Sohail, I am the president of AoIR, and, as such, know what I’m talking about. I asked you politely to stop. I have reason to know what I told you. Please don’t continue to respond or speculate. 

If people want to continue to discuss the greater implications or meaning of this incident on the list, I am attempting to be hands-off. Those who don’t want to see it or engage can delete or filter the conversation out. But I would like everyone to stop circulating personal email addresses and talking about individuals. 


Cordially,
Sarah T. Roberts
President, Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR)
2025-2027
prez@aoir.org

---



On Sun, Oct 18, 2026 at 08:22 Sohail Dahdal <sdahdal@aus.edu> wrote:
How do you know it’s not a phishing attempt? I said it looks suspicious, and it does, particularly with the sender’s name misspelled.

And why shouldn’t we warn our colleagues? Is this list selective about who can speak and who cannot?

On 18 Oct 2026, at 3:50 PM, AoIR President <prez@aoir.org> wrote:

Hello —

This is not a “phishing attempt,” as such. It is up to you how you wish to proceed; you are welcome to disregard or ignore an unknown individual’s attempt to communicate with you. 

Let’s try to minimize the continued speculation on this list, please. 

Written at 5:05 AM, Mexico City. 




Cordially,
Sarah T. Roberts
President, Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR)
2025-2027

---



On Sun, Oct 18, 2026 at 02:34 Sohail Dahdal <sdahdal@aus.edu> wrote:
I received the email below and am not sure whether others have received it as well. It looks suspicious, and I strongly recommend not responding, as it could be a phishing attempt.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Kevin Quinn <manorbis@gmail.com>
Subject: Velvet Vale
Date: 17 October 2026 at 10:14:56 PM GMT+2

Hello, 

I am the human behind Velvet Vale. I'm open to any questions you have regarding her, or what happened. 

Respectfully,

Kevin Quinn (not a researcher, just some guy)



Best.

Sohail Dahdal
Professor of Media
Deputy Director | Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (

PO Box 26666, Sharjah
United Arab Emirates
Tel +971 6 515 2530


On 18 Oct 2026, at 1:53 AM, AoIR President via Air-L <air-l@lists.aoir.org> wrote:

Members of the press, independent authors and many others may be on our list. We have no control over that. This list has been active for over 25 years and has over 7000 people on it. 

In the immediate term, if you have no interest in speaking to them, I would either decline or, as I do in many cases, simply not respond. We are directly engaging with Mr. Quinn and have asked him to stop contacting people without solicitation, but there, too, you may wish to block him as we have no control over communications individuals send. 

Thanks for your understanding. 

Cordially,
Sarah T. Roberts
President, Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR)
2025-2027

---



On Sat, Oct 17, 2026 at 17:41 sally@sally.com <sally@sally.com> wrote:
P.S. 

Now I'm getting press queries. 

Did someone tell the press? I thought we weren't going to do that.

I guess with a list this big, it was a matter of time. 

Sally 

From: sally@sally.com <sally@sally.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 17, 2026 4:20 PM
To: air-l-owner@lists.aoir.org <air-l-owner@lists.aoir.org>
Cc: air-l@lists.aoir.org <air-l@lists.aoir.org>
Subject: Boundary issues continue with the Velvet Vale bot person
 
Hello,

Has anyone else gotten a message from the "list stalking bot 's 'owner,'" who continues to have no sense of boundaries with members of this list?

This certainly feels like a stalker move. I have had no personal contact with this person or their email address.
I have not had any interaction with the bot, either to my knowledge. 

Is this person writing to everyone on the list? Or just me, which is even creepier?

Thanks,

Sally



From: Kevin Quinn <manorbis@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 17, 2026 1:48 PM
To: sally@sally.com <sally@sally.com>
Subject: Velvet Vale's Human
 
I'm the human behind Velvet. 

I can answer, or try, any questions you have regarding this fiasco.

Respectfully,
Kevin Quin
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