debunking an urban myth in family email

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: BurnItDwn

Originally posted by: loki8481
do you really want to be that guy? delete the email and resume your normal life. no need to come across like a pompous jerk

The way in which the reply is worded is key.

"you are dumb, that is false, see Snopes link"
Send like this and you are That guy

"FYI, That is a good story, however, it is just a myth see also Snopes link for more information"
Say something like this and you are helping to prevent further spread of misinformation, without being too much of a pompous jerk.



To be honest, I usually go the pompous route myself though.

What are you if you reply with this and the Snopes link?

- M4H

 

[Toasthead]

Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven
If they're forwarding that crap to me, I am going to reply to everyone, in hopes of embarrassing them so much they never do it again.

 

[Bryophyte]

We're more concerned about them not using BCC when forwarding sh1t, and will go out of our way to explain in explicit detail not only HOW to use it, but WHY. When people forward that crap, they usually send it with fifty pages of headers containing the email address of hundreds of strangers. I get pissed when mine gets on there without my permission.

That the person is gullible enough to believe what they sent is another story. I will usually reply ONLY to that person with a gentle reminder that just because it's on the internet, that doesn't make it so, and advise them that Snopes or a Google search will answer that kind of concern. Of course, there's been a couple people that just made a damn nuissance of themselves with forwards, and I eventually resorted to bringing on some embarrassment (one of em took a couple years before she'd even talk to us again, and she still will not email at all...and I mostly just said "We would love to get personal emails from you but please STOP sending forwards to us.")

 

[Platypus]

you might not want to send your family a link with a picture of a half eaten man with full frontal nudity in it... just a thought.

 

[EGGO]

"lol *Snope's link*"

 

[SoulAssassin]

Originally posted by: jemcam
I did the "reply all" thing when I first got sick and tired of my Mom sending me that crap. I just said something like "Not true, see here: "snopes.com".

It didn't faze her though so I started sending the link to her every time she did it. She finally got the message.

Exactly. If everyone would do that we'd cut down the total emails being sent everyday by a decent percentage.

 

[MisterJackson]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: slag
My sister recently sent out an email she received from a friend which is one of those stories that is easily debunked with snopes.

Do i send a reply to everyone with a link to snopes and say, good story, but i dont think its true, send just an email to her and let her know the story is not true, or just ignore it and let people think its a good story.

I'm thinking the last option is right.

Thoughts?

that is the first thing i do when i get these email forwards. i find it on snopes and i send the link back to them. if anything, maybe they'll think twice before sending me that crap again.

even my financial advisor sent me some bunk once about ATM machines and calling the police through them. i quickly called him on it as did a lot of other people.

Souds like you're using PAB as your financial advisor there

 

[Rob9874]

When I worked for Intel, they blasted an email to all employees about a particular email that was going around, which said that if you forwarded it, Intel would pay you $100. They said if anyone forwards it to you, to let them know it's fake, and to stop sending it.

That very week, my cousin, who I don't talk to often, emailed it to me. I let him know, as I was instructed, that it was fake. He replied, "Sorry to bother you. I figured it might have been fake, but thought the 5 second investment was worth the risk." That was 6 years ago. I haven't heard from him since.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: slag
My sister recently sent out an email she received from a friend which is one of those stories that is easily debunked with snopes.

Do i send a reply to everyone with a link to snopes and say, good story, but i dont think its true, send just an email to her and let her know the story is not true, or just ignore it and let people think its a good story.

I'm thinking the last option is right.

Thoughts?

Depends.

If the email was just sent to my immediate family, I'll reply all.

If it's bigger than just my immediate family, I always do it to just the sender...if they want to clear it up for everyone else, that's their business

 

[Phokus]

"I can't believe we're related"

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: loki8481
do you really want to be that guy? delete the email and resume your normal life. no need to come across like a pompous jerk

Agreed.

Though I am more confused as to why that guy in the story wanted to kill a bear that was just out looking for some salmon.

 

[b0mbrman]

Oh God...is it just the bear myth?

I thought it was something that might be actually dangerous...like Paypal is stealing your brain through email or you can unlock your car by cell phone or something

 

[skrilla]

Originally posted by: Toasthead

Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven
If they're forwarding that crap to me, I am going to reply to everyone, in hopes of embarrassing them so much they never do it again.

 

[f4phantom2500]

When that happens I send it to the person who sent it to me, but if I don't care about them or I know they'll send me more anyway, I just won't do anything.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: BurnItDwn

Originally posted by: loki8481
do you really want to be that guy? delete the email and resume your normal life. no need to come across like a pompous jerk

The way in which the reply is worded is key.

"you are dumb, that is false, see Snopes link"
Send like this and you are That guy

"FYI, That is a good story, however, it is just a myth see also Snopes link for more information"
Say something like this and you are helping to prevent further spread of misinformation, without being too much of a pompous jerk.



To be honest, I usually go the pompous route myself though.

What are you if you reply with this and the Snopes link?

- M4H

Ooooh ... nice
I will now quote one of my favorite TV commercials.

Brilliant!

 

[Jeff7]

I try to debunk them, but it depends on who sent it. In some cases, a debunking e-mail will just result in more e-mails, which I don't exactly want.
Other times, I will kindly debunk it, and advise checking of Snopes.com or Urbanlegends.com first.

 

[gsethi]

why is it that most of these emails are sent by females (mother, sister, sister-in-law etc.) ??

 

[toolboxolio]

Spam is spam.

No mercy.

 

[f4phantom2500]

Originally posted by: gsethi
why is it that most of these emails are sent by females (mother, sister, sister-in-law etc.) ??

I think it's because they're generally more sympathetic toward sad stories than guys are.

 

[biggestmuff]

I used to have a co-worker that would send out the most inane, ridiculous chain mails. Everytime, I'd hit "reply to all" with a link to the snopes article. She stopped sending the emails after a few months. It took a while, but it worked.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: thirtythree
*shrug* I'd just delete it. I wouldn't want to make my sister feel stupid, and she might. You'd know better than me though.

yeh, but you are saving her from forwarding the misinformation onto other people and continually making herself look stupid.