Chain e-mail: make it stop!
Maybe it's your mother. Your brother-in-law. Your uncle you haven't seen in years.
Why won't they stop forwarding every chain e-mail to you and their closest 100 friends and family members? No, you tell them, Nina Totenberg didn't report that Congress is going to slash funding for public broadcasting. Bill Gates won't pay you for sending friends this message. No way is the government about to give your cellphone number to telemarketers.
But if you just don't have the guts to ask these frequent forwarders to stop, a website called StopForwarding.us (discovered via Daily Candy) is here to help. It will send an anonymous e-mail on your behalf, asking your serial e-mailer to please knock it off already. Here's a sample.
Please do not forward chain letters, urban myths presented as truth, potentially offensive jokes, videos or photos without being asked or first receiving permission. If you find something that is funny and it is clean and you genuinely think the recipient will enjoy it then foward it to that person only (not in an email blast to all your friends and family) and include a personal note about why you enjoyed it and why you think they will too. Avoid sending forwards to friends or relatives that you've grown distant with.
It also supplies a handy list of e-mail etiquette.
Remember: Only you can prevent chain e-mail.
-- Chris Gaither
