Meme #1: I Won't Continue Chain Letters
Earlier this week I was tagged with my first meme: "Share 7 random and/or weird things about yourself." This is a further explanation of #1 on my list.
I won't continue any kind of chain letter or "chain email." (Except for one time that involved socks...)
Most chain letters have a section at the end that promises health, happiness and prosperity to those who continue the chain, and plague, famine, and pestilence to those who don't. Real or imagined, I won't send anything to people I care about that threatens them with death and destruction! (Though I find it interesting how many people have NO problem sending the threat of those things to me!) I especially won't re-send chain letters because so many people take them seriously. Oh you think that's silly? How often have you, or someone you know, continued chain letters because you didn't want to "tempt fate" or because you figured it couldn't hurt to take a chance at getting the good luck? ;)
As for chains that don't threaten gloom and doom, I still won't re-send them. Jokes, funny photos, "links I must see," petitions... I hate that stuff! I will only read emails whose content is written by, and is about, the friend or associate who sent them. If someone emails me anything else, I will politely ask them not to, and if they persist, I'll block their email address -even if they're a good friend. (If those same types of things are on someone's blog, that's a whole different story! I choose to read those!)
Memes are a bit different. I might tag specific people for some memes in the future, but for the most part, I'd rather have people volunteer to be "tagged." Memes should be fun, but some people stress out over them, and I don't know everyone well enough to know who'd like to be tagged and would think it was fun, and who might be feeling "meme-d out" at the moment! ;) I guess that, in general, I'm not comfortable volunteering other people for things without checking with them first.
About The Socks
There was one time that I broke my self imposed chain letter rule.
I was once sent a chain letter, through snail mail, that told me that IF I sent a pair of socks to the person at the top of my list, and IF I continued the chain by re-sending the letter to 5 people, I would receive over 10,000 pairs of socks in the mail from all over the world within the next 30 days.
The thought of this made me laugh SO hard that I decided to give it a try. I figured if I even got ONE pair of socks in the mail it would keep me laughing for the rest of the week -possibly even for the rest of my life! So I continued the chain and I sent the person at the top of the list a pair of funky tie dyed socks that I bought for them at a street fair.
Unfortunately, I never saw one darned pair of socks (No pun intended ;) ) But the thought that I could have opened my mail one day to find a pair of socks, still makes me giggle to this day (not to mention the thought of receiving "over 10,000 pairs of socks from all over the world!")
7 Comments:
So would you like some socks? Perhaps you have a birthday coming up? I love the mail, both sending a receiving!
I'm the same way about memes. I like to do them...well, most of them, but I rarely post the 'rules' and I don't tag people (unless its my sister in law..)
I guess my thing is: Someone may have commented on my blog once..but I don't know if they ever actually read it and I don't know them well enough to 'bind' them to anything.
K, I'm not so sure how the 10,000 thing works out, but I could see a max of 25 pairs. (if everyone you sent a letter to (5) sent letters on, and those people all sent teh socks back to you like they were supposed to, then you'd get 25 pairs).
I've seen the same thing with undies. "Hey girls, this is a panty exchange!" (emphasis: this was not a TRADE - EW! - but strictly new pairs). I got about 3 pairs of fun undies in the mail from friends of friends! Woot!
I thought about doing the sock one a long time ago,I always wondered if it worked, there is also an underware one out there...that is kinda wierd.
Wow, that makes me glad I didn't every respond to those chain letters that promise you lots of cash in 30 days...
I feel the same way about chains. I *will* break my deal with them IF it's funny or thoughtful and I'm particularly touched by it (and that last bit? Oh, man, it had better be effing good!). If I do send it along, it's only to select folk, the ones who'd get the joke/need the lift or appreciate the message, depending on which type.
Regardless of the type of chain, ALWAYS I make sure to change the parts that promise impossible blessings and threaten untold miseries to my own thing. Somehting along the lines of "I don't believe in luck. I would never wish you harm. Handle this message as you deem best; feel free to pass this along if you choose. Passing this along brings no promise of wealth, good fortune, chocolate, fairy dust, expertise with chopsticks, fluency in Teddy Bear, or instant companionship. Deletion brings no threat of illness, loss of limb, zombification, overdue library fees, cat scratch fever, Dee Snyder Syndrome, or High School Reunions in the nude. I simply thought of you and the fact you might enjoy it. Holla back if you choose."
I think that's the best way to handle it.
Another pet peeve or issue I have is the "warning" emails, specifically the ones that haven't been checked out. Urban myths are easy to check out at snopes.com, and I try to gently enlighten my friends and family about that.
I wish the socks one would have worked for you!!!
I wish *I* could get hooked up with that one. I've got a book about turning socks into sock monsters (softie creatures) and I don't have any interesting socks. That would be fun!!
Vanessa: Lol! May :D
Kendra: I noticed that! :)
Hillary:There were about 6 people on the list. You'd send socks to the top person, bump the other 5 names up one row, and add yourself to the bottom of the list. So in this way:
Your letter (w/ you at the bottom of the list) = 5 people)
Their letters (you in 5th place on the list) = 5 x 5 = 25 people
Their letters (you in 4th place on the list) = 5 x 25 = 125
Their letters (you in 3rd place on the list) = 5 x 125 = 625
Their letters (you in 2nd place on the list) = 5 x 625 = 3125
Their letters (which now have you at the top of the list) = 5 x 3125 = 15,625 people sending you socks. (In theory.)
As for the undies one that some of you have had? That's very strange! What do you do with a chain letter like that? Do you list what size you wear? I don't think I'd want to do that! Lol!
MP: You got the sock one too? Wow. That thing got around!
Nora: Ah yes those... I don't know if I ever did those either. I may have sent a dollar bill or two when I was in Jr. High. Knowing me, I probably sent them a dollar so they wouldn't feel bad but didn't add myself to the list!
Rebecca: Where to begin! I LOVE how you change the endings to your chain letters! I may have to quote you at some point!
The "Warning" emails. Yeah. I ignore those too.
Re: The socks chain letter: I often thought of starting a new one. Generating my own list of 6 people. (-It'd be really funny if I didn't TELL those 6 people I'd put their name on that list and they suddenly got a few socks in the mail and had no iea why! Lol!) Anyway, you could try that. Start your own :)
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