No LBC content....
I had the enclosed info saved from my subscription to Tourbus -- a service
which comes to me via e-mail twice a week.
It addresses the "urban legends" as some of the hoaxes are known, and since
the topic of virii came up last week the second site addresses that issue.
HTH
Carol
At 07:38 PM 9/2/97 -0400, TATERRY@aol.com wrote:
>Some long while ago, this subject came up.....about the kid in England who is
>dying of cancer and wants to get the Guiness record for most business cards.
> I remember someone saying this is a hoax and even a message from the family
>asking people not to send cards.......can anyone give me a lead?? I just got
>a letter in the mail asking me to send a card and ten other request to other
>folks....I'd like to put the sender straight.
>Tnx
http://www.urbanlegends.com/
By the way, make sure that you make "urbanlegends" plural -- if you try to
go to "www.urbanlegend.com" you'll end up at a really boring "under
construction" sign.
Anyway, for those of you who may not know what urban legends are, they are
stories that
- Appear mysteriously and spread spontaneously in varying
forms;
- Contain elements of humor or horror (the horror often
"punishes" someone who flouts society's conventions);
- Make good storytelling; and
- Do NOT have to be false, although most are. ULs often have a
basis in fact, but it's their life after-the-fact (particularly
in reference to the second and third points) that gives them
particular interest."
The best example of an urban legend is the "Craig Shergold" story that we
have talked about before (Craig's the kid who supposedly is dying of a
brain tumor and who wants to make it into the Guinness Book of World
Records for having the most cards ... only he is CURED and he DOESN'T WANT
ANY MORE DARNED CARDS!). Craig was once ill, and he once wanted cards ...
but that was
YEARS ago.
Our second stop on today's tour of our little bus of Internet happiness is
a site that my father (the Rev. Bob "Bob" Crispen) told me about when I was
at home last weekend, eating turkey for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Since so many of us are absolutely terrified about the possibility of
getting virused by the Net, and since there are so many virus hoaxes
floating around the Net right now that even the most level-headed of us has
to be at least a little bit leery, I am please to announce that there is
now a page on the Web that addresses -- and debunks -- almost every virus
story floating around.
The Computer Virus Myths page can be found on the Web at
http://www.kumite.com/myths/
If I were King of the Internet (instead of being what I am now: the global
village idiot), I would make it a law that every single person on the Net
visit this page. Actually, I would probably tell everyone to jump straight
to the "Read all about computer virus myths" subpage at
http://www.kumite.com/myths/myths.htm
If you want to become a resident expert on everything there is to know
about viruses, this page is for you! This page explains, in simple
English,
- How viruses really work,
- The difference between viruses and trojan horses,
- How you can and can not get a virus,
- Why you can't get a virus or a trojan horse from a plain old e-
mail letter, and
- How most virus stories are either absolute hoaxes or are
entirely overblown.
Again, if you are looking for a really good insider's look at the TRUTH
behind viruses and trojan horses, I can't overemphasize how important it is
for you to visit the Computer Virus Myths homepage.
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