For Good or Bad, Forward Me Not

What are chain letters? One definition could be letters that induce the recipient to make a number of copies of the letter and then pass them on to as many recipients as possible. Or communications that were not started by the recipients themselves, could be called chain letters.

When we talk about chain letters as any document containing an instruction set to pass the item onto others for their protection, benefit, or well-being, then the written communications from the Middle Ages could be considered as the first chain letters. People wrote cures which were actually combinations of recipes for simple panaceas and special prayers to be recited as these medicines were mixed or being consumed. Such communications were then recopied by those who received them and they then redistributed these to loved ones, who in turn would themselves recopy these wisdoms to hand to their dear ones. In those times such letters were also sold by peddlers and fortune tellers.

So chain letters could also be written or printed letters on paper. These might be exchanged hand-to-hand or distributed through the mail. The newest forms of chain letters are our emails, videos and messages on the social networking sites.
They are a general nuisance as the frequently multiplying letters clog up the postal system wasting great amounts of bandwidth and disk space.

Today there are a variety of chain letters. Those that contain prayers or goodluck for the recipient, the ones promising easy money or the ones saying "Send this to five of your friends..." Mostly, chain letters fall into these broad categories:

• Luck-generation (or ill luck avoidance)
• Altruistic
• Money-generating (aka pyramid or Ponzi schemes)
• Something for nothing
• Hoaxes/ Urban legends
• Humorous/Just for fun

1. Luck-generation letters (or ill luck avoidance)

   Good Luck letters contain emotionally manipulative stories or superstition which threaten the recipient with bad luck or sometimes even death, by telling tales of other's deaths and mishaps, if they "break the chain." Such letter have the basic structure as :
   • The letter begins with a request to pray and trust the Lord or think about someone you love.
   • Introduction or Origins of the letter : A description of the person who began the letter which could be a priest or a saint or sometimes even a doctor. Then a statement of where the letter originated from Great Britain, some state in the US of A, Italy, the Netherlands or even Egypt will be given. Often the claim of the letter's having been around the world a stated number of times is included.
   • So-called Success Stories and accounts of the happy circumstances of people who followed instructions and sent the letter is given along with a detailed description of their experience of sudden luck which could be financial or be related to matters of romance or could be a miraculous recovery from illness.
   • Then comes the punishment stories where accounts are given of the setbacks or tragedies like job loss or a broken heart, injury or even death that befell those who ignored the letter and didn't pass it on.
   • Instructions and the enclosed Good luck : The recipient is given the number of copies of the letter that needs to be distributed, and contains a detailed description of how many copies will fetch what kind or extent of good luck and in how much time.
   • Though we all hate getting the ‘goodluck' emails we end up forwarding it to friends and friends of friends too, not for the good luck it promised but from the fear of the bad fate it'll bring if you do not forward it. Once you read stories of this man that was struck with bad luck since he did not take the email seriously, or about this woman who met with an accident since she did not take the warning contained in the email seriously, you cant take chances. You hit the forward key. It is like ragging, everyone faces it, hates it but will do it to their juniors. Its a vicious circle.

2. Altruistic Letters

   Altruistic chain letters are those forwards seeking benefit for others rather than for the recipients or the forwarders. They don't promise any financial enrichment or improvement of luck of their recipients, but contain prayers for the suffering. These claim to be written by charitable groups or the needy themselves. We have heard of many ‘dying child/ family member' hoaxes which circulate online. They assert that every forward of the message or email will result in benefactors, which could be either named charities or corporations donating preset sum of money for the care / operation of the stricken. These messages just beg you to "Forward this to everyone you know", you don't need to say any prayers nor give donations, "Just a click of the mouse ie forwarding the message could save their life". Most often than not the languishing children are imaginary.
   
   Some other forms of altruistic letters contain appeals of the "dying person themselves and intent upon collecting specific items". The most famous of these was the Craig Shergold chain letters appeal for business cards. This was a real child and the email was as real as his brain tumour.
   
   In early 1989, a 9-year-old British boy named Craig Shergold was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He wondered if he could get into the Guinness Book of World Records for receiving get-well cards. (Or was it postcards? Or maybe it was business cards. Versions of this hoax have varied over the years in which Craig could be Shergold, a Shelford or a George Sherwood)
   
   Well then, a chain letter started by his family netted millions of cards and he won the world record on Thursday 16 November 1989. In early 1991 the Shergold phenomenon caught the attention of a wealthy American philanthropist, who arranged for Craig to receive brain surgery.
   
   It's interesting to know that now Guinness has discontinued the category since Craig has already won the record but people haven't stopped sending cards. He's no longer at the London hospital which keeps receiving get-well cards and flowers. A now healthy and recovered 28 something, Craig has expressed a new wish on behalf of himself and his family: for the cards to stop coming. But the monster he created doesn't seem to listen. Craig and his family have appeared numerous times in the press and begged for the torrent of misplaced sympathy to stop.
   
