# UL e-mails from a friend... advice sought. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 27, 2002, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323 "2002-03-27T04:01:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonko_The_Sane)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/21 "2002-03-27T17:14:48Z")
I always ask that I am BCC: on broadcast emails, and if a person sends me an UL, I ask that to be BCC: in the future (I don’t want every schmuck downstream to see my address). If it continued, I’d start snoping them. If it still continued, I’d send the snopes link to everyone on the list, bcc: from a spoofed or throwaway address. If someone keeps sending me UL after that, I’d be too surprised and disturbed to say anything. ---
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2002, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/22 "2002-03-27T19:48:01Z")
Option #2 is my MO. A friend of mine once replied to all, referencing the “don’t go to the mall on Halloween” email , with some fairly cutting remarks, the sarcasm of which got lost in the translation. original sender was _pissed_. Said she had been made to look like an idiot. Some would say she had already accomplished same, but I digress… I send the snopes link if its one of those “beware”-type emails. if its one of those “Sendthisto10peopleandthecoolestthingwillpopuponyourscreenIcan’ttellyouwhatitisbutitisSOhilarious” jobs, I ignore it, since it’s not like they’re leading people to think they’re in danger or something. If people wanna stare at a screen and wait for their free pop-up coupons from American Eagle or wherever, who am I to say them no? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wisest\_Novel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wisest_novel/32/13329_2.png) [@Wisest\_Novel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisest_Novel)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2002, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/23 "2002-03-27T20:25:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tavalla \* > **But I have a worse problem - we have a tech & IT person at work who routinely sends out virus warnings of the “forward to everyone you know! It’ll delete your hard drive and paint your cat purple!” variety. I nailed him about it, face to face, and got the old “Well, you never know, it might have been important” response.** Had a similar experience when I recently joined a F500 company. “Where do they hire these guys?” was my first response. Then I visited their shop under the guise of being a newbie boss (though not theirs). Next time I got a hoaxmail from a company employee, it wasn’t from them, thank goodness. I forwarded the hoax to my new IT friends (cc: sender) with a link to [the Computer Internet Advisor Capability](http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/), a division within DoE. Now they can verify hoaxes before the bandwidth virus slows the whole dang server to a crawl. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2002, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/24 "2002-03-27T20:29:45Z")
I made the mistake of doing the “reply all” thing with a snopes link. What a freaking nightmare that turned into. Because of it, I was labled as being “pro drunk driving” if such a thing is possible. The thing is, I know that I did the right thing, trying to fight ignorance and all, but one bad mouse click and I had to lay low for a couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![Winnowill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4491bb/32.png) [@Winnowill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnowill)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2002, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/25 "2002-03-27T21:37:12Z")
I have all of my coworkers trained not to send these in mass mailings. Many of them don’t have actual internet access - just company e-mail, so they can’t go to Snopes. Now, if they can’t go themselves, they’ll forward it to me asking me to check it out - which I’m always happy to do. Of course, that didn’t stop the head of the San Francisco office (a flippin’ VP, fercryinoutloud) from forwarding the Brooke Jacoby email to EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE COMPANY. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2002, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/26 "2002-03-27T22:00:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wisest Novel \* > \*\*Wish I was as subtle as **cazzle** ; I’d never thought of that. But I’ve never had anyone take (noticeable) offense at just having the debunking cite–Snopes, Cecil, et al–provided, either. Several of the gullible have been converted, which fits the “fighting ignorance” theme. But I’d recommend against the broadcast option, as that _really_ wastes bandwidth. \*\* Refusing to “waste bandwidth” is noble and all but bandwidth is a completely renewable resource. It can be used over and over again. Also keep in mind that 92.6% of e-mail traffic is spam claiming to have the “real photos” of Brittany Spears nude so a little ignorance fighting is a completely noble cause in comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2002, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/27 "2002-03-27T22:45:35Z")
Well, I replied (just to her) with the snopes link, as well as another friend’s e-mail which arrived about an hour later. It could be interesting (to me) to see how she handles this… Why do some people honestly prefer to remain ignorant ? One other person I replied to with a snopes link (not a close friend) e-mailed me back saying how I’d spoiled the story for her, and how the truth didn’t matter as much as passing on a good tale. I was labelled a killjoy. The way I figure it, I can enjoy a good, funny tale, but if you plaster “TRUE STORY” in the subject line, and then have the start of the e-mail swearing blind that it’s a true story, that kills the enjoyment more than knowing ahead of time that it’s just a gag. Oh, well. I know it takes all kinds, but why does it take so many of that kind of person ??? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2002, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/28 "2002-03-27T23:04:47Z")
