This should be the lead story in your next edition. It is a public service to run the piece over and over and over again. Because I have a reputation... sigh... I am constantly sent junkmail for confirmation. I tell them over and over that I am not snopes.com etc, et al but to no avail. And I also point out that every time they have to head the piece with, "I don't know if this is true but you can tell me," they can just assume it is a hoax. But no, I have to open the nonsense and do their own work for them.'
So run that piece and your comments frequently. Daily perhaps. Sigh....
Posted by
Barry, Washington on June 18, 2011:
Bonnie - stop being a victim. Just reply with the link to snopes.com to the next one or two requests from your friends. After you have responded to two requests, delete without responding. You choose to do their work for them - you don't have to.
---
If I'm charitable, I'll reply with the specific snopes link. If I'm not, it's simply "www.snopes.com". And sure enough, after awhile my friends stop sending me junk! -rc
Posted by
Bonnie, Florida on June 19, 2011:
No worries Barry. I am no victim but I do like to vent once in awhile.
Posted by
Ross, Massachusetts on June 20, 2011:
Depending on just how egregious the offending email is, I sometimes hit "reply all" when I tell the induhvidual who sent it to me to check snopes first. After getting embarrassed in front of (well, electronically, anyway!) all their friends a time or two, they get the message.
Now... if I can only get my friends Kevin & Steve to start stripping headers off of the stuff they forward to me...
Posted by
Sue in Bremerton on June 20, 2011:
I am often asked to find something out for one of my E-pals, and I don't mind doing it. When I find it is a hoax, or untrue, is true, i tell her and add the link to snopes or urban legends.
But when it is something interesting that others on my list might like to know or learn, I simply send on the email, with everything deleted except the subject, and add the snopes link in the message area.
The most fun is when i get something, pass it on, then get it back from someone that proves it is not true. Do I tell, sometimes. The last time was just last week. I had already sent it on, as I accepted that it was true. And one of my contacts said, nope 'twasn't true. I never told the others though, as they would not appreciate that it wasn't true. So far I've gotten three E-mails back with positive comments. It really doesn't matter sometimes.
Posted by
Mike, Florida on June 20, 2011:
Bonnie, I myself take pride in being a hoax-buster. It's my way of fighting this crap. I go as far as to OFFER to check things for people, but I also tell 'em up front that I intend to teach 'em how to do it themselves.
My motto is "no linky, no truthy". If the story comes without a link that, when clicked, VERIFIES THE STORY ("verified by Snopes" doesn't count, neither do links to Snopes that verify that the story IS A HOAX (I've seen those, too)), it's all but guaranteed to be false and should just be deleted. I've been watching this stuff since about '95 (and I tell 'em so) so methinks I know what I'm talking about.
Posted by
Richard in Baltimore on January 16, 2012:
Here's a nifty hack if you ever want to "show" someone the right way to do something: lmgtfy.com ("Let me Google that for you"). Here's a sample:
Posted by
Fernando, in Monterrey, Mexico. on January 18, 2012:
Living in a not-English-speaking country I frequently see the need to educate, but more urgently to do the job myself since many of my friends barely can click by themselves, they are unable to do a good google research.
Like Mike in Florida I take this personally, in fact I usually "reply to all" with a few words of advice, a couple of links with the proper info, a small tutorial to do it themselves, and my offer to help if they need it. All in a predefined signature I have. :)
Over the years, my old friends have learned to do it themselves and now they just send me an occasional "chain letter" asking for advice.
Posted by
Cheryl, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on January 25, 2012:
I can't count the number of e mails that I've returned to people informing them that their e mail was a hoax. I check all of them with Snopes.com before I pass them on. It can save a lot of embarrassment. There are a LOT of hoaxes being forwarded. In fact, I would say that the majority of those warnings are hoaxes. Take the time to check.
