On February 3, 1976, a computer club newsletter published a letter sent by Bill Gates. Gates was furious that the programs written by him and Paul Allen were used by software enthusiasts for free. More details about this letter can be seen at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Letter_to_Hobbyists
Well, am no Gates. But am as passionate about my writing as he is about his software. I feel equally enraged when there are more than a few mails of mine being forwarded without any mention of their origin. So, based on that famous letter of Gates, here is my own letter to forward-enthusiasts.
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Dear Forwarder,
I do not know you, and wouldn't have bothered to bother you, if it weren't for an act of yours that has caused me a couple of sleepless nights.
Well, am no Gates. But am as passionate about my writing as he is about his software. I feel equally enraged when there are more than a few mails of mine being forwarded without any mention of their origin. So, based on that famous letter of Gates, here is my own letter to forward-enthusiasts.
------------------------------------
Dear Forwarder,
I do not know you, and wouldn't have bothered to bother you, if it weren't for an act of yours that has caused me a couple of sleepless nights.
You forward mails. No problem with that. Indeed, if it wasn't for your forwarded mails, most of us wouldn't have known so many wonderful things happening all around.
No sarcasm here.
The problem arises when you start forwarding mails as your own... Mails that someone else has taken efforts to think about and spent a few minutes of his/her life to write down.
When you are watching a movie, enjoying a night out with your friends, or simply sleeping, someone is at the computer, tirelessly giving finishing touches to a small write-up that they have been thinking whole day over. Thinking isn't easy. It wrecks the mind. Writing isn't easy. It takes time... time that could have possibly been spent in having a meal at leisure.
They mail to you. And what you do with it? You simply remove the author's name, and shoot it off to a hundred people.
I think that's cruel.
Every time you forward a mail without giving due credit to its author, you are denying someone of their right. You are creating one more reason for them to feel like never writing again. You deprive them of a few words of appreciation that may have gone their way.
I do not know what motivates you to do this. I do not want to know, either.
But I do hope you realize what you are doing.
So should you be forwarding chain mails? No.
But before you hit the send button, see that you have kept the author's name or e-mail ID. If you receive a forwarded mail, before forwarding it, keep the sender's mail ID. If you wish, feel free to make changes to your heart's content, but add a line towards the end (based on a mail by...). This not only gives credit to the author, but also makes him/her accountable for the same.
May be am expecting too much. But that's the least you can do.
-Gautam.
No sarcasm here.
The problem arises when you start forwarding mails as your own... Mails that someone else has taken efforts to think about and spent a few minutes of his/her life to write down.
When you are watching a movie, enjoying a night out with your friends, or simply sleeping, someone is at the computer, tirelessly giving finishing touches to a small write-up that they have been thinking whole day over. Thinking isn't easy. It wrecks the mind. Writing isn't easy. It takes time... time that could have possibly been spent in having a meal at leisure.
They mail to you. And what you do with it? You simply remove the author's name, and shoot it off to a hundred people.
I think that's cruel.
Every time you forward a mail without giving due credit to its author, you are denying someone of their right. You are creating one more reason for them to feel like never writing again. You deprive them of a few words of appreciation that may have gone their way.
I do not know what motivates you to do this. I do not want to know, either.
But I do hope you realize what you are doing.
So should you be forwarding chain mails? No.
But before you hit the send button, see that you have kept the author's name or e-mail ID. If you receive a forwarded mail, before forwarding it, keep the sender's mail ID. If you wish, feel free to make changes to your heart's content, but add a line towards the end (based on a mail by...). This not only gives credit to the author, but also makes him/her accountable for the same.
May be am expecting too much. But that's the least you can do.
-Gautam.
