Urban Legends E-mail from Co-workers

[PrettyPinkPost-its]

Quite frequently, co-workers feel the need to forward those stupid urban legends e-mails to everyone in the building.  Examples are the "gang members will shoot you if you flash your headlights at them" and "thugs will wait under your car and slash your ankles at the mall."  Today, I got the old "don't return hotel key cards -- they contain your name, address, and credit card number on them.  Anyone can retrieve that data with a simple scanning device!" 
My response is to take 5 seconds to find a credible link which states these things are false and send it to the co-worker.  My husband thinks this is rude.  He says there's no harm in it, just delete it and go on.  However, most of the people who send this stuff I think really believe that they are "warning" others of potentially hazardous situations. 

My question is: Do you delete these annoying e-mails and go on, or do you try to let the person know the information is incorrect?

Gina

[Madd Hatter]

If I got those from a friend/family member, I would send a link saying that it wasn't true.  For co-workers, I would just delete it unless it really gets out of hand (lots everyday).  If it gets out of hand, I would email the co-worker back and say that you thank them for the information, but would no longer wish to recieve any more emails like that.  Try to be polite, but firm.

[EvilAlice]

I don't think it's rude to correct misinformation.  People are spreading this info because, presumably, they care about it.  So they should care enough to know that it's false, right?  That's why I always reply with a Snopes link and a brief line like, "Actually this isn't true, check out the link."

OK that's the polite reason why I do that.  The real reason is, just because Aunt Madge or CoWorker B has too much time on their hands and nothing better to do than forward every bit of nonsense that comes into their box, doesn't mean they should think that everyone is happy to receive the glurge.

I get the occasional snitty reply that says basically "Oooh.  Didn't mean to BOTHER you."  And I think, "Well, you did.  Now you know not to do it again."

[JeanFromBNA]

If I know the sender fairly well, I send them a link to Snopes.  If not, then the post is just deleted.  There's an urban legend about a terminally ill child that wants to get into the Guiness Book of World Records for the largest collection of busines cards.  A good client had sent letters asking all to participate.  I felt very sorry for them, but still sent the Snopes link.  That kind of nonsense discourages real generosity. 

[stanthedevil]

I have to admit when it starts to get out of control, I start using the "reply all" button.  Then I alter the title to read This is a HOAX: <insert urban legend here>!  I copy and paste the appropriate link from Snopes.com and send my little e-mail out to start spreading truth instead of fiction.  I've found that it never takes more than three times to get the e-mails to stop. 

(This is after asking the person multiple times to stop forwarding me things.)

[That Anime Chick]

Seconding sending the Snopes link. I get so many a day that I have the site bookmarked.

My process is to sigh, look up the UL, send a link with "it's just an urban legend. if you're not sure, check here before sending."

My latest one was the UPS uniforms being sold on eBay.

[fklwmn]

I usually reply to the sender with the link. I have done this so many times that one friend emails me her urban legends to check out before the forwards them along. She does not have internet access @ work so I don't mind. It's better than having her send misinformation to 30 people, including me... and I would just look it up when I recieve it anyway!

[graceh9]

I think in a workplace you have to make this judgment based on lots of highly situational factors i.e. it does annoy people to be corrected when they have been fools and you don't want to undermine your own reputation

BUT  whenever prudent, it is important to correct this type of fear mongering

[**Edited for Political content**]-- people really believe that many risks like stranger abductions or this hotel card thing are common -- and while awful things happen, they always have and they are not more common than once they were -- we sure do read about them a lot though

this 'you are in DANGER' messsage bombards us constantly -- and the urban legend email supports this climate  -- so if it doesn't create problems for you in the workplace, I think a quick reference to snopes sent out 'reply all' is the right thing to do

the hotel card thing was just shopped in an article in a major magazine -- so it is circulating again

[CrayonOutlines]

I have to admit when it starts to get out of control, I start using the "reply all" button.  Then I alter the title to read This is a HOAX: <insert urban legend here>!  I copy and paste the appropriate link from Snopes.com and send my little e-mail out to start spreading truth instead of fiction.  I've found that it never takes more than three times to get the e-mails to stop. 

