. Regards, Karthik Daniel | Program Coordinator | Advanced Materials 2017.
• Dear Dr. , Hope you are doing great! We are pleased to inform you that we are launching “Special Issues” for the journal of Virology & Retrovirology Journal. We respectfully invite eminent expert like you to handle (as Editor) a special issue of your interest mentioned below. Looking for your response on publication and your recent project you are working on. Many thanks, Hinemoa Grace.
• Dear Hope this email finds you well! We are pleased to announce a Regular Edition on "Pollution". At the onset, we cordially invite you to submit a manuscript to the upcoming edition on “Pollution.” Jenny Meyer, Editorial Office- SM JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY (SMJET)
• Dear Colleague, We are currently accepting submissions for Original Articles, Reviews, Short Communications, and Case Reports. We also have a Special Section that includes Letters, Experiences, Interviews and other type of publications from all fields of International Journal of Nursing Didactics (IJND), Journal of Medical Biomedical and Applied Sciences (JMBAS). Best regards, Dr Vivek Daniel Editor.
• Dear Bob Scientist, On behalf of Editorial Board of the British Biomedical Bulletin, I invite you to submit a manuscript to be considered for upcoming issue. The journal aims to publish articles in all aspects of research on Women’s Health, Issues and Care that include topics such as Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, Genetics, Computational Studies, Biophysics, Immunology, Translational Medicine Biomedical Research, Physiology, Pharmacology, Biochemistry, Personalized Medicine, Surgical Instrument etc.
• Dear Dr.Bob Scientist, The Committee welcomes papers on Journal of Aging Research And Healthcare. Manuscripts submitted before July 23, 2017 will be published within in 14 days. Each invited author should make every effort to present his/her paper in this journal by presenting the best innovative article.With warm regards, John Abraham, Editorial Office, OAP 616 Corporate Way, 

This extra traffic is not enough traffic to annoy me and it would be easier to delete this nonsense quietly. But there is a research project here trying to identify, by house style "Greetings of the day!!!!" etc., the journals which come from the same stable. You may imagine that the corporate overheads are less than the "National Cancer Research Institute": probably no more than a hard-working entrepreneur in Bangalore with a cousin in the US who is prepared to check the PO Box in Austin TX which at rare intervals receives a manuscript. You should no more believe that Mr Enterprise O'Bangalore (BA Bombay, failed) is called Grace or Katherine than my call-centred pal who identified herself as Attracta Looney. I guess on the face of it, I'd rather become a Mark for these wannabee Maxwells than like J. Robert Oppenheimer "I am become Death, destroyer of worlds"