# I fought ignorance! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2000, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-fought-ignorance/38586 "2000-10-27T14:04:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2000, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-fought-ignorance/38586/1 "2000-10-27T14:04:49Z")
A friend of mine just sent out the “Touched by an Angel is being attacked by an atheist commie bastard” e-mail. I finally used Snopes for the first time, and debunked it for everyone on the list. If he asks, what does “Snopes” stand for? ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2000, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-fought-ignorance/38586/2 "2000-10-27T14:16:48Z")
Don’t know Conn **o** r ( 🙂 ); I got the same e-mail from my one internet friend (an elderly lady in AZ, terminally gullible). Unfortunately, I can’t e-mail out right now (long story, we’ve even swapped out my entire computer, lost my address book, had to put everything on my hard drive onto discs, what a pain in the ass, and it STILL isn’t working!!! but I digress). So, imagine, if you will, my sense of frustration. Here she’s sent this piece of garbage on and I can’t even e-mail her to tell her it’s nonsense!!! sigh. well, maybe your friend and mine have a friend in common. good job. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2000, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-fought-ignorance/38586/3 "2000-10-27T14:37:07Z")
Thanks wri **n** g. And did I bug you about misspelling my name? Usually I just let that go… But then again I think you’re a pompous a-hole. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2000, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-fought-ignorance/38586/4 "2000-10-28T06:01:18Z")
I looked in Snopes, and I couldn’t find what you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2000, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-fought-ignorance/38586/5 "2000-10-28T13:06:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Connor \* > **Thanks wri** n\*\*g. And did I bug you about misspelling my name? \*\* yes. I chose not to post the appology at the time, just 'cause it’d be shameless post padding IHMO, but made a mental note to correct it if I happened by you again. Frankly my eyes are bad and so my focus isn’t always working well. > [@](#): > > \*\* But then again I think you’re a pompous a-hole. 😉 \*\* Really? :: checks behind herself:: hmmmmmmmm Looks the same to me. \*\*Rilchiam \*\* I found what he was referring to - I looked in a listing of older debunked stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce73a5/32.png) [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2000, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-fought-ignorance/38586/6 "2000-10-28T17:47:06Z")
I haven’t seen the e-mail you’re referring to, **Connor** , but I also used Snopes this week to debunk an e-mail. A friend asked me if I had kept the e-mail about overpaying a speeding ticket as a way to avoid getting the points on your license. I hadn’t, but recalled it sounded pretty UL-ish to me. Sure enough, there it was on Snopes so I sent him a link to the de-bunking. Yep, Fighting Ignorance and predicting football scores. I’m a jack of all trades. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2000, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-fought-ignorance/38586/7 "2000-10-28T17:51:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Connor \* > \*\*If he asks, what does “Snopes” stand for? \*\* At the bottom of the [Snopes FAQ](http://www.snopes.com/info/faq.htm), it is explained that it’s a reference to a family in William Faulkner’s opus. ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2000, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-fought-ignorance/38586/8 "2000-10-28T17:56:22Z")
From the FAQ: Q: What are ‘snopes’? A: Snopes is the name of a family of characters who appear throughout the works of American writer William Faulkner. See the Faulkner on the Web glossary entry for Snopes for more information. [Snopes FAQ](http://www.snopes.com/info/faq.htm) And I JUST noticed that between the time I hit “reply” and now, Montfort just answered the question ahead of me. Darn. ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2000, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-fought-ignorance/38586/9 "2000-10-28T18:16:46Z")
I thought this was going to be a play on the song “I Fought the Law and the Law Won.” \< I am truly in need of a decent night’s sleep! \> ---
**Author:** ![La\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@La\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/La_King)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2000, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-fought-ignorance/38586/10 "2000-10-28T18:22:12Z")
I fought ignorance today, but since it’s on GQ no one but the OP will read it. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2000, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-fought-ignorance/38586/11 "2000-10-29T02:31:32Z")
I fight ignorance all the time at work…however… Ignorance seems to win.