Aswad
Posts: 9374
Joined: 4/4/2007
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: GoodlilGirlForU
There's nothing in the information that's harmful to anyone and could be very valid events.
Wrong. The misinformation is harmful. It makes people less aware of real threats, and more inclined to ignore real warnings and generally not behave in the safest manner possible in a situation where they actually should. Also, should any public office actually issue such a warning, most of the people receiving it would ignore it, because they would assume it was a false warning (since there are so many false ones; the "boy who cried wolf" writ large).
Also, your choice to uncritically pass on such misinformation makes you a channel for other people who do so, massively multiplying the reach of those who create hoaxes, for which you reduce yourself to a willing instrument (which would be neat if it were a consenting thing). And to illustrate the importance: in one particularly important case, people were passing on lethal advice on dealing with heart trouble, under the guise of it supposedly being life saving advice. A warning against that was issued by the surgeon general, as the advice would almost always cause the person heeding it to die. That's a case where people like you have likely caused people to die, from doing what you just did: pass on a hoax as if it were a fact, with no preamble or caveat.
I have done the same myself a few times.
For instance, the aforementioned misinformation about heart trouble, which I passed on from the WP edit without checking it until after having passed it on, for which I am rightfully ashamed, as you should be for your own botch. When you don't give clear attribution, you end up making it seem as if you're passing on advice that you're personally vouching for, and claiming that it is from a legitimate source. That causes a lot of other people to assume that it's legitimate advice, which makes you personally responsible for it.
At least try to preface such posts with a clear warning that you're just relaying something (and from what source you're relaying it), so that others with the same problem won't propagate the misinformation with the assumption that it's okay because you vetted it (although, of course, now you've had a poor start, so it will be less likely that your vetting matters to people in the future).
It may seem harsh and rude, but it is in fact you that have been rude and reckless.
I wish you well, hence this advice.
Edit: Late to the party again.
Health,
al-Aswad.
< Message edited by Aswad -- 2/15/2012 2:36:08 AM >
_____________________________
"If God saw what any of us did that night, he didn't seem to mind.
From then on I knew: God doesn't make the world this way.
We do." -- Rorschack, Watchmen.
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Sharing this info-For your safety and your loved ones - 
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RE: Sharing this info-For your safety and your loved ones - 
Ok dully noted, never post anything from facebook, from friends or anything that I think might be of interest others without first checking with 
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