How Stupid Are People? Episode #4912

Welcome to another episode of "How Stupid Are People", a series of true stories where we try to answer that age-old question, "Just how stupid are people?"

Today's episode takes place at my place of employment. As many of you know, I work in a very high-tech, computer networking/consumer electronics firm. I am one of their marketing/technical writers.

My co-worker (for the interests of anonymity, let's call her "Becky") asked me, "What's spam?"

My reaction was less than helpful - I started talking about lunchmeat product because, surely, she couldn't have been talking about spam on the computer.

She was.

"What do you mean, what's spam," I inquired.

"What is it? I keep reading about it."

"You have email account, right?"

She did.

"It's those ads you get emailed, even when you haven't asked for them. You know for porn and stuff."

"Why do people send them?"

Now, I had to know. "Are you kidding?"

"No."

"You've got to be kidding."

"Why would I be kidding? Can't you just tell me?"

"They send them to make money," I exclaimed.

"I don't pay them," she announced, incredulously.

"No. They don't make money from you."

"And they're not going to," she continued.

"They're ads. Do you understand? They're advertising something they want you to buy."

"But I won't!"

"They don't know that! They send them by the millions, not to you personally!"

"Yes, I know," she replied - effectively shutting me up. Then, she went to ask someone else about it.

How can you work as a technical writer for a high-tech, computer networking/consumer electronics firm and not know what spam is? That's how stupid people are!

("How Stupid Are People" is brought to you by the My Side Foundation. My Side, bitching about shit since 1983.)