---
It's nice you are embarrassed by the thought of sending a hoax along. That's the problem: few do, and don't seem to care that they present themselves to their friends and colleagues as total obliviots. -rc
Don't Forward That Warning! - Comments
Posted by Bonnie, Florida on June 18, 2011:
This should be the lead story in your next edition. It is a public service to run the piece over and over and over again. Because I have a reputation... sigh... I am constantly sent junkmail for confirmation. I tell them over and over that I am not snopes.com etc, et al but to no avail. And I also point out that every time they have to head the piece with, "I don't know if this is true but you can tell me," they can just assume it is a hoax. But no, I have to open the nonsense and do their own work for them.'
So run that piece and your comments frequently. Daily perhaps. Sigh....
Posted by Barry, Washington on June 18, 2011:
Bonnie - stop being a victim. Just reply with the link to snopes.com to the next one or two requests from your friends. After you have responded to two requests, delete without responding. You choose to do their work for them - you don't have to.
---
If I'm charitable, I'll reply with the specific snopes link. If I'm not, it's simply "www.snopes.com". And sure enough, after awhile my friends stop sending me junk! -rc
Posted by Bonnie, Florida on June 19, 2011:
No worries Barry. I am no victim but I do like to vent once in awhile.
Posted by Ross, Massachusetts on June 20, 2011:
Depending on just how egregious the offending email is, I sometimes hit "reply all" when I tell the induhvidual who sent it to me to check snopes first. After getting embarrassed in front of (well, electronically, anyway!) all their friends a time or two, they get the message.
Now... if I can only get my friends Kevin & Steve to start stripping headers off of the stuff they forward to me...
Posted by Sue in Bremerton on June 20, 2011:
I am often asked to find something out for one of my E-pals, and I don't mind doing it. When I find it is a hoax, or untrue, is true, i tell her and add the link to snopes or urban legends.
But when it is something interesting that others on my list might like to know or learn, I simply send on the email, with everything deleted except the subject, and add the snopes link in the message area.
The most fun is when i get something, pass it on, then get it back from someone that proves it is not true. Do I tell, sometimes. The last time was just last week. I had already sent it on, as I accepted that it was true. And one of my contacts said, nope 'twasn't true. I never told the others though, as they would not appreciate that it wasn't true. So far I've gotten three E-mails back with positive comments. It really doesn't matter sometimes.
Posted by Mike, Florida on June 20, 2011:
Bonnie, I myself take pride in being a hoax-buster. It's my way of fighting this crap. I go as far as to OFFER to check things for people, but I also tell 'em up front that I intend to teach 'em how to do it themselves.
My motto is "no linky, no truthy". If the story comes without a link that, when clicked, VERIFIES THE STORY ("verified by Snopes" doesn't count, neither do links to Snopes that verify that the story IS A HOAX (I've seen those, too)), it's all but guaranteed to be false and should just be deleted. I've been watching this stuff since about '95 (and I tell 'em so) so methinks I know what I'm talking about.
Posted by Richard in Baltimore on January 16, 2012:
Here's a nifty hack if you ever want to "show" someone the right way to do something: lmgtfy.com ("Let me Google that for you"). Here's a sample:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=snopes+hiv+needles+gas
Posted by Fernando, in Monterrey, Mexico. on January 18, 2012:
Living in a not-English-speaking country I frequently see the need to educate, but more urgently to do the job myself since many of my friends barely can click by themselves, they are unable to do a good google research.
Like Mike in Florida I take this personally, in fact I usually "reply to all" with a few words of advice, a couple of links with the proper info, a small tutorial to do it themselves, and my offer to help if they need it. All in a predefined signature I have. :)
Over the years, my old friends have learned to do it themselves and now they just send me an occasional "chain letter" asking for advice.
Posted by Cheryl, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on January 25, 2012:
I can't count the number of e mails that I've returned to people informing them that their e mail was a hoax. I check all of them with Snopes.com before I pass them on. It can save a lot of embarrassment. There are a LOT of hoaxes being forwarded. In fact, I would say that the majority of those warnings are hoaxes. Take the time to check.
---
It's nice you are embarrassed by the thought of sending a hoax along. That's the problem: few do, and don't seem to care that they present themselves to their friends and colleagues as total obliviots. -rc
Read the article that everyone's commenting on, or post a comment about it.