CHAIN LETTERS ARE BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH
ok not really, but they will get you in trouble on Gaia!
ok not really, but they will get you in trouble on Gaia!
WARNING- DO NOT CLICK LINKS IN CHAIN LETTERS. IT'S A GREAT WAY TO GET HACKED.
•What is a Chain Letter?
A chain letter is a message that asks you to continue to send it. They are also called "forwards" or "forward letters".
Person A creates a chain letter and sends it to B, C and D.
Person B sends it to E, F and G while person C sends it to H, I and J and person D sends it K, L, M, N and O... all of whom send it to multiple people as well. These things spread like a disease.
•What is So Bad?
Aside from being idiotic and annoying they can also contain scams and lies. Sometimes they have a scary story that tells you that you will die if you don't send it to so many people. They're rude to send, they're spam! And most importantly... SENDING CHAIN LETTERS WILL GET YOU BANNED!
•How Do You Spot a Chain Letter?
-Obviously it asks you to pass it on! That should be the biggest red flag, it is what makes a chain letter after all!
Chain Letters may also
-Threaten you
-Have a postive message (don't let this fool you!)
-Ask personal information
-Have a story that convinces you to give up your info
-State that they are not chain letters (don't let this fool you!)
Lets analyze an example of a chain letter:
"Hello I am Bob the Admin. I spilled some coffee on one of our servers and all of your passwords were lost! Please send your user name and password to adminbob@email.com and also, pass this on to everyone you know. It's very important. If you don't I will delete you account."
It seems harmless enough, a careless admin spilled some coffee and some data was lost. But look again! It asks you to send him personal information and threatens to delete your account.
Lets look at another:
" heart friends heart forever heart
send this to everyone on your list and if you get it back 5 times you are really loved!"
It seems like fun and it doesn't have a threat or ask for personal info, but guess what? IT'S STILL A CHAIN LETTER AND IT'S AGAINST THE TOS TO SEND IT. It's spammy and annoying too!
•Is a Petition a Chain Letter?
YES- if it's a petition by PM it's a chain letter. Do not forward petitions by PM, doing so will get you in trouble!
•Empty Threats
The threat in a chain letter is always empty. You won't get a curse, you won't die, your first born won't look like Michael Jackson!
-Gaia NEVER deletes accounts
-You will never be banned for NOT sending a chain letter
•Notices From the Admins
The real admins don't send site-wide messages by PM, they use the Announcement Forum.
Sending a message that needs to reach everyone by PM is a very bad idea. There is no way of knowing if everyone will get it. Also, it will take a long time before everyone gets it. It's very unreliable and inefficient.
•How Do I Know All This?
Gaia Staff said it themselves- many times.
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18418903
•Things to Remember
-Gaia Staff will never need to know your password
-Gaia accounts are never deleted
-Chain letters are against the TOS
-Petitions are only allowed in the Petitions Forum
-Chain letters lie!!!!!
•What Do I Do With a Chain Letter?
REPORT IT!!!!
Finally, we have a PM report system... just click on the red "Report this PM button" and fill out the report form!
list of mods
Report every chain letter you get, by ignoring them you are allowing the users sending them to persist and that is not cool!
Do NOT report chain letters to me please. I am not a mod and I can't do anything about it.
HELPFUL LINKS
Quote:
HACKINGS AND SCAMMINGS ARE PREVENTABLE
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