   Thanks to the Internet, though, kindly people keep telling everyone they know that Craig needs more cards. It's a fine sentiment but ask people in the Children's Wish Foundation based in Atlanta, Georgia, who still have to process his mail to this day.
   Sometimes the children and their situations are real, as are their requests. Those participating in these chains not only pass along the requests to their circles of acquaintance but also themselves donate the items requested. But the world cannot handle another Craig Shergold episode. Just imagine what a waste of time and drain of resources it must have led to!!
   

3. Money Generating

   These chain letters promise the participants of receiving untold riches, by just contributing a few dollars and following exact steps as explained in the letter. The steps that follow are mostly such :
   
   • Step 1 - Send the token amount ($5, for example) to the name at the top of the list.
   • Step 2 - Delete one name and address from the top of the list thereby sliding the second person into the top position and add your own name and address to the base of the list.
   • Step 3 - Recopy the letter, and mail it to atleast ten people.
   • Step 4 - Sit back and see your 5s earn you a fortune!!

   What is supposed to happen :

   As new people are added behind your name, you will move higher on the list, one tier at a time until ultimately you occupy the top spot, at which moment you will receive the pool of money from all the people who forward the email with your name deleted and putting their own name at the bottom.

   Why such schemes don't work :

   First reason - money-generating chain letters are illegal under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302, the Postal Lottery Statute.
   Second reason - not everyone is honest, so there will always be those who will simply insert their names near the top of the list. Also there is no guarantee that the person who forwarded the email, actually sent the 5$ or whatever the token amount is to the top person on the list.

   And the most important reason as to why the money will NEVER reach you :

   Just for the analysis sake let's consider you are the only person to receive and forward the email honestly. The number of people you sent out the email to is 10, so the chart goes as follows :

   Your position : Number of people : In words
   10th : 10 : Ten
   9th : 100 : Hundred
   8th : 1,000 : Thousand
   7th : 10,000 : Ten Thousand
   6th : 100,000 : Hundred Thousand
   5th : 1,000,000 : Million
   4th : 10,000,000 : Ten Million
   3rd : 100,000,000 : Hundred Million
   2nd : 1,000,000,000 : Billion
   1st : 10,000,000,000 : Ten Billion

   So by the time we reach halfway ie 5th generation, the email would have reached over one million addresses! Do you think there are that many people emailing? Even if that many people DO use emails, there aren't enough people in the US to maintain the next three generations ie till the 2nd generation. (Population of US is 304257975 as on June 6th, 2008 ). As of June 2008, the world's population is believed to be just over 6.6 billion (6,672,235,613 Today ie 06/05/08 at 13:17 GMT (EST+5) ), so there aren't even that many people on the planet! The entire world population cannot survive the 1st generation till your name can appear on the top.
   
   Most famous and may be the first of the ‘MAKE MONEY FAST' chain is the David Rhodes letter. He assures you in the email that this scam, Oops! Sorry, his scheme worked for him and was perfectly legal. His story starts by saying that before this email idea struck him, he was penniless and desperate. (I wonder how a person that broke could afford his computer and have an internet connection!) And now he's made over $400,000 after sending out copies of the letter which by the way also contains countless number of other such success stories of financial empowerment. This ridiculously long and illegal letter has landed Dave Rhodes (the creator of the email) in a prison in Florida for wire fraud.
   
   These e-mail chain letters are more than a simple disk-space-wasting nuisance. The participants can be prosecuted for wire fraud for taking part in the illegal mailings.

4. Something for Nothing

   These kind of chain mails contain false promises of enhancing your life by either offering you some kind of branded accessories or adding some money to your pockets. They can claim to bring you fame or just entertain you. These differ from the above money-generating chain letters in a way that those involved in the forwarding of such letters do not themselves send anything of their own instead they are promised goodies will come their way by merely forwarding the letter. Such letters usually promise a phenomenal return on a small effort. People get lured since there's not much risk involved to see what comes back actually.
   
   Some famous emails of this sort were the Nike one stating Nike will give you free shoes for forwarding. Or Applebees will treat you to a dinner for you and your date if you continue the chain. Or the one announcing that Veuve-Clicquot is gifting participants with gratis champagne. Though you forward these emails, nothing comes back your way. The first something for nothing kind of email chain was the one saying Disney will reward you with a trip for two to Disney World! These emails state that the brand or company mentioned is tracking the e-mail, and all the people who receive and forward it will receive to mentioned goodies. These are a form of practical joke played to made you look foolish. Another famous one in this category where the emphasis was on seeking fame rather than fortune is the Guinness Book of World Records hoax. People especially children are attracted by the promise of their names being listed in the Guinness book if the chain is kept alive long enough for a world record of ‘the longest chain letter' to be set.

The last two categories ie Hoaxes/ Urban legends and Humorous/ Just for fun will be covered in another article since this article is extremely big already. Look forward to some laughs.