Walt wa4qxt was on the list of carbons of this. IT was soemthing about was on the news, I didn't bother to read it when I got to the second screen of forwarding information. FOlks, it's like this. I've seen all these jokes and forwards, if you think you might like to correspond with me off list that's fine, but the forwards from hell are not welcome here. IF you think I might have an interest have the courtesy to at least cut and paste from the email leaving out the forwarding information and all the routing stuff from three recipients or more back. IN the interest of educating [log in to unmask] and others, though it's off topic please read and consider the following before your forward list is engaged. The following has made the rounds recently and is purportedly penned by a college instructor with help from his networking class. Hi Folks. I am sure that some of you who receive this will see that some parts of this message apply to you. Please do not be insulted, as this is just a general list of rules to live by when you are on-line, or sending e-mail. 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. 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/aaO62997.htm "http://urbanlegends. tqn.com/library/weekly/aaO62997" 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, and 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 looking at: http://www.norton.com/"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 to Hell. 7. If you're using Outlook, EE, or Netscape to write e-mail, turn off the "HTML encoding," Those of us on Unixshell 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. 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. 13. 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. Besides, I am sure your friends would rather read a few lines about how you are and what you are doing than just forwarded jokes all the time! Now, forward this message to ten friends and you will win the Publishers' Clearing House sweepstakes... NOT! -- Regards, Richard Webb Electric Spider Productions "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --- Benjamin Franklin November 1755