I have a dilemma. My boss frequently sends me all kinds of ridiculous internet glurge. I usually ignore it, but it is getting damn annoying. It particularly amazes me that a man as smart as he is frequently subscribes to these silly urban legends just because he read it in an e-mail.
Anyway, I’ve had enough and I am going to start e-mailing him the appropriate pages from snopes.com whenever he sends glurge my way. My question is, do I just sent the debunking info to him, or do I copy in all the co-workers who were also included on the glurge mail? On the one hand, I want to make sure that some of my more gullible colleagues aren’t believing what they read just because it comes from the boss. On the other hand, if the boss gets word I’m telling everybody he’s full of it, he might get pissed at me for embarassing him. What should I do?
Personally, I would copy the co-workers. I would just add a note along the lines of “What an interesting story. However, this site has a different take on the story” and then include the snopes (or whatever) link. As long as you don’t say “Mr. Bossman, you are an idiot”, you shouldn’t have any problem.
[sub]unless Mr. Bossman is a royal a$$hole[/sub]
When the wife and I debunk someone (usually her mom these days, I think all the other stupid people just stopped sending us e-mail) we usually reply just to sender unless the misinformation is potetnially dangerous, or personally offensive to our political/spiritual/ethical beliefs.
Aparently its part of our ethical beliefs that we’re allowed to publically embarrass people who piss us off.
While your inclinations as an SDMB member might compel you otherwise, if there was ever a situation that just begged, while throwing a tantrum and slamming doors, for you to let it alone this is it.
Don’t send corrections and don’t feel compelled to inform everyone about the stupid e-mails your boss sends you. Put them in the delete folder and get on with your life. Telling a superior how silly they are being (even nicely) about minor, non-work related items might be intellectually and emotionally satisfying but it does not make for constructive relationships in the real world.
You will of course dis-regard my advice as the impluse to debunk these infuriating urban legends will prove impossible for you to resist but make your resume is updated before you do so.
Isn’t that always the case about anything? If you’re boss can’t be trusted when correcting any kind of information – and I’ve had the type that, even if it was business-related, they didn’t want to hear it – you keep your mouth shut.
But even the most laid-back boss can be handled indirectly by publicizing the site without reference to anyone’s e-mail. If people at the company are in the habit of sharing ULs or interesting sites, it’s possible to post the snopes link and simply leave it at that.
It’s always the case that Your Mileage May Vary, but you know the situation at your job better than I do.
At the very least, I strongly urge you to not make this a public matter. The odds are he will feel embarrassed and resent you. Most people don’t like to have their mistakes pointed out. Especially in public! Especially by a subordinate!
Spam is annoying, of course, but not as annoying as a boss who has developed a dislike for you.
If you feel you have to say something (privately) to the dude, maybe you should have a friend read over the email before you send it to make sure you don’t come across as smug or “know it all” (think “insubordination”). A gentle hint like saying, “I found this interesting site called Snopes.com” might work better than “You are WRONG! Look at what Snopes says about this stupid crap!”
What you might do is wait for one that sounds like something that would concern your boss personally (for example, if he’s a parent and there is a kidnapping urban legend he forwards).
Then you might send a response (to him only) saying something along the lines of "I know how scary a message like this must be. Since I know you might still be concerned, I wanted to tell you about a site I found, Snopes. It’s great for reassuring me when I want to see if something is as bad as it sounds. I went and checked on this one and it said that this is, luckily, just a story that gets passed around. I wanted to share that good news with you.
“Here’s the URL, in case you want to see for yourself or check out anything else that crosses your desk that gets you worried.”
I think it’s better to couch it in terms of “here is some reassurance” rather than “A good skeptic checks these things out first.” Of course, the hope is that once he sees what Snopes has to offer, he will choose to check out other things in the future before forwarding them. Plus, it makes it sound like you believed it too (just like him) and only discovered the truth when you went to Snopes (as opposed to immediately heading to Snopes because you’re a wiser person than he).
Do you have or are you the IT person in the company?
The reason I ask this is, when I was IT manager for a client of mine, I specifically stated to the management that emails that are FWD: “Insert Stupid UL/Hoax Here” not only clog up the email server, they are 9.9:10 chances they are BS, and especially when it comes to virus hoaxes, which tend to lead people to become complacent (sp) when a real virus warning (from me) crosses their desktops.
I specifically made a blanket statement that those in the company (and later included my family) to forward them to me and me only. If I were able to verify the email as truth, then I would let the person who emailed me be the hero and they could forward the warning on to those on their list.
