Hey Dennis,
Thanks for all the good info. By the way, those free clothes, can you get them at all the Gap locations, or just certain stores? :-)
Greg Toffic


>>> Dennis Paulson <dpaulson at ups.edu> 02/18 10:51 AM >>>
A friend sent this to me. This is for all of you who didn't bookmark the
Urban Legends site. I'm hoping this clutter in your mail will help reduce
the overall clutter on the net. And it has a few little points about email
etiquette, too. (remember, don't shoot the messenger)

1. Big companies 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. Proctor 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. The Gap is not giving away free clothes. 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
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 it
at 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, Internet Explorer, 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're one of the people who attaches a business card to your
message, please don't. Every time you write some one, they will get another
one of those little goodies in their Attachments folder, which is probably
already overflowing with useless stuff.

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 or the program I just put
on your hard drive while you read this E-mail will open up your CD-ROM and
reach out and slap you upside the head!

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 253-879-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 253-879-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416
http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/museum.html