Date: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 12:23:54 -0500
From: crispen@NETSQUIRREL.COM
Reply-To: TOURBUS-Request@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
To: TOURBUS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Subject: TOURBUS -- 11 JUNE 1998 -- TOURBUS URBAN LEGEND COMBAT KIT
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\___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/
TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP: THE TOURBUS URBAN LEGEND COMBAT KIT
(PART 1)
Howdy, y'all! The summer term at the University of Alabama began a
few days ago, so this and the next four TOURBUS posts from me will
probably be posted a couple of days late (like on Saturday-ish instead
of Thursday-ish). As anyone who has taken university summer term
classes can attest, every waking hour of my life is now consumed with
studying. :(
One of the nice things about taking summer term classes, though, is
that my classroom experiences are a great source for new TOURBUS
material. For example, today's Southern Word of the Day comes from
something my strategic management professor said in a lecture on
Friday. And the whole idea for today's post comes from an experience
I had a couple of days ago at the University of Alabama's records
office. Before we get to that, though, let's pay some bills.
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On with the show.
I had to go to the University's records office a few days ago to
change my class schedule. While I was waiting for the lady to key in
the changes to my schedule, I noticed she had taped the following
warning to her monitor (and I am kind of paraphrasing here):
DO NOT OPEN ANY EMAIL MESSAGES WITH THE SUBJECT LINES "GOOD
TIMES" OR "AOL4FREE." THESE MESSAGES CONTAIN VIRUSES THAT WILL
DESTROY YOUR HARD DRIVE.
If you have been on our little bus of Internet happiness for a while
your response is probably identical to mine: an audible groan.
EVERYONE should know by now that you can't get a virus from a plain-
text email message, regardless of its subject line. Period.
But it is clear that EVERYONE doesn't know this, because my email box
(and I would guess yours as well) is packed with email virus warning
messages, pleas to help a dying kid, announcements that Nike is giving
away free shoes, and requests to help Bill Gates test an email tracing
program. To help you combat all of these urban legends, I have
created the "TOURBUS Urban Legend Combat Kit."
Here is how the Urban Legend Combat Kit works. What follows is a
collection of business-related urban legend stuff you are free to cut
and paste into a new email message (I'll post the email-virus-related
stuff next week). You can then send the "cut and pasted" stuff to the
person who sent you the urban legend.
The first section of the Urban Legend Combat kit contains a brief
introductory note that says, pretty much
Thanks for the urban legend, bozo. The story is false. Wanna
know how I know this? I read it in TOURBUS. You should be
reading TOURBUS too, especially before you breed and pollute this
world with more bozos like you. Here's how to subscribe.
In other words, the first section is shameless self-promotion. The
second section is a collection of resources that will help you debunk
most of the business-related urban legends floating around the Net
right now. [As I said earlier, I'll get to the email-virus-related
urban legends next week.]
So, when someone sends you an urban legend (for example, the "Craig
Shergold Brain Tumor Boy" story), all you have to do is:
1. Cut and paste the rest of this post into a new email letter to
the bozo who sent you the urban legend; and
2. Delete all of the stuff that doesn't relate to the urban
legend you received (make sure you keep the introductory
paragraph, though).
Here we go ...
--------------------------------------------------------
PART 1: THE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH (PLEASE INCLUDE THIS!)
--------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for the email! Unfortunately, the story you sent me isn't
true. I subscribe to a really fun Internet newsletter called
"TOURBUS" which debunked this urban legend *AGES* ago. I really
recommend you "hop on the bus." Besides being a free, semi-weekly
email-based newsletter that talks about neat sites on the Net, TOURBUS
is also one of the few Internet newsletters I have found that is
consistently worth reading. You can subscribe to TOURBUS for free at
.
