From the Webmaster
Over the years we've had numerous visitors to the website ask us for information that is really not pertinent to Circle Sanctuary but very pertinent to website surfing in general. This page is intended as an FAQ of sorts on handling some of the topics that we get asked about which are not Circle-specific but Internet technology specific.
Question: How Do I Know If A Warning I've Recieved From A Friend Is Genuine Or An Urban Legend? Webmaster: Do Your Own Research!!
A lot of us receive well-meant emails regarding threats to our computer systems, campaigns for what seem like humanitarian efforts, amazing promotions, potential identity theft scams, outrageous 'facts', and innumerable urban legends from friends and colleagues we genuinely trust. When we receive these emails, we are typically asked to forward their information to all our friends and colleagues as well. The intention behind most of these efforts is simply to spread the word to people we care about to prevent them from becoming victims of digital predators.
BUT before you forward anything like this to your private lists of contacts, take 2 minutes to investigate whether these stories, campaigns or warnings are genuine or not. This will accomplish three very important things:
1. It will help to reduce urban legends, fake promotions and warnings that are circulating endlessly out on the Internet.
2. It will help to prevent needlessly freaking out a lot of people you care about.
3. It will save you a lot of embarrassment when someone else actually takes the time to investigate the information, finds out that it is bogus, and has to now waste time correcting you.
Please, before you warn anyone about anything you've been forwarded on (especially lists of people you trust and care about), make sure you've got the whole story straight. Make your life (and the lives of others) simpler by not overreacting. Do a little sleuthing, ask others you trust (if they're Internet savvy that's even better) if they've heard anything about the particular story or warning, and send on the information to those you care about only if you have been able to confirm it with a reliable unbiased concrete source.
Most folks who forward warnings to their friends and colleagues have not done their homework and are relying strictly on the fact that someone else they trust has forwarded the misinformation to them. You can help put everyone's minds at ease by simply visiting the above (or similar) websites first before you add to an urban legend's momentum.
Also, should you receive a warning, investigate it, and discover that it is bogus:
1. Take the time to point the person who sent you the misinformation to any websites that set the record straight.
2. Ask the person to verify his/her information before contacting you about this sort of thing in the future.
3. Encourage the person to send out corrections to everyone he/she originally contacted about it.
The Internet: where Chicken Little lays the biggest eggs.
