Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) expect you reply

The website of the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute states (10/25/17) that

MDPI.com is a platform for peer-reviewed, scientific open-access journals operated by MDPI AG, based in Basel, Switzerland. Additional offices are located in Beijing and Wuhan (China) as well as in Barcelona (Spain).

However, the domain mdpi.com is registered to Perfect Privacy, LLC, of Jacksonville, Florida, making it hard to know who is really behind this megapublisher.

MDPI crows that

Our publishing activities are supported by more than 15,700 active scientists and academic editors on our journals' international editorial boards, including several Nobelists. More than 263,500 individual authors have already published with MDPI.

I guess it is better to have active rather than passive scientists working for you.The journals that attract these Nobelists have names such as Actuators, Algorithms, Axioms, Atoms, Animals, and Ads. Those are just a few of the ones that start with A. Alas, there are no entries for K, X, Y, and Z. W is for Water, and U is for Universe (and Urban Science). There is a Toxins and a Toxics, a Pharmaceuticals and a Pharmaceutics. Nevertheless, some MDPI journals may be sincere efforts to publish meaningful work. From 2010-2016, the editor in chief of Laws was Larry Gostin, a preeminent scholar of global public health law, and the journal includes some articles from mainstream law faculty, particularly in the health-law field.

If the emails to me are any indication, MDPI is scrounging for material by writing authors of articles appearing in bona fide journals whose titles suggest that they could prepare some related article for one of their journals. Indeed, they are even offering to waive publication charges for the recipients of their personalized spam.

UPDATE of 5 Oct 2022: The following discussions of MDPI are revealing. Some contain additional links:

• Thorough article on MDPI’s Remarkable Growth by Christos Petrou in the Scholarly Kitchen;
• News story in ScienceInsider entitled "Open-access journal editors resign after alleged pressure to publish mediocre papers: Nutrients editors quit en masse from MDPI journal";
• Discussion on the mathematician's Igor Pak's blog;
• Discussion on the geographer Mats Widgren's blog;
• Postings on ResearchGate

Email

Mathematics

• From: Nemo Guan [nemo.guan@mdpi.com]
  Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2021 9:16 AM
  Subject: Call for Paper Reminder: [Mathematics] (IF: 1.747, ISSN: 2227-7390) — Special Issue "Mathematical Modelling and Hybrid Strategies for Risk and Uncertainty Management"
  Dear Dr. Kaye,
  We contacted you on 31st of March, regarding a Special Issue entitled "Mathematical Modelling and Hybrid Strategies for Risk and Uncertainty Management", to be published in the journal Mathematics (ISSN 2227-7390, IF 1.747). Prof. Dr. Svajonė Bekešienė and Prof. Dr. Ieva Meidutė-Kavaliauskienė are serving as Guest Editors for this issue. Based on your expertise in this field, we think you could make an excellent contribution.
  This Special Issue focuses on the characterization of uncertainties and the development of risk assessment models for the essential infrastructures in different areas of life. Both practical applications for reliability-based design code calibration and quantitative risk assessment, and novel methodological developments, including emerging areas, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, are included to provide a reliable method for multifaceted risk assessment. We invite you to contribute and submit your latest research work.
  For further reading, please follow the link to the Special Issue Website at: ...
  The submission deadline is 31 December 2021. You may send your manuscript now or up until the deadline. Submitted papers should not be under consideration for publication elsewhere. We also encourage authors to send a short abstract or tentative title to the Editorial Office in advance (mathematics@mdpi.com).
  Mathematics is fully open access. Open access (unlimited and free access by readers) increases publicity and promotes more frequent citations, as indicated by several studies. Open access is supported by the authors and their institutes. An Article Processing Charge (APC) of CHF 1600 currently applies to all accepted papers.
  For further details on the submission process, please see the instructions for authors at the journal website ...
  We also invite you to post an early version of your paper on our free preprint platform, Preprints, allowing you to receive feedback from your peers and make your early results citable. For more information or to submit your preprint, visit ...
  We look forward to hearing from you.
  Kind regards,
  Nemo Guan
  Assistant Editor
  Mathematics (ISSN 2227-7390; is a journal published by MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Mathematics maintains rigorous peer-review and a rapid publication process. All articles are published with a CC BY 4.0 license. For more information on the CC BY license, please see: ...
  To submit to the journal click here:
  Unsubscribe: ...
  Manage your subscriptions: ...
  MDPI
  St. Alban-Anlage 66
  4052 Basel Switzerland
  Tel. +41 61 683 77 34 Fax +41 61 302 89 18
  Disclaimer: MDPI recognizes the importance of data privacy and protection. We treat personal data in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and with what the community expects of us. The information contained in this message is confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this message in error, please notify me and delete this message from your system. You may not copy this message in its entirety or in part, or disclose its contents to anyone. [← What community" thinks spam is confidential?]
  

