[pchelpers] Chain letters are evil!

Hi, folks!

What is a chain letter? A chain letter is basically any email that
someone sends you, which you send to others. In many (but not all)
cases, it will say something like "send this on to 2852405347 other
people or you'll have bad luck for the rest of your life!".

Many workplaces forbid chain letters. Even if your workplace does not,
you should NEVER forward one, even from your personal email account,
for not just one or two, but several reasons.

• If it takes the form of a file, there is a good chance that the file
is a Trojan horse or contains a virus. You do NOT want to find
yourself responsible for killing all of the computers at the company
that you (used to) work for. In some cases, the email itself can
contain a virus, and simply reading it can contaminate your computer.

• Forwarding it from your work email essentially puts your stamp of
approval on it or your organization’s stamp of approval on it. People
will tend to assume that you are certifying that it is true and
correct, even if your signature is not in the email. This can have
legal consequences, both for you and for your (ex-)employer. If you
have people working for you, they can either assume that you are
forwarding in the line of business, or they can assume that some (or
all) of your really-official emails are also junk.

• The majority of chain letters, AT LEAST 95%, are hoaxes or grossly
obsolete. If you are dead set on forwarding chain letters, you should
at least look them up; it takes VERY little time. Sites such as
SNOPES.COM research the background of many of the ones that they see,
and report on the results. It is VERY IMPORTANT to read the entire
article. For example, if you receive an email about the Pascua Lama
mining project, you can look up “Pascua Lama” and find this Snopes
article: http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/pascualama.asp. At
the very top of the page, it says “True”, but that is not the complete
story. If you read it all the way to the bottom, you will find that
the email address given in the email is no longer valid. The other
problem is something that is not mentioned: email petitions are not
worth the paper that they are printed on, for a variety of reasons.

• Sending chain letters around at work is a good way to ensure getting
passed over for a raise or promotion. Assuming that you are still
employed, of course. If you have time to send chain letters, then
obviously you are not doing any work, which means that either they are
paying you too much, or, if money is tight, they do not really need
you. A good employee can always find something useful to do. Plus, if
you do not check the chain letters first to ensure that they are
actually good, then your supervisor may assume that you are not
suitable for making decisions.

• Even if you are sending from home, you should not send to people at
their work emails, to avoid getting them into trouble and to avoid
forcing them to ask you not to send to them at work. If you do not
have a home email address for them, then maybe that is a hint.

• If you are sending stuff without making CERTAIN that it is correct,
and not obsolete, that implies that you have no respect for the people
that you are sending to. A GOOD friend would send GOOD, CURRENT
information.

• Forwarding an email often leaves all of the old email addresses in
the email. Those email addresses are personal information, therefore
it is not appropriate for you to forward the email while they remain
in it.

• Do you work for the government? Forwarded chain letters from your
government email account can be perceived to have force of law, or
similar authority. You could potentially find yourself sharing a cell
with your new best friend, "Bubba". Furthermore, sending emails from
your work email or while on the job, which favor a political
candidate, is strictly forbidden.

• What about virus warnings? Sorry, they are no different from other
chain letters: the majority are hoaxes, and the rest are YEARS
obsolete.

In summary, there are MANY reasons not to forward chain letters at
work. If you receive one and feel that you MUST forward it, send it to
yourself at your home email address. Then, from your home email
address, remove your work email address and any other identifying
information, AND all other email addresses and identifying
information. When you send it on, do not send it to anyone at their
work email address.

-- 
Scott.




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