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A typical chain letter consists of a message that attempts to induce the recipient to make a number of copies of the letter and then pass them on to one or more new recipients. A chain letter can be considered a type of meme.[1] Common methods used in chain letters include emotionally manipulative stories, get-rich-quick pyramid schemes, and the exploitation of superstition to threaten the recipient with bad luck or even physical violence or death if he or she "breaks the chain" and refuses to adhere to the conditions set out in the letter. A chain letter is a letter requesting that the recipient distribute copies of it to others. ...
Message in its most general meaning is an object of communication. ...
For other uses, see Letter (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Meme (disambiguation). ...
The unsustainable geometric progression of a classic pyramid scheme A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, usually without any product or service being delivered. ...
For other uses, see Superstition (disambiguation). ...
Chain letters are capable of evolution, generally improving their ability to convince their hosts to replicate them over time.[2] This sometimes occurs through deliberate modification of the chain letter by a recipient, or sometimes through purely accidental imperfect copying.[2] This article is about evolution in biology. ...
Although no state or federal laws currently exist banning chain letters; they are viewed as a general nuisance as that frequenly multiplying letters clog up the postal system and do not function as correspondence mail, but rather, a game. Some colleges and military bases have passed regulations from their postal workers stating that in the private mail of college students and military personnel, respectively, that chain letters are not authorized and will be thrown out. However, it is often difficult to deduce which letters are chain letters and those that are genuine correspondence mail.
History There have been Himmelsbriefe ("Heaven letters") since at least the Middle Ages. And one could look to the Egyptian Book of the Dead as a meme that promised resurrection to those entombed with a copy. Himmelsbrief is a heavens letter created in the Pennsylvania German community Pow-wow tradition and contained Bible verses and other charms and assurances that their owners would be protected from death, injury, and other misfortune. ...
This article is about the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. ...
For other uses, see Meme (disambiguation). ...
Look up Resurrection in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
With the development of e-mail and the Internet, chain letters have become much, much more common and quick to spread than when they were transmitted purely by physical mail, although RFC 1855 explicitly discouraged them as a breach of netiquette. Some e-mail providers prohibit users from sending chain e-mails in their terms of service. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...
Netiquette, a portmanteau of network etiquette, is the convention on electronic forums (Usenet, mailing lists, live chat, and Internet forums) to facilitate efficient interaction. ...
Terms of Service (often abbreviated as ToS) are rules by which one must agree to abide by in order to use a service. ...
Variations
Phones Versions being sent to mobile phones via SMS have also become common recently. SMS may refer to: Short message service, a form of text messaging on cell phones Sega Master System – an 8-bit video game console from the 1980s Seiner Majestät Schiff, His Majestys Ship in the German Kaiserliche Marine and the Austro-Hungarian Navy SMS (comics), a British comic...
Web based Chain letters have become popular on MySpace (in the form of myspace bulletins) and Youtube (in the form of video comments). MySpace chain letters are often coupled with intimidating hoaxes. MySpace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos. ...
YouTube is a popular video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. ...
A hoax is an attempt to trick an audience into believing that something false is real. ...
The Katu Lata Kulu chain message on YouTube has been a popular chain message in many videos. The original message states that the spirit of a girl from Africa that was killed would take the spirit of anyone who hadn't forwarded the message. Since the Katu Lata Kulu chain message started, many YouTube video comments had the chain message retold on their video comment page, angering many users to retaliate by creating parody videos as well as messages about the Katu Lata Kulu chain message curse.
E-mail Some may seem fairly harmless, for example, a grammar school student wishing to see how many people can receive his e-mail for a science project, but can grow exponentially and be hard to stop. They may contain false information, such as the famous "Forward this to everyone you know and if it reaches 1000 people everyone on the list will receive $1000" type e-mails. Other emails that appear have stated that Disneyland will grant free tickets to anyone who forwards the email. They may also be politically motivated, such as "Save the Scouts, forward this to as many friends as possible", or a concept that Touched by an Angel may be forced off the air (which has never been proven true). Some recent chain e-mails say that a company "will stop its free email service if you don't send this message to X people". Some threaten users with bad luck if not forwarded. There are many forms of chain e-mail that threaten death or the taken of one's soul by telling tales of other's deaths, such as the Katu Lata Kulu chain e-mail, stating that if it is not forwarded, the receivers of the message will be killed by the spirit. YouTube and Myspace are sites which frequently gets threatening messages to users, stating that if the chain is broken and the message is not forwarded, the receivers of the messages will face death by the spirit of someone who has died. This section contains a list of trivia items. ...
This article is about good and bad fortune. ...