Risk

• From: Risks Editorial Office
  Subject: [Risks] Invitation to Publish a Paper Free of Charge in Risks (ESCI - Web of Science) - expect you reply
  Sent: Oct 24 at 9:30 PM
  Dear Dr. Kaye,
  We noticed you published the following outstanding manuscript: Beyond uniqueness: the birthday paradox, source attribution and individualization in forensic science testimony. Law Probab. Risk 2013, 12, 3-11.
  On behalf of the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Mogens Steffensen, of Mathematical Sciences, University of Copenhagen (Denmark), we would like to invite you to contribute a research article or review article for publication in our journal Risks. If you could submit an article by the end of 2017, the article processing charges (APCs) will be fully waived. Your submission will be paid high priority during processing. Please visit the Instructions for Authors before submitting a manuscript: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/risks/instructions/. Once your manuscript is ready, please submit it through our online submission system at http://www.mdpi.com/user/manuscripts/upload/.
  *About Risks* ...*Rapid publication*: manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision provided to authors approximately 41 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 9 days (median values for papers published in this journal in 2016).
  In order for us to plan for the whole project, please kindly inform us within 3 weeks as to whether you would be willing to accept our offer. We look forward to hearing from you.
  Kind regards, Daria Shi, Assistant Managing Editor, Email: daria.shi@mdpi.com
  On behalf of Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Mogens Steffensen, Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
  --MDPI Branch Office, Beijing, Risks Editorial Office, Tel. +86 10 6193 4609, Fax +86 10 6193 4609, E-mail: risks@mdpi.com, http://www.mdpi.com/journal/risks/
  MDPI AG, Postfach, CH-4020 Basel, Switzerland, Office: St. Alban-Anlage 66, 4052 Basel, Tel.: +41 61 683 77 34; Fax: +41 61 302 89 18
• From: Risks Editorial Office [risks@mdpi.com]
  Sent: 11/10/2017 1:46 AM
  Re: Gentle Reminder: [Risks] Invitation to Publish a Paper Free of Charge in Risks (ESCI - Web of Science) - expect you reply
  Dear Dr. Kaye,
  We invited you to submit a free Paper to the journal Risks in October 2017. In case you missed our previous email, we would like to renew our invitation for you. We noticed you published the following outstanding manuscript: Deadly statistics: quantifying an 'unacceptable risk' in capital punishment. Law Probab. Risk 2017, 16, 7-34. On behalf of the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Mogens Steffensen of Mathematical Sciences, University of Copenhagen (Denmark), we would like to invite you to contribute a research article or review article for publication in our journal Risks. If you could submit an article by the end of 2017, the article processing charges (APCs) will be fully waived. Your submission will be paid high priority ...We look forward to hearing from you.
  Kind regards, Janine Li, Assistant Managing Editor, Email: janine.li@mdpi.com On behalf of Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Mogens Steffensen, Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
  --MDPI Branch Office, Beijing, Risks Editorial Office,Tel. +86 10 6193 4609, Fax +86 10 6193 4609, E-mail: risks@mdpi.com, http://www.mdpi.com/journal/risks/
  --MDPI AG, Postfach, CH-4020 Basel, Switzerland, Office: St. Alban-Anlage 66, 4052 Basel, Tel.: +41 61 683 77 34; Fax: +41 61 302 89 18
• From: Risks Editorial Office (risks@mdpi.com)
  Sent: 11/2617, 10:46:19 PM
  Subject: Gentle Reminder: [Risks] Invitation to Publish a Paper Free of Charge in Risks (ESCI - - Web of Science) - expect you reply
  Dear Dr. Kaye,
  We invited you to submit a free Paper to the journal Risks in October 2017. In case you missed our previous email, we would like to renew our invitation for you. We noticed you published the following outstanding manuscript: Beyond uniqueness: the birthday paradox, source attribution and individualization in forensic science testimony. Law Probab. Risk 2013, 12, 3-11.
  On behalf of the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Mogens Steffensen of Mathematical Sciences, University of Copenhagen (Denmark), we would like to invite you to contribute a research article or review article for publication in our journal Risks. If you could submit an article by the end of 2017, the article processing charges (APCs) will be fully waived. Your submission will be paid high priority during processing. Please visit the Instructions for Authors before submitting a manuscript: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/risks/instructions/. Once your manuscript is ready, please submit it through our online submission system at http://www.mdpi.com/user/manuscripts/upload/.
  *About Risks* ...
  *Rapid publication*: manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision provided to authors approximately 41 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 9 days (median values for papers published in this journal in 2016).
  In order for us to plan for the whole project, please kindly inform us within 3 weeks as to whether you would be willing to accept our offer. We look forward to hearing from you.
  Kind regards, Daria Shi, Managing Editor, Email: daria.shi@mdpi.com
  On behalf of Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Mogens Steffensen, Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
  -- MDPI Branch Office, Beijing, Risks Editorial Office, Tel. +86 10 6193 4609, Fax +86 10 6193 4609, E-mail: risks@mdpi.com, http://www.mdpi.com/journal/risks/
  -- MDPI AG, Postfach, CH-4020 Basel, Switzerland, Office: St. Alban-Anlage 66, 4052 Basel, Tel.: +41 61 683 77 34; Fax: +41 61 302 89 18