I think it’s much better if it comes from the IT person (even a contractor) because that’s why the person is hired. To maintain the network, ensure that data is not compromised and to focus on the best use of said network.
If you don’t have an IT person, then I suggest that you kindly discuss the situation with your boss, using some of the things an IT person would use (clogging up the email, network security, etc…) and that you are only looking out for the company.
Sides, what if a client of your company got wind of a hoax? That does not look good on the company it came from.
Thanks for the opinions, folks. I’ll admit I was VERY tempted to go ahead and copy everybody on the snopes link, especially since I was in a bad mood earlier and I got three stupid glurge mails from him today. However, I ultimately decided that I would be acheiving nothing by doing it (except for maybe feeding my ego) and the risk of pissing off my boss was too high. Astro’s opinion (and all those who agreed with him) sort of sealed the deal for me. Cranky, your approach is quite diplomatic, but until the right subject presents itself, I’m just going to have to learn that the delete button is my friend. Techchick, I can’t really use the IT argument because he sends all the mail from his home address to my home address.
Chupacabra, I appreciate your concerns, and I hope your boss finds out sooner rather than later. Several months ago, I received a forwarded ‘virus warning’. As I didn’t know about hoaxes then, I did the noble thing and forwarded the ‘warning’ to a whole lot of people. One of them responded with the simple message,
followed by a copy of the advice.
I was not offended at all. I felt a little foolish for having circulated the crap, but I was grateful for being alerted. The tactful wording helped ease the embarrassment. I am not her boss, but had I been, I think I would have respected her for her action. (Of course, I am a wonderful person; I don’t know about your boss. )
I think Cranky has the right idea. Personally, unless I think that the UL is actually dangerous, I put people’s feelings before the urge to dubunk. What I usually do is tell the offender how interesting I found the story and then engage them in a conversation about ULs in general. This allows me get around to to talking about ULs I have fallen for without ever saying straight out that the offender is full of it. At the end of the conversation I mention that there is a great web site with a lot of interesting ULs on it. As you might expect, the earlier this is done the easier it is.
As I said the exception is when I think that there is real danger in the UL. In that case, I use the direct approach. A couple of years ago, for example, the principal at my school was going to send out flyers warning parents about “Mickey Mouse Acid.” In that case I felt that the truth was more important than people’s feelings and took the direct approach.
The right thing to do is not to piss off the boss. It’s important to remember that although Fighting Ignorance is important, still there’s a time and a place for it.
I’ve had several people whose opinions I otherwise respected (although not bosses), and whose feelings I was reluctant to hurt keep sending me glurge. I told them, basically, “Normally I enjoy reading these, but I prefer to choose the time and place where I read them, and receiving them in my e-mail is not one of them.” I added, very simply, “Please stop forwarding these to me.” Which worked, without hurting anybody’s feelings.
IMHO, it depends on your relationship with your boss. I had one (boss) that sent me some of that stuff but, fortunately, our relationship was such that I could use an approach such as rsa suggests without offending her. She eventually began checking Snopes on her own when she received this junk.
The really sad thing was that my regard for her diminished significantly knowing how gullible she could be.
Take the safe route. If you’re unsure of his reaction to a debunking, follow the advice to just delete and ignore.
My boss used to forward fake/computer enhanced pictures to me (you know, the one with the big snake that ate a man and you could see the man’s body when they cut open the snake? That was one of them) and UL’s to me and he thought they were real stories/pictures. I found the appropriate link on snopes.com and sent it to him and he didn’t get pissed at me. He was glad to know that the UL’s were fake and glad that a man didn’t really get eaten by a snake. Now he checks snopes.com all the time when he gets those crap e-mails. I might also add that I have a good relationship with my boss and I trust him not to get pissed at me for stuff like that. If your relationship with your boss isn’t a friendly one I wouldn’t challenge him on the e-mails. I’d drop it.
I agree with techchick - this summer I was the IT person at a company where people forward this shit around ALL THE TIME. We were severely hit by Nimda, and there was my opening to say “Look, don’t open or forward every stupid thing that comes into your inbox.”
I also found a Washington Post story about a woman who forwarded incorrect information and included her name and phone number in the communication. It then got spread to thousands of people, who called her office for verification. So in my email to everyone I stressed the importance of checking facts before sending something out that has your name on it, especially to clients.
Chupacabra, you should avoid pissing off your boss, I strongly suggest Cranky’s approach.
It’s important to remember that although Fighting Ignorance is important, still there’s a time and a place for it.