Tag Archive for email

Those Juicy Emails

A group of women I get together with twice a month was talking about emails we all receive that are mean-spirited and often just plain false.  We agreed that they spread harmful misinformation and perpetuate distrust and animosity.  In other words, there’s nothing positive about them.

Why do people send them?  Some have an agenda–check out the rash of attacks currently against presidential candidates–while others just love passing on anything shocking or upsetting, true or not.   Some think they’ve discovered a brand-new fact that’s just been discovered, even though the message has been recycled again and again over ten years or even several decades.  Others think they’re protecting country or religion (think about the recurring email saying that In God We Trust is being removed from money when, in fact, the words have simply been moved).  Many people have good intentions but don’t stop to think and evaluate.  They unwittingly spread rancor and untruths and often never realize they’ve done so.

My group decided that this is a practice that’s harmful to all of us.  If nothing else, it wounds our souls.  In an already dysfunctional world, we need to fight such practices, not foster them.  It’s up to us to be more alert and conscientious.  Before sending a negative email on its insidious way, we should do a little fact checking.  The two easiest sites for this are www.snopes.com and www.truthorfiction.comThere are others, likewww.urbanmyths.com and ones dedicated to specific topics, like politics (search urban myths politics–or whatever other topic).  They aren’t any good, though, if people don’t use them BEFORE they hit the “send” key to forward an email.

Stop those emails, and send a note to the person who sent it to you (delete all the CCs), setting him straight and encouraging him to tell everyone else he sent the original email to.  This really is a small thing that everyone can do to work toward a more loving peaceful world.

How I Edit Your Comments

Yes, your comments do come to me for approval, mainly so that I can delete spam and inappropriate material (we’re G-Rated).  Any I approve, though, I edit in one respect: I delete your email and website addresses.  That’s for the privacy of those of you who don’t want to receive spam just because you commented on my blog.  It’s also so I don’t unwittingly pass on any questionable websites.

So, feel free to comment and know that I’m protecting your privacy (and some of your sanity).

 

 

I’m a Bit Muddled

If I don’t make much sense these next few days, forgive me.  My old computer died, forcing me to get a new one.  That meant having to leave my trusted, understandable Vista to go to Windows 8.1, which, at this point, makes little sense to me.  Oh, yes, there are instructions–on line, not in the packing box.  It took me a whole day just to figure out how to set up the computer enough to actually go online!  Now I find that some of my programs and files don’t like 8.1 and are rebelling.  My passwords hate me and are hiding.  And last night it took me almost an hour to figure out how to turn the &^%$*! thing off!

So, I’ll be spending the next week re-installing the programs I need and figuring out how to reconfigure my Comcast email, since 8.1 doesn’t allow POP settings.

Thanks for giving me a shoulder to cry on.  I’ll come up with some entertaining post soon, both for you and for me to stop taking life–and computers–so seriously.