Not to offend anyone...but I believe the following says it all......
Veritable TRUISMS
Whoever wrote this deserves some sort of Internet Humanitarian Award...
1. Big companies don't do business via chain letter. 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. 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 the message, four generations back, that "we checked it out and it's
legit,"
does not actually make it true. And the person that wrote "two weeks later
I
received a check for $24,870" is sitting back a laughing at all the people
that
believed his comment.
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, please visit
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 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. If your cc: list is regularly longer than the actual content of your
message, you're
probably going on a HOT vacation
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
arrows that begin each line. 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 also 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 people 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. This includes prayers for "good
luck," as
the Bible is not a luck book.
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 long distance when 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.
Got
it?
Good. Now, forward this message to ten friends and you will win the
Publishers
Clearing House sweepstakes..................NOT!
__________________________________________
NetZero - Defenders of the Free World
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