Hoaxes, Chain Letters,
and other annoying email things...

Here's some web pages that will hopefully provide some insight and education into alot of the garbage we get via email:

• No, Madalyn Murray O'Hare is not going to take "Touched By An Angel" off the air.

• US Postal Service News Release (email tax)

http://www.usps.gov/news/press/99/99045new.htm

• CIAC Internet Hoaxes (US DOE site)

http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html

• National Fraud Information Center

http://www.fraud.org/welcome.htm

• EFF "Hoaxes" Archive

http://www.eff.org/pub/Net_culture/Folklore/Hoaxes/

• Chain Letters

http://athos.rutgers.edu/~watrous/chain-letters.html

• Proctor & Gamble

http://www.pg.com/rumor/faqs.html

2. There is no kidney theft ring in New Orleans. No one is waking up in a bathtub full of ice, even if a friend of a friend swears it happened to their cousin. If you are hell-bent on believing the kidney-theft ring stories, see http://urbanlegends.tqn.com/library/weekly/aa062997.htm

"The National Kidney Foundation has repeatedly issued requests for actual victims of organ thieves to come forward and tell their stories. None have." That's "none" as in "zero". Not even your friend's cousin.

Nieman Marcus doesn't sell a cookie recipe for $3,000. And if they do, we all have it. And even if you don't, you can get a copy at: http://www.bl.net/forwards/cookie.html. Then, if you make the recipe, decide the cookies are that awesome, feel free to pass the recipe on.

4. If the latest NASA rocket disaster(s) DID contain plutonium that went to particulate over the eastern seaboard, do you REALLY think this information would reach the public via an AOL chain letter?

5. There is no "Good Times" virus. In fact, you should never, ever, ever forward any email containing any virus warning unless you first confirm that an actual site of an actual company that actually deals with viruses. Try: http://www.norton.com. And even then, don't forward it. We don't care. And you cannot get a virus from a flashing IM or email, you have to download....ya know, like, a FILE!

6. There is no gang initiation plot to murder any motorist who flashes headlights at another car driving at night without lights.

7. If you're using Outlook, IE, or Netscape to write email, turn off the "HTML encoding." Those of us on Unix shells can't read it, and don't care enough to save the attachment and then view it with a web browser since you're probably forwarding us a copy of the Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe anyway.

8. If you still absolutely MUST forward that 10th-generation message from a friend, at least have the decency to trim the eight miles of headers showing everyone else who's received it over the last 6 months. It sure wouldn't hurt to get rid of all the ">" that begin each line either. Besides, if it has gone around that many times we've probably already seen it.

9. Craig Shergold (or Sherwood, or Sherman, etc.) in England is not dying of cancer or anything else at this time and would like everyone to stop sending him their business cards. He apparently is no longer a "little boy" either.

10. The "Make a Wish" foundation is a real organization doing fine work, but they have had to establish a special toll free hot line in response to the large number of Internet hoaxes using their good name and reputation. It is distracting them from the important work they do.

11. If you are one of those people who forwards anything that "promises" something bad will happen if you "don't," then something bad might if you don't quit forwarding these messages if you make someone mad enough.

12. Women really are suffering in Afghanistan, and PBS and NEA funding are still vulnerable to attack (although not at the present time), but forwarding an e-mail won't help either cause in the least. If you want to help, contact your local legislative representative, or get in touch with Amnesty International or the Red Cross. As a general rule, e-mail "signatures" are easily faked and mean nothing to anyone with any power to do anything about whatever the competition is complaining about. (P.S.: There is no bill pending before Congress that will allow long distance companies to charge you for using the Internet.)

Bottom Line... composing e-mail or posting something on the Net is as easy as writing on the walls of a public restroom. Don't automatically believe it until it's proven false... ASSUME it's false, unless there is proof that it's true.

Now forward this to everyone you know or the program I just put on your hard drive while you read this E-mail may just open up your CD-ROM and reach out and slap you upside the head!

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