For example, if someone forwards an email that tells you Microsoft and AOL will pay you money to forward this email (an old one), do you automatically send it off to 10 of your closest friends so they can share in this windfall or do you do some checking just to make sure this is bullshit before you delete the message? That's just one example. Another is Robin William's Plan For Peace email:

Quote :

I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of one plan for peace. " Books, not Bombs" won't work. The head mullahs won't let anyone read them. If they do, they poke their eyes out.

Here's the plan:

1) The US will apologize to the world for our "interference" in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini and the rest of them 'good old boys'. We will never "interfere" again.

2) We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany, South Korea and the Philippines. They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No more sneaking through holes in the fence.

3) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of who or where they are. France would welcome them.

4) All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit. No one from a terrorist nation would be allowed in. If you don't like it there, change it yourself, don't hide here. Asylum would not ever be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers.

5) No "students" over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a "D" and it's back home baby.

6) The US will make a strong effort to become self sufficient energy wise. This will include developing non polluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while.

7) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we go someplace else.

If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not "interfere". They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides' most of what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if any anyway.

9) Ship the UN Headquarters to an island some place. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, it would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.

9b) Use the buildings as replacement for the twin towers.

10) All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us "Ugly Americans" any longer.

Now, ain't that a winner of a plan.

"The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying 'Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses.' She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'You want a piece of me?'" - Robin Williams.

Maybe you don't forward anything but if you do, do you at least try not to perpetuate something that isn't true?

I don't forward anything, but some of the stuff I run thru Snopes and send the results back to the person who sent it to me if it's pure bunk.

(I'm just an apprentice Alan Smithee)

No. And I very rarely forward e-mails.

I usually check Snopes to see if its bull or not.

Oh, I love the ones that start off, "Verified by Snopes". I still check but have learned not to trust Snopes 100% though it's a convenient place to start. Usually it's my father who sends me things of questionable validity and depending on how ridiculous (such as the one by Robin Williams) I won't just reply to him. I reply to "all" so all his other friends can see too.

Shale wrote:

I don't forward anything, but some of the stuff I run thru Snopes and send the results back to the person who sent it to me if it's pure bunk.

(I'm just an apprentice Alan Smithee)

Shale, I do the same thing. Mostly because I am blown away by the amount of educated women who send me the stupidest shit.

Shale wrote:

(I'm just an apprentice Alan Smithee)

Ah - Grasshopper.

I don't believe most of them but I'll check Snopes sometimes, too. Most times, I just disregard them.

I don't do forwards because all the ones I've seen are just stupid. But in other areas I check, re-check, triple check...lol