Where do forwards originate from? Let’s see if we can uncover one of the many questions that have been confounding IT professionals and other email users all over the world for years!
No, the answer isn't elves or fairies or any other imaginary creature as one would assume. Believe it or not, these come from fellow mates; but they are different from you or me. Different in what way? Let's classify them based on the kind of forwards we receive -
# The mushy-gushy-tushy-sushy Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/
These are the ones who view the world through rose tinted glasses. That explains the pictures of kittens, pups, girls who look like kittens, boys who look like pups, babies etc. that form an integral part of these forwards. Escalation, bad appraisal, code rejection - such words do not exist in their (specifically for my fellow IT people) dictionary. They probably google the pictures with the tag "I am feeling happy" in the search criteria.
# The "forward to so many people or bad luck/bad hair/bad teeth/bad breath/death awaits you" mails:
I hate these kind of mails from the deepest, darkest bottom of my heart! The moment I see this line, my fingers involuntarily hit the Shift+Delete keys. These are undoubtedly the works of insecure, fearful, guilty, gullible people who are always looking over their shoulders, wondering how many days they have till the apocalypse strikes. Their google tag - "How will I die?"
# The forwards with videos of people in unmentionable kind of pain/suicide videos:
Isn't is self-explanatory? These are created and sent by those noble souls who can’t see you go through your daily hardships. All they are trying to do is give you options. The fact that they conduct rituals such as whipping themselves with the mouse chord or putting their fingers in the power sockets twice a week is to be ignored. That's just how they are. Their google tag - "Blood".
# The "your one mail can save the life of this girl":
It's a long process. First an obscure name and illness is selected. Then the mail server of their choice, who supposedly donate a cent/penny/dime/nickel (I have no clue how one is different from the other) every time the alleged mail is forwarded. Then they sit back and watch the fun by hitting on the public's raw nerve. Sometimes they intervene by putting in a "this is not a hoax" in the biggest, boldest font available. Their google tag - "Illnesses affecting little children".
# The pirates:
No, they don't wear an eye patch or have a wooden leg or talk in the "arrrggh!" manner. They steal the words spoken by famous people, add some not so funny comments, put some yawn-worthy pictures and send them to everyone on their mailing list with a sense of accomplishment. The lowest of them all steal "famous" forwards and send them after a few aforementioned modifications. The Little Johnny jokes get converted to Santa-Banta jokes and the ‘Bush-isms’ mysteriously emanate from Laloo Prasad Yadav's mouth. These forwards leave you with a sense of déjà vu. Their Google tag - "E-theft 2011, for dummies".
In spite of it all, who are we kidding. Forwards are as important in our lives as the cap on Himesh Reshammiya's head or the DVDs of Hollywood films in our film producers' and directors' racks. What would we do without them!
PS: The subject is just to highlight the body of the post. This is NOT a forward!
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