I once accidentaly did option #3 - sent him (and everyone else) the snopes link _(It was the one about Oliver North, Patriot, warning those boneheaded Senators about the dangers of Osama bin Laden during the Iran Contra hearings :rolleyes: )_. My friend sent me a nastygram back, asking why did I do it, I made him look like an idiot to his other friends, yada, yada, yada… I apologized to him, explained what had happened, and all was well between us again… but I note that he doesn’t send me that kind of crap anymore. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2002, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/29 "2002-03-27T23:25:10Z")
I’d opt for option #2, and have on many occasions. Several years ago when these things started to get real popular at work and with my family, I did just that. I’d attach a note that told the sender to verify sources, gave them links to snopes, and told them never, ever to forward something which said, “forward to everyone you know”. I have no idea if most people headed this advice, but my spam e-mail went down considerably. So at the very least the annoying e-mails went away. I still get some, but I’m working on the remaining few to do their research. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2002, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/30 "2002-03-27T23:47:19Z")
Usually, I will ask the person (in a private email, via ICQ or face-to-face) not to spam me–how nicely I ask depends on how much I like/dislike the person. If they continue, they get the snopes link in a private reply. If they _still_ continue, they get the snopes link in a reply-to-all. Well, that is, except for The Btich, and anyone who has gotten my email because it was included in one of Her Spams and they added it to their address book. All replies to Her Spams are reply-to-all messages with snopes links and her friends get a “I have no idea who you are, please remove my address from your list of people to spam” added to that. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2002, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/31 "2002-03-27T23:58:49Z")
humm…i have a “friend” who’s wife sends out what can only be described as spam. you know the kind, “lets all light a candle at x hour and blah, blah, blah…”, or “there are angels looking out for and you need to forward this to x people for blah, blah, blah…”. god i hate those. so, heres how i stopped it. i found a great little gem of a hard-core porno pic (i would swear its her twin, but nothing prohibited by law), sent it to everyone on her list with a little note (addressed specificly to her) that went something like this: “heres that pic you asked for. couldn’t find that other stuff you were looking for (insert most depraved subject matter you feel is appropriate) and have to ask you to stop sending me pics of yourself doing (again, use your own best judgement) or i will have to block you as a sender! my wife is getting jealous!”😃 would i really do that?😛 ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2002, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/32 "2002-03-28T03:57:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cazzle \* > \*\* > “If you visit this link (to the Snopes story), you’ll see that you’ve been taken in by a hoax.” > > After a few of those, she’ll start thinking twice about including you on her mass mailing list. \*\* This is what I always do, but I have one friend who Just Doesn’t Get It. She refuses to believe what ever link I send her (Snopes, [About.com](http://About.com), any number of UL-debunking sites). Just a few days ago, she sent me (for the 6th or 7th time, I swear) the email about the email tax, (Bill 602p, or whatever) and I linked her back to [About.com](http://About.com). She emailed me back, snottily saying she got the original email from “a highly placed computer guru” and she will believe him over what ever “websights” (sic) I send her to. _sigh_ It’s taking longer than we thought. Hey, who said that? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Winnowill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4491bb/32.png) [@Winnowill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnowill)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2002, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/33 "2002-03-28T06:07:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gatopescado \* > \*\*humm…i have a “friend” who’s wife sends out what can only be described as spam. you know the kind, “lets all light a candle at x hour and blah, blah, blah…”, or “there are angels looking out for and you need to forward this to x people for blah, blah, blah…”. god i hate those. \*\* Did you send her the one about all the women in the US running outside in the buff at the same time to offend Bin Laden and his henchmen? It might have been worth a laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2002, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/34 "2002-03-28T07:14:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Goo \* > > One other person I replied to with a snopes link (not a close friend) e-mailed me back saying how I’d spoiled the story for her, and how the truth didn’t matter as much as passing on a good tale. I was labelled a killjoy. This has happened to me before, but frankly, I don’t care. One friend of mine REALLY got the hint, labelled me the King of the Internet, and started asking me for advice on what she _could_ forward to everyone (I, of course, told her never to send anything). Esprix [sub]Scylla[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2002, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323/35 "2002-03-28T07:14:46Z")
oh, but for opportunities missed… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ul-e-mails-from-a-friend-advice-sought/100323.md?page=1)