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Commentary On the Forwarded E-mails

I would like to reveal a few things about the FORWARDED E-MAILS section on this homepage. FOREWORD & HISTORY When I started this homepage, I thought I needed some content for the visitors. So, I decided to archive the forwarded e-mails I received to appreciate the creativity (but not the bad intention) of the e-mails. So far, there are about 20 something forwarded e-mails I have posted on my homepage. Most of them are from my friend, Jasmine, who fills up my inbox with lots of junk mail (which I post up anyway). If you encounter any junk mail of this sort, please forward them to me, so that I can post 'em up here. POLICY My policy with chain letters and urban legends is : DON'T BELIEVE THEM. They are nothing but hoaxes, and shouldn't be taken seriously. I don't care about curses and what else. And, I consider myself the end-of-the-chain person. I NEVER forward rubbish, but I do post them up on the homepage, where its becomes useful, and interesting, rather than being a waste of time and inbox space. URBAN LEGENDS From what I have read, there are two distinct qualities urban legends have to help convince recipients to believe in it. 1. They write from a first person perspective. (uses the word "I"). It is written so that it feels like a personal experience. Therefore, it becomes more believeable, because it feels like a friend is advising the reader about a danger. 2. It identifies a person, such as a name at the bottom of the letter. This is placed to show validity. In this case, the person probably doesn't exist at all. This element is used especially in newspapers to prove that it is valid and not just concocted from the imagination. 3. The urban legends also are usually involve normal everyday items such as shampoo, perfume, and ATMs so that the target audience is at a maximum. The trick is to find something peculiar to that particular object that is acceptable to logic, yet hard to believe. It is a "grey area", something that is not well known to the public. LEGEND ANALYSIS [Lebanese Loop] - This urban legend has the first element of chain letters, which is writing from the first person perspective. It uses simple and easy language, so that everybody understands. The account of the woman who tricked him is the second element mentioned above, which is a person to identify and validate the letter. The woman is an element that helps in convincing the reader. [Possible Virus Attack] - This is a slight deviation from the above, yet no less effective. It starts with "dear sir", an expression used in formal letters which are regarded as no-nonsense, straight-to-the-point letters. therefore the urban legend is made more convincing. The first two paragraphs are written in the style of formal letters, but it then reverts to a different writing style after that, which instructs you on removing the "virus". It has the name Sandeep Bhalla at the end. However, this legend deals with viruses, not an everyday object. Therefore, instructions are given to help clarify the subject matter. [Ether Perfume] - The ether perfume fulfills all of the qualities mentioned above. It writes from a first person perspective and has a name at the bottom. [Cancer-causing Substance in Shampoo] - Also fulfills the above stated qualities. The author mentions examining his shampoo. Again, this is another way to increase convincibility. It seems that this legend and Ether Perfume were authored by the same person. [Emergency Number] - This legend probably isn't international, and probably originates from Malaysia/Singapore, due to the content material and the bad grammar. This legend does not fulfill the third quality, as it deals with the emergency number which is rarely used. The second quality is found in his friend who had an accident. (Does the bad grammar make it sound convincing?) [Don't Lick Your Envelopes] - There is a second version to this legend which I haven't posted yet, but it has names of people, and looks as if it has been appended. This is very much believable, because it seems that somebody has verified the legend. [Needles Warning!] - Claiming that the incident has happened in Hawaii is very much like the above, as if it has been verified by others. Stating the name "Tan Kim Leng" and his post of police officer also contributes. IS THERE AN URBAN LEGEND IN YOUR MAILBOX? Send them to Frenzied_hitman@yahoo.com More coming soon!