I considered titling this "In Hate of Forwards". But it might be misleading. I don't hate all forwards. Some are witty, funny. But the majority are tasteless and worse, offensive. Also, I consider them an invasion of my privacy, especially if sent by someone I a) don't know, b) am not and would not normally be in touch with - I mean, you never mail me a "Hi, how are you?" but you feel yourself entitled to send me boring forwards?
But worse than all this, perhaps is all the wrong "information" they spread. You see it often, some forward soliciting for aid because someone is ill - often with ghastly photographs - and you send it on in good faith, to find later that it has been doing the round for ages. Then there was one some time ago about petrol/diesel prices and how the government is doing nothing about it. Anyone who has any knowledge of the economy would know that the government subsidises petroleum products heavily - if this had been a free economy, we'd have been paying through our noses for fuel. Do those people sending those forwards have any idea about the real price of LPG? Why don't they find out, before clicking on that 'forward' button?
Then there's one I got today, about Tommy Hilfiger supposedly having made 'racist' comments on Oprah Winfrey's show, and pleading for a boycott of his products. My first reaction was gratification - someone actually thinks I can afford designer labels! My first search on Google took me to an Urban Legends article refuting the whole thing. It seems Oprah and Tommy Hilfiger have never met. I am as anti-racist as anyone can get - but why not check your facts first?
Then there are those which warn of dire consequences if you do not forward them. I love deleting those. I sometimes wish I'd kept count of the number I've deleted.
I think I'll send out one of my own. "If you have ever sent on a forward without reading it, you will lose your job within 15 days. If you have ever sent a forward to a person who did not know you, you will remain single all your life - if you are attached, your partner will soon leave you. If you have ever forwarded any 'information' without verifying it, all your hair will fall out within a week."
I wonder how many times I would get that one back!
7 comments:
You've echoed my thoughts!!! I only wonder when would people finally grow up and start showing a little intellgence in sending our such fowards.
Bill Gates has no better thing left to do in life than to distribute his wealth to everyone who forwards 'his' mails.
I got a mail a year back, again a few months back, and again 3 days back, about this person at Siemens Bangalore suffering from some nutcase disease. Apparently, no one by that name ever existed out there. A friend at Siemens confirmed that for me personally.
Bottom line is....there is no bottom line! It's just plain stupid.
p.s Be amongst the first 5 people to comment on this blog and you'll get laid by a French supermodel in 3 days!!! ;)
Forwarded Message Attached:
I think the stuff you have written is really interesting and effective. If you want to measure the effectiveness, send it to 10 people.
Within 10 days you will receive the same back from multiple sources :-). Number of times you get your own message back, devide by 10, is your score.
Its a win-win situation. If you get less score, that means your message is effective and people reduced sending forwards. if you get high score, that means your writting is interestign and people like reading it, so you are a godo writer :-).
Wanna try?
HI.I guess this is the first time I am reading this and trust me i simply loved it!!
HI.I guess this is the first time I am reading this and trust me i simply loved it!!
sound like the ol unmana.. lol
Heres even better: first thing in the morning select all mails staring with FWD and click delete . Trust me the entire operation takes less than 2 min :) [the risk of losing out interesting forwards is quite bearable:) ]
the best is use your personal id for interacting with frens....
I wish it was so easy for me :(
I get client mails which are forwards of other conversations and can't afford to delte them.
Interacting with frinds using personal ID is best way, but I guess it's a bit late for that too :(. and even then, when people search your IDs and attack you, where do you go!
----
Look for 8 more such excuses for not being able avoid forward, send it to 20 people in next 20 mins and good luck will come to you.
I guess the issue isn't so much how to get rid of forwards - of course it's not that difficult to hit the delete button - but rather that people should stop to think and verify the truth before sending them on. Because after all, all these forwards come from colleagues, ex-classmates etc., people whom you would expect to be endowed with average intelligence.
By the way, I guess all of us are eligible to get laid by French supermodels in 3 days (I hope there's a choice of gender). ;)
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