Dispelling E-mail myths
Urban legends and E-mail
chain letters annoy the SHIT out of me. Whoever
decided to take the time to create this note and forward it on should receive
some type of award. It says it all!
Big companies don't do business via chain letters.
Bill Gates is not going to give you $1000, and Disney is not going to give you a free vacation.
There is no baby food company issuing class-action checks.
Proctor and Gamble is not part of a satanic cult or scheme, and its logo is not satanic.
MTV will not give you backstage passes if you forward something to the most people.
The Gap is not giving away free clothes.
You can relax; there is no need to pass it on "just in case it's true."
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 I quote: "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.
Neiman
Marcus doesn't really sell a $200 cookie recipe.
And even 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, and
decide the cookies are that awesome, feel free to pass the recipe on.
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 and we wouldn't hear
anything about it on the TV news? ...or
in the paper?
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.
You will not be charged a 5 cents per e-mail tax by the government. That would be impossible to enforce.
Bad luck will not befall you if you fail to forward that adorable angel picture to 7 close friends within 24 hours.
There are several legitimate websites that dispel these and many other e-mail hoaxes. Before you forward a message to 847 of your closest friends, check just one of them, I beg you. Here is my favorite because I think it is the most comprehensive: www.urbanlegends.about.com