Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 03:20:18 -0400

From: Gareth Branwyn GarethB2[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]AOL.COM

Subject: Re: email virus



In a message dated 7/14/97 6:08:43 AM, gpulliam[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]charlie.cns.iit.edu (Greg

Pulliam) wrote:



I've never heard this "email virus" term before, at least not as applied to

this sort of thing--a forwarded and reforwarded and reforwarded item. How

long has this term/use been around?



"Email virus" has been used to describe those virus hoax messages that float

through the Net every few months (e.g. the "Good Times" virus). A message

about an alleged virus becomes the virus itself. The Good Times virus message

was around for months. This "lingo" message also appears to have taken on a

life of its own.



Gareth--sorry if I misappropriated your defs--I'd have included the

attribution if my source had given it.



No harm done. It is frustrating when the list appears in print, but I don't

mind it circulating through email. Proper attribution would have been nice,

but it's far too late for that particular list. Now the question is, how long

will it continue to circulate and how many of the words are experiencing

wider usage as a result?



Gareth



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