Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 23:49:57 -0500
Reply-To: "Carrington, Tom" <tcarrington@RELITECH.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Carrington, Tom" <tcarrington@RELITECH.COM>
Subject: Re: FW: E-Mail Surcharge
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
A co-worker sent this to me today, seems like it is worth passing on:
1. Big companies simply don't do business via chain letters. Bill Gates is
not giving you $1000, and Disney is not giving you a free vacation. There
is
no baby food company issuing class-action checks. Honda Motors is not
giving away
cars with some pyramid scheme. Procter 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. You can relax; there
is no need
to pass it on "just in case it's true." Furthermore, just because someone
said in a message, four generations back, that we checked it out and it's
"legit"
does not actually make it true.
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 .
And 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.
3. 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,
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 it
comes from 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 insufferable idiots who forwards anything that
"promises" something bad will happen if you "don't," then something bad
will happen to you if I ever meet you in a dark alley.
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 (except the genius who sent it to
you originally) or the program I just put on your hard drive while you
read
this E-mail will open your CD-ROM drive, reach out, and slap you upside
the
head!
TomC
tcarrington@relitech.com
http://volksweb.relitech.com
85 Vanagon Crew Cab
82 Westy diesel=>gas conversion
65 Notchback
