# No, I really don't need to hear it... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 1, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337 "2013-07-01T12:49:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/1 "2013-07-01T12:49:22Z")
Thinking about sending a chain letter around? Maybe something about the latest news on cancer from the John Hopkins, or the newest information on Facebook’s privacy settings? Do us all a favor, and look up [http://snopes.com/](http://snopes.com/) first. Snopes has, over the past years, become the internet’s foremost fact-checking site, checking in on various claims that have made the rounds online in chain letters, facebook posts, and the like, and rating them on their validity with extensive citation. So please, before you repost that link about how the government bought 30,000 guillotines or how Raspberry Ultra Drops are a weight-loss wonder, just spend a moment, mosey on down to snopes, and check to make sure that you aren’t propagating an internet myth. (This Public Service Announcement brought to you by People Who Dislike The Smell of Bullshit.) …If anyone wants to send around a chain letter on facebook, make it this one. I am so sick of my friends posting the latest bullshit about ginseng or how posting on facebook will somehow make facebook unable to read their shit. It’s so dumb, and it gets on my nerves. Dumbest one yet: a post documenting how sugar, chocolate, meat, and dairy products are all addicted… by my mother, who did not know that Neal Barnard is a complete quack with about the reliability on medical issues of Dr. Nick. Please guys, _cut that shit out_. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/2 "2013-07-01T13:06:36Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > the John Hopkins It’s **Johns** Hopkins. As an alum, I’m required to correct these things whenever I see them. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/3 "2013-07-01T13:17:56Z")
I’ve learned that it usually won’t matter to those sending/posting those things if you do correct them or show them how to look up the truth-i-ness of things. I’ve had people tell me “Well, Snopes is just an internet site, too! Why should I believe THEM?” or similar thoughts. People will believe what they want. Still, ymmv… ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/4 "2013-07-01T13:38:45Z")
I think the title of the thread says it even better than “Check Snopes” does. About to send that long, mostly-all-caps-in-three-colors screed? Stop and think “Does everyone in my address book _NEED_ to hear this?” The answer’s almost always “Nope”. > [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I’ve learned that it usually won’t matter to those sending/posting those things if you do correct them or show them how to look up the truth-i-ness of things… My mom (whose grave you’ll be able to spot by the inscription “Stalwart Forwarder of Rightie Email Glurge”) gave me some good insights into the mindset: _“My friend Georgia looked it up on Snopes, and it’s all true.”_ (She didn’t and it wasn’t) Or the intro to the glurge will say _“This latest threat to our freedom is 100% true. Here’s the link to the article on [snopes.com](http://snopes.com)”_, which of course debunks it in scathing terms. And my favorite comment: _“I didn’t check Snopes, because even if it isn’t true, it should be!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/5 "2013-07-01T13:47:45Z")
> [@digs](#): > > And my favorite comment: > _“I didn’t check Snopes, because even if it isn’t true, it should be!”_ … I think I just had an aneurysm from sheer stupidity. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > It’s **Johns** Hopkins. As an alum, I’m required to correct these things whenever I see them. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/6 "2013-07-01T13:56:49Z")
I am relatively conservative, especially by the standards of this board, and no fan of the president but I sometimes am moved to correct some of the stupid anti-Obama things I see posted. I shouldn’t bother because it doesn’t work. Here is a reply I got a couple days ago: > [@](#): > > Snopes is such BS…I would nt trust them with anything..I have done research on their supposed bias BS and half the time they are wrong. Snopes is not a true investigative site…they do not have expertise and the articles they write are based on media articles..not true research. and I used to look at their site…but I saw a couple posts that I know where not true from them…did more research and came to the conclusion that they produce biased articles that are liberal favored. Now I don’t think Snopes is the only cite that should be used but it is a good first source to check something out. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/7 "2013-07-01T13:59:21Z")
I will bet you one trillion dollars that if you asked this friend for some examples of this research demonstrating that Snopes is wrong “half the time,” you wouldn’t even get one. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/8 "2013-07-01T14:13:13Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I will bet you one trillion dollars that if you asked this friend for some examples of this research demonstrating that Snopes is wrong “half the time,” you wouldn’t even get one. I thought about it but just didn’t have the energy or inclination at the time. Some battles aren’t worth it. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/9 "2013-07-01T14:33:37Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I thought about it but just didn’t have the energy or inclination at the time. Some battles aren’t worth it. Can I still have the trillion dollars? But seriously now, yeah, I’ve learned to resist the urge to fact-check these cutesy little Facebook stories that shit up my newsfeed. Even if I had the time to investigate every BS story or argue every BS factoid and argument, that’s not how I’d prefer to spend my time. Maybe I should come up with a quick copy pasta message that says something like “Ten seconds of Googling would have debunked this” and respond to every made up story I see with it. Sounds like a terrific way to be obnoxious and find myself un-friended by everyone! Not that there’s anything wrong with that. :strokes imaginary beard: ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/10 "2013-07-01T14:37:31Z")
