The concern you mentioned about AI bots is exactly why I am hesitant to put my email address out there in a public post.  But I imagine the site owner has their reasons for not trusting PMing.  Unfortunately, hacking/phishing has become such a global problem that there's no good answer...

"imagine the site owner has their reasons for not trusting PMing. "

Not a trust issue, but the amount and complexity of the work required to implement such a feature.  This site is a sideline / hobby for him, not his income-producing career path.