north@manta.NOSC.MIL (Mark H. North) (11/11/90)
In article <26678.273c16eb@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> petrino@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: >Dear NetFolks, > >We would appreciate your responding to the request of Craig Shergold who >is a seven year old boy with an inoperable tumor on his brain. > Petrino, where the hell have you been all your life? This kid is already in the Guinness Book of World Records -- look it up. > >Letters similar to this have been sent out by traditional mail to large >organizations all across the U.S. on Craigs behalf. Instead of passing >it on by land-mail, I thought the net would be a great way of getting >the word out to as many people as possible in as short a time as possible. > >Please pitch-in & send Craig a get well card, and by all means feel free >to circulate this letter to local businesses/organizations, or other >BBS's you may belong to. All your help and effort will certainly be >appreciated! Thank you. > DON'T DO THIS. The kid himself said he doesn't want to see another goddamn postcard as long as he lives. Which may be quite a while since last I heard he was in remission and Ok. Petrino get a clue -- if you're not a regular on the net don't post something like this until you know what's going on. If I see this post on another newsgroup I swear I'll fill your mailbox so full of junk your fingers will rot off trying to hit 'n' fast enough. Idjit. Mark
wct1@unix.cis.pitt.edu (William C Tom) (11/11/90)
OK, to the next person who posts a Craig Shergold post-card request, I will kidnap Craig and air-drop the little bugger on said person's house. Sheeeeesh!
salmi@finsun.csc.fi (Timo Salmi) (11/11/90)
In article <26678.273c16eb@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> petrino@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: >We would appreciate your responding to the request of Craig Shergold who >is a seven year old boy with an inoperable tumor on his brain. > >He has not been given a very long time to live and it is Craig's ambition >to enter the Guiness Book of World Records for the largest number of get Readers of this group BEWARE. "Dying boy's last wish" is one of the most frequent (and blatant) hoaxes for unsuspecting neophyte netters! ................................................................... Prof. Timo Salmi (Moderating at anon. ftp site 128.214.12.3) School of Business Studies, University of Vaasa, SF-65101, Finland Internet: ts@chyde.uwasa.fi Funet: gado::salmi Bitnet: salmi@finfun
salmi@finsun.csc.fi (Timo Salmi) (11/11/90)
In article <1381@manta.NOSC.MIL> north@manta.nosc.mil.UUCP (Mark H. North) writes: >In article <26678.273c16eb@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> petrino@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: >> >>We would appreciate your responding to the request of Craig Shergold who >>is a seven year old boy with an inoperable tumor on his brain. ... much deleted .. >DON'T DO THIS. The kid himself said he doesn't want to see another >goddamn postcard as long as he lives. Which may be quite a while since >last I heard he was in remission and Ok. Petrino get a clue -- if you're >not a regular on the net don't post something like this until you know >what's going on. If I see this post on another newsgroup I swear I'll fill >your mailbox so full of junk your fingers will rot off trying to hit 'n' >fast enough. Think before you take any retaliatory action. On top of hurting the sites along the feed, we may end up being had twice. Remember that hoaxes often come from forged or stolen addresses. At worst your action may just end up doubling the effect of a stupid hoax. Let's rather hope that the appropriate system managers take a note of this. ................................................................... Prof. Timo Salmi (Moderating at anon. ftp site 128.214.12.3) School of Business Studies, University of Vaasa, SF-65101, Finland Internet: ts@chyde.uwasa.fi Funet: gado::salmi Bitnet: salmi@finfun
lev@suned0.nswses.navy.mil (Lloyd E Vancil) (11/17/90)
>In article <26678.273c16eb@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> petrino@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: >> >>We would appreciate your responding to the request of Craig Shergold who >>is a seven year old boy with an inoperable tumor on his brain. >Mark North flames... >Petrino, where the hell have you been all your life? This kid is already >in the Guinness Book of World Records -- look it up. and continues.... >DON'T DO THIS. The kid himself said he doesn't want to see another >goddamn postcard as long as he lives. Which may be quite a while since >last I heard he was in remission and Ok. Petrino get a clue -- if you're ......More invective deleted. Poor Petrino, tried to do something NICE and got publicly toasted... The problem here is that the community is too large and too imperfect. After all Petrino probably heard about the kid not wanting any more cards, it was on the national news, in the USA Today paper and all over the radio. But, face it, the guy is not one of your computers. None of us are. So it didn't make a big impression. He forgot. Then sometime later he sees a heart rending story on his local BBS and thinks to himself, "Boy I bet I can really help out if I post a request on the News net....." Visions of heroic anonymity.... There's another one out there about how the Government owes us vets a "refund" "with interest" on our Veteran's Life insurance. It surfaces out here about once every six or eight months. Like all good romors it has some basis in fact. There was a refund payed to some Veterans of the Korean war. But other wise it is wholly untrue. Perhaps someone could do us all a favor and keep track of all of these things. Then we wouldn't end up like Poor Petrino. Volunteers? L. -- * suned1!lev@elroy.JPL.Nasa.Gov sun!suntzu!suned1!lev . lev@suned1.nswses.navy.mil + . + * S.T.A.R.S.! The revolution has begun! * My employer has no opinions. These are mine!