I’ve beat my family with the Snopes bat so many times that now they send this crap to me first to let them know if it’s true. I’m not sure why they can’t enter “Snopes _latest internet glurge_” into their own search engine, but it’s at least a baby step. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/11 "2013-07-01T14:42:16Z")
Anymore I just post the link to the Snopes page debunking their idiocy in the comments section of whatever they are stupid enough to republish. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/12 "2013-07-01T16:38:48Z")
A lot of forwarded email now comes with a blatantly false Snopes disclaimer like, “Snopes says it’s true!”. Of course, they don’t include a link. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/13 "2013-07-01T16:42:39Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > **Anymore** I just post the link to the Snopes page debunking their idiocy in the comments section of whatever they are stupid enough to republish. {Bolding mine} I don’t think that word means what you think it means. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/14 "2013-07-01T16:52:11Z")
A suggestion when you debunk one of those obnoxious chain letters: do a “reply all”. It lets everyone on the person’s email list know that he’s an idiot of the first order, which serves the purpose of discouraging him from sending more. It worked on my sister. Or maybe she just excludes me from her mailing list. Either way, I win. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/15 "2013-07-01T16:55:59Z")
My mother’s CPA, a cancer survivor (who is still having undisclosed issues), fell for the Johns Hopkins “cancer news” one. He talked about it – and what I can only guess is related quackery – for over half an hour when she went to drop off her tax stuff. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/16 "2013-07-01T20:04:21Z")
I have a ‘friend’ who used to send me crap all the time. I was on a wide distribution list. It was mostly stuff about how Obama was a Kenyan and Libruls were destroying America and the heathers were claiming children’s souls and what-not. I started replying with links that easlily debunked what she was sending. (I do ‘reply all’) Then just replied with a Snopes link and wrote ‘Snopes is your friend’. Then I just replied ‘You’re an idiot’. Then I was removed from the distribution. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/17 "2013-07-01T21:04:00Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I have a ‘friend’ who used to send me crap all the time. I was on a wide distribution list. It was mostly stuff about how Obama was a Kenyan and Libruls were destroying America and the heathers were claiming children’s souls and what-not. > > I started replying with links that easlily debunked what she was sending. (I do ‘reply all’) > > Then just replied with a Snopes link and wrote ‘Snopes is your friend’. > > Then I just replied ‘You’re an idiot’. > > Then I was removed from the distribution. I made that experience too. A friend of mine is a hardcore eco-hippie, and for a while I got his rather disjointed and hilariously unscientific rants about how Fukujima was going to kill us all. I responded once or twice… He stopped CCing me. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/18 "2013-07-01T21:12:36Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > A lot of forwarded email now comes with a blatantly false Snopes disclaimer like, “Snopes says it’s true!”. Of course, they don’t include a link. I got one from my parents that said Snopes said it was true, gave a small seemingly corroborating quote, and a link to the article. Which demonstrated that the quoting email was false, and the quote was taken out of context. The email gave the reader a link that refuted the email, and people believed it. My parents believed it. When I pointed that out their response was ‘Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one’. And they wonder why I drink. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/19 "2013-07-02T10:24:56Z")
I’m actually surprised A) How few people have heard of Snopes (comparatively) and B) How much the Snopes website looks like it was last updated in August 2003 (and its previous iteration looked like it had just come straight from 1998). But yes, I spend a lot of time directing people there and very, very rarely does anyone say “Wow, I had no idea, thanks for clearing that up!” (Although, to be fair, it does happen.) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337/20 "2013-07-02T11:08:15Z")
The only acceptable response to any of those pollyanna chain mails: > [@](#): > > In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee, inspected the elephants foot, and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. > > As carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Peter stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away. > > Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day. > > Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenage son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son Cameron were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man. > > Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter could not help wondering if this was the same elephant. Peter summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing, and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. > > The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly. > > Probably wasn’t the same elephant. Hugs and kisses y’all! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-really-dont-need-to-hear-it/662337.md?page=2)