gcf@actnyc.UUCP (Gordon Fitch) (12/17/88)
In article <4592@homxc.UUCP> rick@homxc.UUCP (R.BUTTAFOGO) writes: }There is a young boy by the name of David at the Sloan Kettering Cancer }Hospital who is terminally ill. His last wish is to be in the Guiness }Book of World Records for having received the MOST Christmas cards EVER. }Therefore, they have started a campaign to honor his last wish, and rather }simple, request. If anyone would like to take the time to send David a }Christmas card, please mail it to: .... A number of follow-ups have protested this message. However, I think it's one of the more interesting examples of net pathology. At first, these hoax-protest syndromes were spaced about six months apart. Now, apparently, the cycle time is rapidly becoming shorter, or we have seen the appearance of overlapping cycles in different phases. I would like the original poster, allegedly rick@homxc.UUCP (R.BUTTAFOGO), to tell us what or who induced him or her to post this message even as another, very similar, message, was being decried as a hoax. Considering some of the postings I've seen, it's easy to believe there are people on the net who are aware of nothing that happened more than three months ago; but it's hard to figure how someone could forget everything before the last three minutes. So how about it, R.BUTTAFOGO? I want to know. I'm aware that there are pseudoposters lurking about, so if you have been victimized by one of these, tell us. I'm cross-posting this to sci.psychology in the hope that someone there can give an explanation and prognosis for the David endemic. (...!uunet!actnyc!gcf)
charlie@mica.stat.washington.edu (Charlie Geyer) (12/18/88)
In article <1097@actnyc.UUCP> gcf@actnyc.UUCP (Gordon Fitch) writes: >In article <4592@homxc.UUCP> rick@homxc.UUCP (R.BUTTAFOGO) writes: >}There is a young boy ... terminally ill. His last wish is to be in >}the Guiness Book of World Records for having received the MOST >}Christmas cards EVER. If anyone would like to take the time to send >}David a Christmas card, please mail it to: .... > >I think it's one of the more interesting examples of net pathology. >At first, these hoax-protest syndromes were spaced about six months >apart. Now, apparently, the cycle time is rapidly becoming shorter > >I'm cross-posting this to sci.psychology in the hope that someone >there can give an explanation and prognosis for the David endemic. People are so gullible. Rumors and gossip and silly folklore have been around ever since humans evolved language. The news net just speeds up the propagation of such nonsense, it doesn't make it more accurate. It is an unfortunate fact that people tend to believe what they see on a computer even more than they believe what they see on television. Perhaps there is some unconscious notion that the computer is checking news net postings for accuracy -- just like Geraldo and Oprah check the nonsense on their shows for accuracy :-) In most news groups at least 50 per cent of the postings are complete nonsense, and will be flamed in a few days. The prognosis is that this will continue to be true. Why would it change?
wfp@well.UUCP (William F. Phillips) (12/18/88)
In article <1097@actnyc.UUCP> gcf@actnyc.UUCP (Gordon Fitch) writes: |A number of follow-ups have protested this message. However, I think |it's one of the more interesting examples of net pathology. At first, |these hoax-protest syndromes were spaced about six months apart. Now, |apparently, the cycle time is rapidly becoming shorter, or we have |seen the appearance of overlapping cycles in different phases. | |I would like the original poster, allegedly rick@homxc.UUCP (R.BUTTAFOGO), |to tell us what or who induced him or her to post this message even as |another, very similar, message, was being decried as a hoax. Hi, Gordon. _I_ think someone is trying to set a record for the number of times the same hoax can be perpetrated upon the public. Undoubtedly, what we are seeing here is a try for the record in the "Computer Network" Division.