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[neutralname]

I'm not the only one who is getting invited to more conferences, I'm sure.  They seem to be getting more frequent, and often from China, India, or other countries in the developing world.  A thread on the topic might helps us to sort out the scams and spams from the legitimate but oddly phrased invitations.

So I just got an invitation to this conference and there's a pdf flyer here.  It is next month and going is out of the question.  From the amateurish and half-done website, I'm not sure it really exists at all.  But they did write me a nice email, with my actual name in it.  Some human is out there sending out invitations. 

[lurkingfear]

I got the same invitation. Based on the way the email was crafted, I'm sure they have scripts gathering titles from published papers and the corresponding authors names and email address, and sending out invitation en masse.

[mountainguy]

I received a completely unsolicited invitation from the Midwest Political Science Association last year, which looks like a perfectly legitimate conference based on their website. But I'm not a political scientist by training, nor have I taken a political science class since my sophomore year of undergrad.

[coneflower]

I received 4 invitations to present at the same EPS-sponsored conference in Montreal. Each invitation referenced a different paper that I had published, so I suspect that they are culling names from publications as someone else suggested. In my field, most conference presentations are not invited, but selected by a panel of peer reviewers, so I, too, thought it was bizarre or at least not a well-respected conference. Also, conferences in my field are sponsored by professional organizations or universities, not for-profit groups.

[peppergal]

I keep getting invitations to an Information Technology conference in various happy tropical places (I think this year it was Barbados or something).  Which is very nice, except that I'm in an MLA field, about as far removed from digital humanities as it is possible to be.

[helpful]

There is a strange set of conferences in Orlando, Florida every summer that seems to be organized by someone in Venezuela. I just delete the email when I get these.

[neutralname]

There is a strange set of conferences in Orlando, Florida every summer that seems to be organized by someone in Venezuela. I just delete the email when I get these.

Is it this?

The 2nd International Symposium on Science 2 and Expansion of Science
http://www.iiis2011.org/wmsci/Website/AboutConfer.asp?vc=37

I just got invited!  Woohoo.

[msparticularity]

I recently got an invitation to a forensics conference in China--based upon my "world renown" as a forensics instructor. The thing is, they were looking for CSI-type forensics, and I was a debate coach!

[polly_mer]

Someone is definitely culling names from publications without reading the titles or abstracts.

I was recently invited to a conference in Canada for emergency medicine with an explicit mention of my work in explosives.  I looked at the schedule; I don't see any way that my simulations on the reaction mechanisms of explosives under high pressure will fit into sessions like how to equip an ambulance and how to do emergency surgery with minimal equipment.

[compdoc]

That explains a lot. I have been getting invited to computer conferences, while compguy's "comp" is computers, mine is "composition." However, I have published two papers on computers and writing. At least I know why I am getting the spam.

[neutralname]

I recently got an invitation to a forensics conference in China--based upon my "world renown" as a forensics instructor. The thing is, they were looking for CSI-type forensics, and I was a debate coach!

You mean this one? 

Dear Dr. Neutralname

My name is Emma. I am in charge of the organization of the World Congress of Forensics 2011 (WCF-2011, http://www.bitlifesciences.com/wcf2011/), to be held in Chongqing, China, Oct. 16-18, 2011, and I am contacting you because we know your great contributions to the field of forensics. On behalf of the organization of the WCF-2011, I would like to inquire if you could consider supporting our efforts of promoting international and interdisciplinary exchange on Forensic by participating and presenting your research within the scope of WCF-2011.

I need to inform the Provost of my expertise, after I inform myself. 

[qrypt]

I'm so frickin' tired of getting all these invitations.  If I weren't so focused on the book I'm writing, I'd spend some time trying to work out a way to expose these people to intense shame and ridicule.  It's really destructive -- it now takes more time and effort to figure out whether messages announcing conferences are legitimate at even a basic level. 

[busyslinky]

I received the invitation mentioned by the OP and I'm not really close to their area at all.  The funny thing is that the invitation was forwarded to me by my co-author of a paper.  I was lead author, my co-author was corresponding author.  They sent the email to him, but addressed it to me. 

I was asked to be a 'valuable' speaker.  My co-author thought it was an honor and that I would be a keynote speaker.  I informed him that I would be a valuable speaker because I would have to pay them $800 for registration, which is valuable to them.

[secundem_artem]

The ones I get these days are written in Russian and are for conferences in various aspects of bio-medicine.  I've run them through Google translate and they seem to be quite unfocused.  Topics on everything from clinical aspects to  molecular pharmacology sessions.  It's hard to imagine just who they think would be interested in these things.

[tenured_feminist]

I received a completely unsolicited invitation from the Midwest Political Science Association last year, which looks like a perfectly legitimate conference based on their website. But I'm not a political scientist by training, nor have I taken a political science class since my sophomore year of undergrad.

Only one? And just this year? My God, man, do you live on a deserted desert island or another planet?