1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Are you part of the problem?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Schmika, Nov 14, 2005.

  1. Schmika

    Schmika New Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2005
    1,617
    2
    0
    Location:
    Xenia, OH
    I just received another e-mail "chain letter" and finished reading the post about massive numbers of Hummers being hidden...and I got to thinking....do you see yourself as a promoter or encourager of these things....or do you see yourself as a voice of reason who tries to dispel such things.

    Myself....I look at the potential for harm. Around work, I occasionally participate in the "rumor mill" with two caveats....if it about a person, always do it with them around to hear the original comment by me, then, after a good laugh, I tell them I am kidding...if it is about an event, I only do it if no one will be identified or get into trouble.

    Otherwise, I work hard at dispelling rumors. So much so, many people I work with come to me to ask if something is true, since I typically find out.

    The e-mail to me (and a whole buch of others) I replied to all advising them it was incorrect and told them where they could find the truth. I find myself doing this quite frequently. I used to just delete them, now I feel it is my duty to reply with the truth or a differing idea. Hey, they wrote me, I should be able to write back.

    BTW, the e-mail today was about the muslim christmas stamp and how we should boycott it. This particular issue is from 2001 and it isn't as it sounds (snopes.com)

    For those of you who pass along e-mails or tales...if it isn't true...you are either hurting someone or passing along ignorance. I wonder how many people who would never "tell tales" face to face but forward this stuff without thinking. Maybe I should use the word gossip...same thing.
     
    #1 Schmika, Nov 14, 2005
  2. jeneric

    jeneric New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2005
    442
    1
    0
    Location:
    Redmond, WA
    I do what I can to dispel such things without being a jerk about it. I'm in I.T. and a Math major, so I know what a problem they can be.
     
    #2 jeneric, Nov 14, 2005
  3. LaughingMan

    LaughingMan Active Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2005
    1,386
    2
    0
    Location:
    Marlborough, MA
    I am generally a promoter of reason...

    For such things, I try to put myself in the shoes of Penn & Teller on their Showtime show Bullsh*t... debunkers of fake science, baseless illogical misconceptions and outright lies that people want to believe...

    basically, Bullsh*t. :D.
     
    #3 LaughingMan, Nov 14, 2005
  4. Jack 06

    Jack 06 New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2005
    2,556
    0
    0
    Location:
    Winters, CA: Prius capital of US. 30 miles W of S
    Schmika: I agree 100%. Much as I love the Net, the Dumbing Down of America and the Net do not a promising marriage make. The Net has magnified deception and greed a hundredfold in the course of "democratizing" it concurrent with democratizing hard information and worthwhile ideas.

    If the average IQ by definition is 100, who can be surprised at what many will believe?
     
    #4 Jack 06, Nov 14, 2005
  5. Mystery Squid

    Mystery Squid Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2005
    2
    3
    0
    Quite frankly, I just don't give a damn.

    I pretty much don't believe anything I read on the internet/e-mails anyway...
     
    #5 Mystery Squid, Nov 14, 2005
  6. Schmika

    Schmika New Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2005
    1,617
    2
    0
    Location:
    Xenia, OH
    That can be just as dangerous in the opposite sense...reminds me of

    "I don't believe anything I hear and only 1/2 of what I see."

    The 'net can open your eyes to a lot of things. By having the attitude that you don't believe anything...starts making you real cynical.

    I like Ronald Reagan...Trust...but verify! B) <_<
     
    #6 Schmika, Nov 14, 2005
  7. Jack 06

    Jack 06 New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2005
    2,556
    0
    0
    Location:
    Winters, CA: Prius capital of US. 30 miles W of S
    I think Squid was in Movie Mode, doing his Clark Gable imitation. He just didn't call you "dear". :p
     
    #7 Jack 06, Nov 14, 2005
  8. geologyrox

    geologyrox New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2005
    513
    0
    0
    heh, last time someone sent me the "Boycott Pepsi! They're a bunch of commie bastards who took "Under God" out of the pledge on a can of Pepsi!" e-mail I sent them one of the 'show this to a friend' linkers to about thirty different sites busting the e-mail myth.

    chain letters in general bother me. chain letters that make people look like wooly idiots bother me even more
     
    #8 geologyrox, Nov 15, 2005
  9. Schmika

    Schmika New Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2005
    1,617
    2
    0
    Location:
    Xenia, OH
    In the beginning, i just replied to the sender as a kind of "psst..that's wrong ya' know!"

    Now I "reply all". On this last one, one of the recipients "replied all" and told the original poster to ask how to send blind copies so that everyone wouldn't see their address. Kinda gave me a chuckle.
     
    #9 Schmika, Nov 15, 2005
  10. aaf709

    aaf709 Ravenpaw of ThunderClan

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2005
    3,862
    18
    0
    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Vehicle:
    2022 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    I think of them as a virus where the originator wants you do to the work of sending it on to others. :)
     
    #10 aaf709, Nov 15, 2005
  11. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2005
    4,089
    468
    0
    Location:
    Bahstahn
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    It always baffled me why hundreds of lines of forwarded headers
    usually show up in those things. What I've sometimes done is pick
    out all the From: lines to isolate those who supposedly resent the
    thing, and fire them a fairly stock rant about chain letters and
    why didn't you check with Snopes first and do you *really* want to
    have your ISP yank your account permanently, etc etc. A couple of
    times I've gotten flat-out denials from people about sending it at
    all, so maybe a bunch of that stuff is falsified...
    .
    Still, CCing abuse@ various ISPs generally gets people to wake up.
    .
    _H*
     
    #11 hobbit, Nov 15, 2005
  12. mlkco

    mlkco Member

    Joined:
    Aug 27, 2005
    304
    1
    0
    Location:
    Keene,New Hampshire
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    I like that it's proactive.
    I just hit the delete button and hope I get rid of it before all the bad luck sticks to me.
     
    #12 mlkco, Nov 15, 2005
  13. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2005
    991
    3
    0
    Location:
    Duluth Georgia
    I'm just disappointed that this topic did not have an associated poll, especially here at PriusChat. The only thing I pay attention to on the internet are the polls, whatever the venue, especially here at PriusChat.
     
    #13 bigdaddy, Nov 15, 2005
  14. Schmika

    Schmika New Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2005
    1,617
    2
    0
    Location:
    Xenia, OH
    Jack and Squid are the poll guru's. I've never tried to make one. I'm afraid if I do, I will get hooked and do it too much. You're missing a lot only going to polls. I use the subject line to pique my interest.
     
    #14 Schmika, Nov 16, 2005
  15. Mystery Squid

    Mystery Squid Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2005
    2
    3
    0
    :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

    "You rang....?"

    [Broken External Image]:http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/photos/photo_004601.jpg
     
    #15 Mystery Squid, Nov 16, 2005
  16. Mystery Squid

    Mystery Squid Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2005
    2
    3
    0
    Aw dude, c'mon, with some of the topics you put up, a poll would be secondary, and really drive the point home! Besides, there's nothing wrong with doing it too much is there?


    :ph34r:
     
    #16 Mystery Squid, Nov 16, 2005
  17. Mystery Squid

    Mystery Squid Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2005
    2
    3
    0
    True, true...

    It's just that I place a lot of value on my time (insert hearty laughter from PC members here), and the last thing I want to do, is spend it upon dumb e-mails. However, I do usually read them before I delete them, so at least, whatever it was, will generally reside somewhere in the back of my mind such that if some circumstance arises as to where it's relevant, I can sort of have some input, and just, in general, be aware of it.
     
    #17 Mystery Squid, Nov 16, 2005
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)