We shouldn't be punished by our friends for being their friends, via particularly obnoxious spam, but that's what happens to everyone on the net eventually. Friends don't send spam selling fake degrees, replica jewelry or the latest pyramid schemes, they become taken in by chain letter forwards, and pass them along, believing they are spreading lots of love, caring, sharing and sun-kisses and rainbow-hearted angel rose huggles and that everybody will think of them as much better friends for it.

These insidious chain messages often have themes and subjects like this:

Six Degrees of Separation! "You've been 'blessed' 'bless' your friends and pass it on and show how much you love God and how much God cares!" "Cyber snowball fight! You've been hit! Hit someone else and keep the ball going!" "The Price of a Miracle: This story is absolutely true!" "Friendship circle/ball, spread the friendship, don't break the circle! Don't drop the ball! Pass it on!" "You've just received a friendship rose! Please pass this rose on and show what a good friend you are! If you get it back x times, it means you have x number of friends!" "Tag! You've been tagged! Tag your friends with this questionaire so they can play!" "You've received a word game, please read the rules, add what you can and send it on to x/all your friends! Let's see who gets stuck!" "Please please keep the prayer wheel going! Send this prayer to your friends!" "Happy happy happy online Buddies Day!" "It's National Friendship Day/Week/Month! Pass that inspiring story about Churchill and Fleming, and those Eleanor Roosevelt quotes around and be the best friend and get more friends by showing everybody what Andy Rooney has learned!" "It's Beautiful Woman Month! Tell all your women friends they are beautiful!" (by sending them a chain letter full of a bunch of stuff everybody's already seen 600 times or they will eventually!) "Warning! This is the worst virus ever! Don't open any messages with the subject 'Merry Christmas' 'Olympic Torch' 'Good Times' 'Join the Crew'!" "Please read! Your Msn/Yahoo/AOL/Facebook/Myspace/Bebo etc. Account is about to be deleted and you can save it by forwarding this message!" "Please don't delete this, forward it on if you have a heart, and save poor little Mariemaia Khushrenada who is suffering from deadly diseases!" "Birthday! Don't delete! Fill in your name and birthday and send it to all your friends and send me back a copy so we can fill in the whole calendar!" "First Name Science Project Survey!" "Share with your friends!" I Choose, the story of unbelievable, all-knowing, insufferable John who chooses to live in a constant state of euphoria!

That's Nonsense!

We've all received them, and most of us have passed them on at least once in our lives because we didn't know any better. They are chain letters, and they are mostly made-up rubbish. Relatively few are anywhere near 100% truth, with the majority being all out bogus or maybe a grain of truth taken out of context, distorted and stretched beyond belief. There is no such thing as National Friendship Week or Online Buddies Day. This is why you'll get these ficticious celebration day chain letters several times throughout a single year via different contacts who may know you, but don't know each other. Andy Rooney did not write the "I've Learned/I Believe/Simple VS Real/True Friend" phrases either. That chain circulated before his name was added, and that was done in an attempt to get people forwarding it and cluttering up the net with more copies of it. After all, most of us don't question anything when we see a famous name. Forwarders sometimes forget they sent that same chain several months or a year ago, and resend it, especially if the chain has mutated to include famous names strategically planted in it to make it look like something new, special, and for real.