If you’ve ever submitted a manuscript that was eventually rejected, you can understand why people will resort to this kind of publication. Publishing novel stuff is hard, and not everybody can do it.
First there are the true crackpots who see the chance to finally tell the world about their pet theory. Friends have always told them they are really smart and so the only reason why regular journals do not publish their stuff is because of some conspiracy.
More common are those people for whom this is a means to an end. One is required to show a certain level of publishing activity to maintain a job or a salary level, and this is a way to maintain the appearance of productivity without skipping too many fishing weekends with your buddies.
Some do it to keep up with the Jones. Well after all I should have the same perks as my colleagues who manage to publish crap only because they know the editor, or their collaborators do all the work etc, but at least I publish my own ideas by myself...
Validation does not come from doing this yourself, it comes when your work is validated by other neutral third parties.
Of course there are also predatory conferences. Quoting from this Vancouver Sun article:
The debate over such publications often revolves around which academics are genuinely duped by the deceptive journals and conferences, and which academics take advantage of them to advance their careers.
