April 2001                                                            The Megaphone                                                                 Page 7

Dear Editor,
        Thought I would send this to you and you can put it on the Densite if you want.

 Stuff To Remember When Emailing:

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.

2. Proctor and Gamble is not part of a satanic cult or scheme, and its logo  is not satanic.

3. MTV will not give you backstage passes if you forward something to the most people.

4. 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."

5. 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, check out this link . . . http://urbanlegends.about.com/

6. Neiman Marcus doesn't really sell a $200 cookie recipe. And even if they  do, we all have it.

7. 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?

8. 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 it... ya know, like, a FILE!

9. There is no gang initiation plot to murder any motorist who flashes headlights at another car driving at night without lights.

10. 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.

11. 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. (Think Cut and Paste). It sure wouldn't hurt to get rid of all the "" or >>> that begin each line either. Besides, if it has gone around that many times, we've probably already seen it.

12. 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.

13. 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. Also, the American Cancer Society does not give 3 cents for each person you  forward e-mail to. They ask for you to donate money; they don't give it, as  if they could know how many e-mails you sent out...sheesh.

14. If you are one of those insufferable idiots 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.

15. Women really are suffering in Afghanistan, but forwarding an e-mail won't help their 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.

16. 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.

17. KFC really does use real Chickens with feathers and beaks and feet. No,  they really do. Why did they change their name? In this health conscious world, what was KFC's name? Kentucky FRIED Chicken. FRIED is not healthy. So with the help of a focus group, they changed the name to KFC. It's short, doesn't offend dieters, and it's easy to remember.

18. Another thing, 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. PS: There is no bill pending before Congress distance companies to that will allow long 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! 

*This one . . . is true!!!         : ) 

Sincerely,
Tom '62 & Diane (Usfo) Peters '62