Here is what TOURBUS has to say about the email that you just sent me:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
PART 2: THE URBAN LEGENDS (CUT AND PASTE THE PARAGRAPH(S) THAT ARE
APPROPRIATE. WHAT FOLLOWS ARE BUSINESS-RELATED URBAN LEGENDS. THE
EMAIL-VIRUS-RELATED URBAN LEGENDS WILL BE POSTED NEXT WEEK.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
THE URBAN LEGEND:
The President of Procter & Gamble appeared on the Phil Donahue Show on
March 1, 1994. He announced that due to the openness of our society,
he was coming out of the closet about his association with the church
of Satan
THE TRUTH (INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING IN YOUR EMAIL MESSAGE):
The story about a Proctor & Gamble executive proclaiming his love of
Satan on the Donahue show is completely false. According to Phil
Donahue
The president of P&G has never appeared on DONAHUE, nor has any
other P&G executive. Anyone who claims to have seen such a
broadcast is either mistaken or lying. It never happened!
In fact, Proctor & Gamble has created an entire Web page to debunk
this urban legend . This page also includes
letters of support for Proctor & Gamble from Phil Donahue, the
Archbishop of Cincinnati, Rev. Jerry Falwell, the Southern Baptist
Convention, the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio, and the Billy
Graham Evangelistic Association.
By the way, the folks at Proctor & Gamble are taking this urban legend
seriously. So far, they have filed and won over a dozen lawsuits
against people who have spread this story. Since you are one of the
people who has spread this story, it might be a smart idea if you
forward this entire email letter (unchanged) to everyone who received
your original "Proctor & Gamble" message so they know the original
message you sent them is a hoax.
-----
THE URBAN LEGEND:
Bill Gates has written an email-tracing program and wants you to test
it out for him. In return, he'll send you US$1000 and a copy of
Windows98. [A similar version of this story says that Nike is testing
the program for Microsoft.]
THE TRUTH (INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING IN YOUR EMAIL MESSAGE):
The Bill Gates email tracing program story is a hoax that has been
floating around the Net since November of 1997. The story wasn't true
then, and it isn't true now.
To find out more about this hoax, check out the Mining Company's Urban
Legends and Folklore site at
http://urbanlegends.tqn.com/library/blgates.htm
By the way, I noticed several people in the message you sent me had
written something like "who could it hurt?" The answer is *YOU*!
Proctor & Gamble has been dealing with a similar urban legend recently
(the P&G urban legend says a P&G executive proclaimed his love of
Satan on the Donahue show, and asks everyone to boycott P&G's
products). Proctor & Gamble's response? So far, they have filed and
won over a dozen lawsuits against people who have spread this story.
While Microsoft hasn't filed a lawsuit against anyone (yet), you might
want to play it safe and forward this entire email letter (unchanged)
to everyone who received your original "Bill Gates email tracing
program" message so they know the original message you sent them is a
hoax.
-----
THE URBAN LEGEND:
Nike will send you a free pair of shoes for every pair you send back
to the factory to be recycled.
THE TRUTH (INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING IN YOUR EMAIL MESSAGE):
The story that Nike will send you free shoes is a hoax that has been
floating around the Net since the beginning of 1998. In a recent
press release, Nike's response was
Nike reiterates that all such offers did not originate with Nike
and are false.
[from http://207.87.4.130/s_release.html]
You can find out more about the Nike hoax at
http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/weekly/aa032598.htm
Proctor & Gamble has been dealing with a similar urban legend recently
(the P&G urban legend says a P&G executive proclaimed his love of
Satan on the Donahue show, and asks everyone to boycott P&G's
products). Proctor & Gamble's response? So far, they have filed and
won over a dozen lawsuits against people who have spread this
story.
While Nike hasn't filed a lawsuit against anyone (yet), you might want
to play it safe and forward this entire email letter (unchanged) to
everyone who received your original "Free Shoes from Nike" message so
they know the original message you sent them is a hoax.
-----
THE URBAN LEGEND:
Dying kid, part 1. A young kid is dying of cancer, and the American
Cancer Society will donate X number of cents toward continuing cancer
research for every new person that gets forwarded a particular email
message.
