Posted on 12/03/2009 1:02:43 PM PST by CMoran325
... and maybe we can shed some light on chain mail. (Yeah, not the most pressing issue in the world but...)
Oh sure, not all of them are so obviously incomprehensible. Like those that tell you that they've gone around the world several times and have not been broken for decades and the harm that came to those who did break it -- really? How would you know? And did the original letter -- the one your supposed to copy exactly -- make these prognostic claims?
And then there are those that are emotional blackmail -- even if there really is a sick child who wants to get as many postcards as possible, and even if I really do support the troops, do I have to prove I care by forwarding emails?
Some of them are purely harmless. Recently a friend and a family member both sent a chain mail where all you have to do is send a recipe to one person, the name at the top of a two-person list. So you send a recipe to that friend-of-your-friend, move your friend's name to the top, and put your name at the bottom. Then you forward copies of the letter to 20 friends and hope they'll do the same.
Who couldn't use a few good recipes? Well, yeah, but...
I guess the appeal is that since it's such a short list, you should receive mail in return relatively soon -- and even if everybody doesn't hop on board, you'll share your recipe with someone and you'll get a few recipes in kind. No big deal. And believe me, I wouldn't mind receiving some simple meal ideas, and I have a couple up my sleeve that I am more than willing to share. But you have to look more closely at what is going on here to realize you might not want to participate.
Okay, let's say when you receive the letter, the person at the top of the list was a friend of the person who started it. And let's just assume that two people started it, using both their own email addresses to get it going.
So the first two people send it to 20 people each, and those 40 send it 20 people each. One of those 800 people is your friend. So that means that when you jump in, you are one of 16,000 folks in the next "generation" and the people you send it to are in a generation consisting of 320,000.
Still with me? So when your friends send out their emails, they will be adding 1,280,000 other kind souls to the mix. Your friends will be at the top of the list in the next generation -- which will be among the 256,000,000 emails in cyberspace asking for a simple recipe. That's almost the population of the US. And if it should somehow leap to another generation -- that would be almost the population of the entire world. In just seven "forwards."
Now, of course, each person's name will only have the potential to be at the top of 400 emails. And it's more than likely that -- just like at every level of this chain -- only a few of those who receive the email will actually join in. So no, it's not really conceivable that it would ever approach the numbers I've thrown about here. So there's really no harm, no foul -- it is innocent correspondence with an innocuous purpose. (Although it must be said -- your email address could be sent to as many as 400 people, and you can't know for sure that it won't make its way onto some spam list or other.)
Call me a stickler, but I've come to the conclusion that these types of emails -- as utterly harmless and sincere as they may be -- are just not something I want to perpetuate.
(Feel free to pass this post on to as many people as you want -- and they can pass it on, if they want. Maybe we can make people think twice before they hit "send" on another chain mail.)
Just Send This to 20 of Your Friends...
Yes, whenever you see that statement in one of your e-mails... make sure it never gets sent to even one of your friends... LOL...
Any email that emotionally blackmails, threatens, or cojoles me to send it to others get deleted no matter how good the content may be.
I find it hard to believe, but you really are a non-believer, aren’t you. Tsk-tsk-tsk!
cojoles=cajoles
Note to self: Use preview before posting!
I like the ones that say that after I send my 20 emails something weird or funny or totally awesome, will happen on my computer! It makes me wonder how long the person who sent the email to me sat and stared at their screen waiting for something to happen!
Several weeks ago I sent the following to friends who send me these things, but they sent me several more this morning anyway:
[I have been suspicious of chain Email and wondered if they are schemes to gather addresses to be spammed. That is why I don’t answer or forward them. This morning I searched Yahoo for “chain mail phishing” and came up with these excerpts from the Online Safety Fraud Prevention section at Microsoft.com:
How to handle suspicious e-mail
There are good reasons to be suspicious of e-mail.
Some e-mail messages might be phishing scams, some might carry viruses. Images in spam e-mail might turn out to be pornographic, or to include Web beacons, which can be adapted to secretly send a message back to the sender.
Follow these guidelines to help protect yourself when suspicious mail shows up in your Inbox
9. Don’t forward chain e-mail messages
Not only do you lose control over who sees your e-mail address, but you also may be furthering a hoax or aiding in the delivery of a virus.
Plus, there are reports that spammers start chain letters expressly to gather e-mail addresses. If you don’t know whether a message is a hoax or not, a site like Snopes can help you separate fact from fiction.
[Definition from Wikipedia: In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.]
I will add this special caution to anyone using a company or government computer: Just now on FOX News, there was a story about “Spear Phishing” which means that if ONE employee allows it in, it can access the entire network. Many are originating in China. This could be a major breach of privacy and security.]
And dont forget guilt. I had one the other day that ended with a plea from Jesus himself to pass it on to 20 others. It was something in the order of if you really love me and believe my word, you won't delete this. Forgive me Jesus for I have deleted your e-mail. The lenghts people will go to to make you continue the chain.
I had one the other day that ended with a plea from Jesus himself to pass it on to 20 others.
Yeah... that's so ridiculous, it ought to be considered blasphemy... LOL...
I’m glad to finally see people discouraging chain letters on a republican forum.
This had mathematical errors — they are now corrected. Go to the web link if you’re really interested in the minutae...
I should say that I’m not totally against fwd emails — as long as they are accurate. It is a good way to spread info, but one must be careful not to be spreading urban myths or misreported stories or *dis*information
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