(This is after asking the person multiple times to stop forwarding me things.)

I do the same thing with the same results... 

Funny thing is that when my brother and I are both recipients of the same urban legend e-mail, we race to see who can send out the Snopes link first.  And we finally have our mother trained and she's training her friends (who are the ones responsible for sending her the e-mails in the first place).

[CherryB]

Funny you should post this-just yesterday I got an email forward from a co worker about how Target (a) is a French company (B) hates veterans and (C) doesn't allow Salvation Army Bell Ringers in front of their stores(this one's true but they send SA a huge check every year.

So I replied to all with the snopes link. Sighs.

The ones that really tick me are "If yu love Jesus, you will forward this-if you don't then you must be a Godless heathen going straight to hell in a handbasket."   Now where did I put my handbasket?

[Twik]

Unless it's something particularly egregious, I don't usually bother trying to correct it. In most cases, I don't think even the forwarder is particularly worried about this stuff - they just think that since someone sent it to them, they're obligated to send it on. I don't bother telling them that my e-mail is the place where chain letters come to die.

On the other hand, when one of my colleagues for the nth time started passing around computer virus warnings with suggested solutions that would have had everyone in the office needing a complete rebuild, I had to put my foot down. I started sending out a link to Snopes for him, and everyone he'd sent the e-mail to. He soon realized that he was NOT being helpful.

[kingsrings]

Quite frequently, co-workers feel the need to forward those stupid urban legends e-mails to everyone in the building.  Examples are the "gang members will shoot you if you flash your headlights at them" and "thugs will wait under your car and slash your ankles at the mall."  Today, I got the old "don't return hotel key cards -- they contain your name, address, and credit card number on them.  Anyone can retrieve that data with a simple scanning device!" 
My response is to take 5 seconds to find a credible link which states these things are false and send it to the co-worker.  My husband thinks this is rude.  He says there's no harm in it, just delete it and go on.  However, most of the people who send this stuff I think really believe that they are "warning" others of potentially hazardous situations. 

My question is: Do you delete these annoying e-mails and go on, or do you try to let the person know the information is incorrect?

Gina

One of my co-workers is famous for doing this frequently. I called her on a few of them I knew were urban legends, so now she has me check them out on snopes first before she passes them on. About 99% of them are untrue, I can almost tell now just looking at them because they all sound the same! I do think that it is not rude at all to call someone on sending untrue warnings out. It is wrong to misinform or scare someone on something that is just junk, and I really don't like receiving misinformation myself. As long as you do it politely, there is nothing rude about it.

[kingsrings]

Funny you should post this-just yesterday I got an email forward from a co worker about how Target (a) is a French company (B) hates veterans and (C) doesn't allow Salvation Army Bell Ringers in front of their stores(this one's true but they send SA a huge check every year.

So I replied to all with the snopes link. Sighs.

The ones that really tick me are "If yu love Jesus, you will forward this-if you don't then you must be a Godless heathen going straight to hell in a handbasket."   Now where did I put my handbasket?

I'm a born-again Christian, and even I hate those kind of emails! Another I hate is where they ask you to sign a petition saying that yes, you believe in God, and you're supposed to send it along to everyone to know so that they can sign it as well. Just another manipulation to get junk spam chain email along.

[stacykk]

I always check with snopes and if it's false, I quickly send them an email back with the link.  I don't think it's rude to send it because you are trying to give them the facts.

I have one lady that sends me an urban legend once or twice a week.  I always send her the snopes link, but she still hasn't figured to check for herself BEFORE she forwards that stuff on.  *sigh*  Some people just never learn...

[stacykk]

The ones that really tick me are "If yu love Jesus, you will forward this-if you don't then you must be a Godless heathen going straight to hell in a handbasket."   Now where did I put my handbasket?

Generally if I get this "you don't believe in God" threat, I delete it.  Those emails offend me worse than getting hundreds of the Urban Legend ones.