YouTube is a popular video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. ...
MySpace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos. ...
Instant Messaging Chain messages sent via instant messenger networks such as MSN, Yahoo, AIM, and ICQ are common. Most chain messages tend to say "Send this to everyone in your contact list and you will be in love by 10:00pm tonight"
Legality Chain letters may also qualify under other types of illegal activities, as in the case of a Ponzi scheme asking recipients to send money and forward the e-mail. They may be harmful, and contain trojans. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that involves paying abnormally high returns (profits) to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from net revenues generated by any real business. ...
In the context of computer software, a Trojan horse is a program that installs malicious software while under the guise of doing something else. ...
In the United States it is illegal to mail chain letters that involve pyramid schemes or other such financial inducements under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302, the Postal Lottery Statute, though chain letters that ask for items of minor value such as business cards or recipes are not covered by this law.
Popular culture - The comic strip Calvin and Hobbes had Calvin receiving a chain letter stating that "a man in Denver made 20 copies and was awarded a raise" and that "a man in Seattle broke the chain and he went bald." When Hobbes says that the chain letter is "nonsense for superstitious nincompoops" and advises Calvin to throw it away, the letter continues "and a dumb kid like you listened to his friend and got run over by a cement mixer."
- An episode of Wings had Fay, Antonio and Roy receiving chain letters instructing them to make more copies to send to friends and praise the sun god Ra. Fay and Roy eagerly make letters but Antonio throws his in the garbage, refusing to believe in nonsense. Fay and Roy have amazing luck and say "Praise the sun god Ra!". Antonio suffers multiple mishaps but refuses to reverse his actions, arguing that as a Catholic praising another god is blasphemy and idolatry.
- In the comic strip Archie Comics Archie gets sent a mail chain letter and sends it to his friends, who get bad luck and Archie gets good luck.
Listen to this article (3 parts) (info) Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2006-01-29, and may not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ...
Wings is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from April 19, 1990 to May 14, 1997. ...
For the black metal band, see Blasphemy (band). ...
The Adoration of the Golden Calf by Nicolas Poussin Idolatry is a major sin in the Abrahamic religions regarding image. ...
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher known for its many series featuring the fictional teenage Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Forsythe Jughead Jones characters created by Bob Montana. ...
See also This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
Make money fast is a title of an electronically forwarded chain letter which became so infamous that the term is now used to describe all sorts of chain letters forwarded over the Internet, by e-mail spam or Usenet newsgroups. ...
Amish Friendship Bread (along with Amish Cinnamon Bread) is the chain letter of the baking world. ...
Samizdat, book published by Pathfinder Press containing a collection of forbidden Trotskyist Samizdat texts. ...
This page is a candidate to be copied to Wikisource. ...
Black propaganda is propaganda that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. ...
A blank videotape such as this was the carrier for the Ring Virus curse. ...
Gratis Internet Logo Gratis Internet is a Washington, D.C.-based referral marketing company that rewards customers with products such as iPods and notably at the moment Xbox 360s. ...
A computer virus hoax is a false email message warning the recipiant of a virus that is going around. ...
References - ^ Dan Sperber. An objection to the memetic approach to culture // Robert Aunger (2000). Darwinizing Culture: The Status of Memetics as a Science. Oxford University Press, 163-173
- ^ a b VanArsdale, Daniel W. (1998, 2002). Chain Letter Evolution. Retrieved on 2006-08-21.
Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Bibliography - Dan Squier. The Truth About Chain Letters, 1990, Premier Publishers, ISBN 0915665212
- Athena Dean. All That Glitters is Not Gold: Breaking Free From the Sweet Deceit of MLM, 1998, Winepress Publishing, ISBN 1579211348
- RL Fitzpatrick. False Profits: Seeking Financial & Spiritual Deliverance in MLM & Pyramid Schemes, 1997, Herald Press, ISBN 0964879514
- James Walsh. You Can't Cheat An Honest Man: How Ponzi Schemes & Pyramid Frauds Work, Merritt Publishing, ISBN 1563431696
- Gary Tartaglia. Shattered Dreams: How To Avoid Costly Mistakes In Multi-level Marketing, 1985, Targeted Communications, ISBN 0961440406
- Stephen Butterfield. Amway: The Cult of Free Enterprise, 1985, South End Press, ISBN 0896082539
- John Scarne. Complete Guide to Gambling, Fully Revised, Expanded, Updated edition. Fireside, 1986, ISBN 0671630636
External links The Urban Legends Reference Pages (also known as snopes. ...
Scam chain e-mail The Urban Legends Reference Pages, also known as snopes. ...
Examples of urban-legend type chain e-mails |
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