Hopefully the title has grabbed your attention. Should you lose interest midway through, let me warn you upfront: You will be cursed with bad luck for 5 minutes if you do not finish reading this article. Sounds corny but familiar? This and several other recurring themes form the basis of the ubiquitous nuisance plaguing e-mail inboxes – the chain mail. I usually receive a minimum of one or two such mails daily, all equally outrageous in content. Sometimes it’s about earning easy money or helping a poor, unwell child; mostly though they help spread rumors and wrong information, making them an annoying aspect of a modern-day convenience.
The origin of chain mails is unclear; however they started off on paper. Luck-generation (or ill-luck avoidance) and money-generation schemes are probably the oldest forms. With the advent of the internet and e-mail, it became much easier to spread these chains quickly. One of the most infamous money-generation chains is the Microsoft/Bill Gates hoax, of which there are several versions but all having the same formula: Bill Gates is testing a new e-mail program, for which he intends to distribute his fortune to whoever forwards the mail. There are several flaws in this seemingly simple ‘get-rich’ plan. Firstly, it is very difficult to track e-mails that have been successively forwarded. Even if it could be done, it is a huge waste of time and money. Secondly, why would anyone just dole out large sums for absolutely no convincing reason? But the lure of easy money and the ease with which a mail can be forwarded ensures that this chain continues. The increasing popularity of mobile phones has also led to such messages going around on mobile phone networks.
Luck-chains are very popular. These are often religious in nature, with a ‘rare’ picture of a god/goddess, claiming good luck if the mail is forwarded to a certain number of people. Some variants also introduce time restrictions, meaning the amount of good luck one can get diminishes if the mail is not forwarded within a minimum time! If the mail is deleted or not forwarded, bad luck will supposedly befall the recipient. And to top it all, time pressure can apply to bad luck as well (the more you procrastinate sending the mail, greater the amount of bad luck).
Emotional sob stories are also common. They attempt to tug at your heart strings, causing one to feel sympathy and guilt and hit the forward button. Examples include a poor child suffering from a rare ailment, whose parents do not have sufficient money for the required operation. A few cents (or paise, etc – monetary units depend on which part of the world the mail is circulating) will be provided by the internet service provider or some other benevolent organization to the beleaguered parents every time the mail is sent. A recent trend has been to send the mail with a poem highlighting the circumstances of the child/parents. So, the message seems to be: do forward the mail for the ‘wonderful’ poem, if not for anything else. Another type of emotional chain mail is one with an enlightening story of people relationships, often with text at the end goading the person into sending the mail, out of a sense of shame and responsibility towards society. This brainwashing is completely unnecessary; if you want to send across a strong message, just do so without the rhetoric.
Misinformation is by far the most dangerous style. Not only is it a form of chain-mailing, but it also spreads rumors and wrong information. Hoax bomb alerts following the recent terrorist attacks are a prime example. Hate mails targeting a particular sect or community are damaging to peace among citizens. A recent e-mail I received talked about how Australia was talking tough after the ‘recent’ Bali bombings, and its Prime Minister John Howard urging citizens of other communities to adhere to the laws of the land or to get out. The mail then adds that India too needs such a ‘tough’ leader. Firstly, such messages do no good to promote peace and harmony by inciting passions. Secondly, the information in the mail was outdated. Two major terror attacks took place in Bali, in 2002 and 2005. And John Howard is no longer the PM; he lost to Kevin Rudd in the 2007 elections. Misinformation covers a diverse range of topics, ranging from current affairs to wildlife, geography, health hazards, etc. Stunning images embedded in these mails are only that; more often than not they are false. Another recent mail talked about the first time an Anaconda was caught somewhere in Sri Lanka. Fact is these large snakes are found only in South America and nowhere else. There are many other examples, but the bottom line is: Information in these mails may or may not be true. Their veracity needs to be checked before blindly forwarding the mail to many others.
Of late, a new kind of malaise has started to rear its ugly head. I’m referring to ‘armchair activism’, which is the use of the internet for spreading information on petitions and campaigns. These serve no real purpose and never have any effect in the real world as effective activism requires some concerted effort from parties involved, rather than just sitting in the comfort of one’s home and clicking a button saying you’re bothered about global warming, poverty in Africa and terrorism in the Indian subcontinent. Just adds to increasing junk in your mailbox.
That was a brief round-up of the most common types of chain mails. Why do people blindly hit the forward button? Often it’s a case of being able to contribute something to somebody; the act of sharing. Also with today’s lifestyles, we are increasingly hard pressed for time, be it spending with family or friends. Hence when we get such mails, the instantaneous reaction is to share it with others, giving a false sense of being in touch and staying connected. But is it really bad? What’s wrong in doing so one may ask. The most important reason is lack of credibility. What’s the source of information in these chain mails? Who is the author? Anonymity leads to loss in reliability. A side-effect of chain mails is the increase in junk mail called spam. Spammers often send out these mails so that they may get their hands on e-mail IDs easily; these are then sold to the advertising companies that generate the spam.
Here’s hoping for less chain mails and greater level-headedness in the world. Break the chain!
(For more information on chain mails and internet hoaxes, refer these websites: www.snopes.com, www.breakthechain.org)