ts@uwasa.fi (Timo Salmi) (11/17/90)
In article <6114@suned1.Nswses.Navy.MIL> lev@suned0.nswses.navy.mil (Lloyd E Vancil) writes: >>In article <26678.273c16eb@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> petrino@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: >>> >>>We would appreciate your responding to the request of Craig Shergold who >>>is a seven year old boy with an inoperable tumor on his brain. > >>Mark North flames... >>Petrino, where the hell have you been all your life? This kid is already >>in the Guinness Book of World Records -- look it up. >and continues.... >>DON'T DO THIS. The kid himself said he doesn't want to see another >>goddamn postcard as long as he lives. Which may be quite a while since >>last I heard he was in remission and Ok. Petrino get a clue -- if you're >......More invective deleted. > >Poor Petrino, tried to do something NICE and got publicly toasted... > > The problem here is that the community is too large and too imperfect. This extract from my /pc/ts/tsfaq13.arc might be of some relevance. The point is that in these escapades someone always ends up being had. Whether it is a gullible reposter of the plea, or the other users somewhat irrelevant. (But perhaps we should close the whole subject.) 24. ***** Q: How should I react to "a dying boy's last wish"? A: Don't fall into these traps. Some users get their kicks out of trying to play pranks on unsuspecting neophyte users on the net. These hoaxes most often take the form of pleas to send email messages or ordinary post cards (or even money in some blatant cases). "Dying boy's last wish" and "support a cause" are among the most common. Note that the truth value of the original pleas is NOT the real issue here. (If you are interested in that aspect eg in the last-wish case, check the Guinnes Book of World Records). Hall-marks of these plea-postings are that they are either repeats of age-old themes, or are completely fictitious. Another hall-mark of these pranks is that fulfilling the pleas would probably cause havoc on the net and/or the postal system at some address. These pleas can occur in innumerable forms. One that is very popular in Finland is "write to your congress person about the impending registration of, and tax-levy on, all modem users". This always causes a stir, since such idiocy could well be conceivable in this country. The best reaction to these postings is simply to ignore them. At best the pleas are misplaced. The newsgroups should keep to their own subjects. Sending a flame would most probably be useless, since the poster's mail address may be forged, or even someone else's cracked userid. Better just to hope that some alert system manager gets wind of who the prankster is, and takes appropriate action. What you shouldn't do under any circumstances is trying to cram the mailbox of the potential culprit. You'll just hurt the systems along feed, and you may end up being a worse offender than the original nitwit. Another childish form of pranks on the net are the bogus newsgroups (eg alt.swedish.bork.bork.bork, alt.flame.pizza.greasy). The best course of action for an ordinary user is just to unsubscribe, and again hope that the alert system managers will put things right. It is naturally difficult to generalize the motives behind these practical jokes, but my understanding is that in many cases it is a question of a kind of a misplaced creativity rather than outright malice. It would be much better for everybody if this creativity were directed in a more productive manner. ................................................................... Prof. Timo Salmi (Moderating at anon. ftp site 128.214.12.3) School of Business Studies, University of Vaasa, SF-65101, Finland Internet: ts@chyde.uwasa.fi Funet: gado::salmi Bitnet: salmi@finfun
kdq@demott.COM (Kevin D. Quitt) (11/18/90)
In article <1990Nov17.044938.18053@uwasa.fi> ts@uwasa.fi (Timo Salmi) writes: > Q: How should I react to "a dying boy's last wish"? > > A: Don't fall into these traps. ... > The best reaction to these postings is simply to ignore them. I disagree. The best reaction (if you feel the urge to post) is to investigate and determine if the item in question is valid. I don't think many people would really object to send a postcard, or whatever, if the case was known to be legitimate. -- _ Kevin D. Quitt demott!kdq kdq@demott.com DeMott Electronics Co. 14707 Keswick St. Van Nuys, CA 91405-1266 VOICE (818) 988-4975 FAX (818) 997-1190 MODEM (818) 997-4496 PEP last 96.37% of all statistics are made up.