THE TRUTH (INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING IN YOUR EMAIL MESSAGE):
The email message stating that the American Cancer Society will make a
donation for everyone you forward a particular email message to is a
cruel and sick joke that has been circulating around the Net for over
a year. For the record, no fundraising efforts are being made by the
American Cancer Society using chain letters of any kind. In fact, the
American Cancer Society has issued a press release at
http://www.cancer.org/chain.html
claiming that this "dying child" email letter is "fraudulent." You
can find out more about the history behind this fraudulent email
letter at
http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/bljess.htm
Proctor & Gamble has been dealing with a similar urban legend recently
(the P&G urban legend says a P&G executive proclaimed his love of
Satan on the Donahue show, and asks everyone to boycott P&G's
products). Proctor & Gamble's response? So far, they have filed and
won over a dozen lawsuits against people who have spread this story.
While the American Cancer Society hasn't filed a lawsuit against
anyone (yet), you might want to play it safe and forward this entire
email letter (unchanged) to everyone who received your original "dying
child" message so they know the original message you sent them is a
hoax.
-----
URBAN LEGEND:
Dying child #2. A dying child wants to be recorded in the Guinness
Book of World Records for receiving the most greeting cards. The
cards should be sent to the Make a Wish Foundation.
THE TRUTH (INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING IN YOUR EMAIL MESSAGE):
The story about a dying child wanting you to send him cards through
the Make-A-Wish foundation is an urban legend that has plagued Make-A-
Wish for well over 8 years. Make-A-Wish has nothing to do with this
bogus request, and they have even created a special Web site that
deals with this hoax .
The story started in 1989 when Craig Shergold, a 9-year-old English
boy diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, wanted to be recorded in
the Guinness Book of World Records for receiving the most greeting
cards. His wish was fulfilled in 1990 after receiving 16 million
cards. The child no longer wants any cards. You can find the
complete history of the story at
http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/weekly/aa102997.htm
Proctor & Gamble has been dealing with a similar urban legend recently
(the P&G urban legend says a P&G executive proclaimed his love of
Satan on the Donahue show, and asks everyone to boycott P&G's
products). Proctor & Gamble's response? So far, they have filed and
won over a dozen lawsuits against people who have spread this story.
While the Make-A-Wish Foundation hasn't filed a lawsuit against anyone
(yet), you might want to play it safe and forward this entire email
letter (unchanged) to everyone who received your original "dying
child" message so they know the original message you sent them is a
hoax.
-----
URBAN LEGEND:
Dying kid #3. A kid is dying of "ostiopliosis" of the liver. Forward
an email letter to as many people as possible, and X cents will be
donated to the "National Disease Society."
THE TRUTH (INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING IN YOUR EMAIL MESSAGE):
The story of the dying child who wants you to forward an email message
to as many people as possible is a cruel hoax. There is no such
organization as the National Disease Society and there is no such
disease as "ostriopliosis of the liver."
You can find out the complete story behind this hoax at
http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/weekly/aa021198.htm
Since the "dying child" story you just sent out is untrue, you might
want to play it safe and forward this entire email letter (unchanged)
to everyone who received your original "dying child" message so they
know the original message you sent them is a hoax.
--------------------------------
TODAY'S SOUTHERN WORD OF THE DAY
--------------------------------
TARA or TERRA (noun). A state of fear.
Usage: "I haven't felt this much tera since the night our football
team had to play against Bama!"
[Special thanks goes to Dr. Art Thompson for today's wurd]
You can find all of the old Southern Words of the day at
http://netsquirrel.com/crispen/word.html
=--------------------------------------------------------------------=
For info on my book "Atlas for the Information Superhighway"
Visit http://www.brigadoon.com/~crispen/atlas.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------
=====================[ TOURBUS Rider Information ]===================
The Internet TOURBUS - U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1094-2238
Copyright 1995-98, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved
Archives on the Web at http://www.TOURBUS.com
=====================================================================
.~~~. ))
(\__/) .' ) )) Patrick Douglas Crispen
/o o \/ .~
{o_, \ { **NEW** crispen@netsquirrel.com **NEW**
/ , , ) \ http://www.netsquirrel.com/
`~ '-' \ } ))
_( ( )_.' Warning: squirrels.
'---..{____}
