Netiquette

Useful tips endorsed by the chairman of the Internet Society of SA, Alan Levin, about forwarding emails:

Every time we forward emails there is information left over from the people who received the message before us. As the messages get forwarded along, the list of names and addresses builds up. All it takes is for one person to get a virus and their computer can send that virus to every email address that has come across their computer. Scary Or someone can take all those addresses and sell them or send junk mail to them.

How to stop it: # When you forward an email, delete all other addresses first (after clicking on "Forward" first) # When sending to more than one person, don't use the "to" or the "cc" fields for adding email addresses. Always use the "bcc" (blind carbon copy) field. This way the people you send to will only see their own addresses.

If you don't see your "bcc" option, click on where it says "to" and your address list will appear. Highlight the address and choose "bcc".

# Never forward an email that is a petition, one that states a position and asks you to add your name and address and forward it to 10 or 15 people or to your entire address book. This email can be forwarded on and on and can collect thousands of names and email addresses. The completed petition is worth money to a professional spammer because of the wealth of information contained. # Never put your email address on any petition. If you want to support something, send your own personal letter. That will carry more weight anyway. It is also a fact that most email petitions that are forwarded with just a list of names are worthless because they do not fully identify the signatory by street address and other important requirements. Do not forward them. Other emails to just delete include: # The one that says something like: "Send this email to 10 people and you'll see something great happen. It won't. # Don't let the bad luck ones scare you either: they should get trashed. # Before you forward an "Amber Alert" or a "Virus Alert" check them out. Most are junk mail that have been circling the net for years.. Where to check things out: http://www.snopes.com/ or http://www.factcheck.com/ Last thought: Get rid of the adverts at the bottom of the page before you send mail on. You pay for your internet, why advertise free for them? *With acknowledgements to Cape Argus Jan 13, 2010