harmon@husc9.harvard.edu (David Harmon) (11/18/90)
>>> petrino@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: >>>We would appreciate your responding to the request of Craig Shergold who >>>is a seven year old boy with an inoperable tumor on his brain. >>Mark North flames... >>Petrino, where the hell have you been all your life? This kid is already >>in the Guinness Book of World Records -- look it up. [And is supposedly in remission] Actually, I read an article in the Boston Globe saying that he had just died. The article mentioned the postcards . . . . Dave Harmon harmon@husc4.harmon.edu
lexw@idca.tds.PHILIPS.nl (Lex Wassenberg) (11/19/90)
In article <983@demott.COM> kdq@demott.COM (Kevin D. Quitt) writes: |In article <1990Nov17.044938.18053@uwasa.fi> ts@uwasa.fi (Timo Salmi) writes: |> Q: How should I react to "a dying boy's last wish"? |> |> A: Don't fall into these traps. |... |> The best reaction to these postings is simply to ignore them. | | | I disagree. The best reaction (if you feel the urge to post) is to |investigate and determine if the item in question is valid. I don't think |many people would really object to send a postcard, or whatever, if the |case was known to be legitimate. And I disagree with this and do agree with Timo. These postings are often done without the poster realizing what trouble it can give to the hospital where the kid is supposed to be. Again, if lots of people send cards, COMPLETE HOSPITALS CAN BE DISRUPTED!! Really. This is no joke. Please, please, please *don't* send cards! -- _ _ / U | Lex Wassenberg, Philips TDS, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands /__ < lexw@idca.tds.philips.nl 88 |_\ "Since nobody understands me, I speak only for myself."
rabeck@cbnewsk.att.com (ronald.a.beck) (11/19/90)
In article <4745@husc6.harvard.edu>, harmon@husc9.harvard.edu (David Harmon) writes: > >>> petrino@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: > > >>>We would appreciate your responding to the request of Craig Shergold who > >>>is a seven year old boy with an inoperable tumor on his brain. > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Flame removed. > > Actually, I read an article in the Boston Globe saying that he had > just died. The article mentioned the postcards . . . . > > Dave Harmon > harmon@husc4.harmon.edu I can't verify what Dave says above, but Craig was in Atlanta this past October with the "Children's Wish Foundation" to meet an American Policeman. There were pictures of Craig and his mother in the Oct. 30, 1990 edition of the Atlanta Constitution. He will also be visiting Disney World. The Foundation had to rent space just for Craig's mail, gifts, and etc. NOTE: He is now 11 years old and as of May had recieved 16,250,692 cards. They don't know how to get all this back home, so I'm sure they don't need any more. Ron -- Ron Beck AT&T Voice:404-870-5679 Atlanta, Ga. ATTMail !rabeck rabeck@cbnewsk.att.com Sorry, no cute quips, just a ***** Standard Disclaimer *****