6 ms·

Faxlore

67 points by benbreen 4y ago

ttyprintk 4y ago
You would have seen these behind the receptionist in dentists offices and public schools: https://bavatuesdays.com/xeroxlore-folklore-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction/ https://bavatuesdays.com/xeroxlore-folklore-in-the-age-of-me... By the 2000s, the more-intense pranksters had discovered that high-volume printers on college campuses left IPP open.
- 13of40 4y ago
  Disappointed. There's supposed to be a frazzled cartoon cat with a cup of black coffee and the words "I've got one nerve left and you just stepped on it." (Come to think of it maybe I'm mixing memes.)
  - krallja 4y ago
    “I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn’t look good either.”
- googlryas 4y ago
  > more-intense pranksters Never heard weev described that way before...
  - ttyprintk 4y ago
    “Nothing will red pill white men faster than this,” was one white guy’s reaction to Obama. Back then, might have ended up as just a prank. But, that white guy was unfortunately ahead of his time.
krallja 4y ago
I once faxed “oh god how did this get here i am not good with computer”[1] to Cheezburger, Inc. [1] https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/oh-god-how-did-this-get-here-i-am-not-good-with-computer https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/oh-god-how-did-this-get-here-...
vivegi 4y ago
Hmm.. I think I just realized that I had fallen for the "lights out" hoax for the longest time. I heard about it first in an email around 1998. I believed it to be true until I read this Faxlore wikipedia link today. Wow! To clarify, just a month after I heard about this, I had a confirming event. I was in Detroit at that time and my wife and I were staying in a motel. It was just after sundown. We pulled out of the motel parking lot into the road. It was less than a minute later that I realized I did not have my car headlights turned on and I switched them on. Seconds later, a cop who was following us stopped us and questioned us if we just pulled out of a parking lot. He didn't give me a ticket, just an enquiry and let us off. That incident worked as a confirming event for me. Bunch, Michael: "Technology Aided Spread of Terrifying Hoax", San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 4, 1993 – "Lights Out" gang initiation legend spreads by fax and copier.
ThinkingGuy 4y ago
My very first encounter with a Nigerian Prince scam was in the form of a fax received by my college roommate. He was from another country and didn't really understand it. I remember just telling him it looked suspicious and to ignore it. Around the same time I also knew a religious family who had the a copy of the Proctor & Gamble "Satanism" warning taped to the front of their refrigerator (it listed all the P&G brands, so they'd know which ones to avoid).
- mbg721 4y ago
  To this day, the P&G corporate HQ in Cincinnati has blank white circles on the top, where the supposedly Satanic logo would have gone.
  - dylan604 4y ago
    Can you point out for me in this picture where these white circles are that you just posted as fact? https://www.google.com/maps/place/1+Procter+%26+Gamble+Plaza,+Cincinnati,+OH+45202/@39.1028629,-84.507022,304m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8841b15c1c4448bf:0xabda647a80923cf4!8m2!3d39.1028572!4d-84.5061603 https://www.google.com/maps/place/1+Procter+%26+Gamble+Plaza...
    - JasonFruit 4y ago
      Obviously that picture was altered by Google, which works with the P&G Satanists. Search for any health or beauty product category on Google and see how long it takes for one of the P&G brands to pop up. It's no coincidence.
      - dylan604 4y ago
        shhhh, the P&G mafia will soon be knocking on your door if you keep informing the public like this. You have been warned!
    - mbg721 4y ago
      In the center of the short sides of the octagon on each tower (taking the top as an octagonal prism), just under where the roof slants upward.
quercusa 4y ago
I'm surprised not to see the IBM mouse balls tech note on the list.
- whoosh3 4y ago
  Reminds me of the time I got a box of mouse balls from AT&T, the guys got a chuckle out of that.
ben_w 4y ago
The blue star tattoo legend made it's way around my primary school twice while I was there.
jordemort 4y ago
If I wanted to set up a fax number to collect random fax spam, how would I attract spammers to the number?
cestith 4y ago
Reminds me of tapelooping and blacklooping. Not only urban legends were spread by fax. All sorts of scams, baseless legal threats, harassment, and more were too. Since in theory it tied up meaningful resources (time on the phone line and potentially paper and ink) some places made sending certain things by unsolicited fax illegal. In the US IIRC one could be fined and be made to pay restitution and punitive damages to to recipient if they could find and name the party to the government.
jszymborski 4y ago
Someone tell me there's a section hidden on textfiles.org with examples of these.
buildsjets 4y ago
For your consideration: Glendale Police Department report on the Satanic Panic. Undated. Good times, hail Baphomet and assorted lesser demons. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/149064NCJRS.pdf https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/149064NCJRS.pdf
koofdoof 4y ago
Anyone know a good collection of faxlore? Id love to see more, but examples online seem a little sparse.

67 points by benbreen 4y ago

You would have seen these behind the receptionist in dentists offices and public schools: https://bavatuesdays.com/xeroxlore-folklore-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction/ https://bavatuesdays.com/xeroxlore-folklore-in-the-age-of-me... By the 2000s, the more-intense pranksters had discovered that high-volume printers on college campuses left IPP open.

13of40 4y ago
Disappointed. There's supposed to be a frazzled cartoon cat with a cup of black coffee and the words "I've got one nerve left and you just stepped on it." (Come to think of it maybe I'm mixing memes.)
- krallja 4y ago
  “I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn’t look good either.”
googlryas 4y ago
> more-intense pranksters Never heard weev described that way before...
- ttyprintk 4y ago
  “Nothing will red pill white men faster than this,” was one white guy’s reaction to Obama. Back then, might have ended up as just a prank. But, that white guy was unfortunately ahead of his time.

krallja 4y ago

I once faxed “oh god how did this get here i am not good with computer”[1] to Cheezburger, Inc. [1] https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/oh-god-how-did-this-get-here-i-am-not-good-with-computer https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/oh-god-how-did-this-get-here-...

vivegi 4y ago

Hmm.. I think I just realized that I had fallen for the "lights out" hoax for the longest time. I heard about it first in an email around 1998. I believed it to be true until I read this Faxlore wikipedia link today. Wow! To clarify, just a month after I heard about this, I had a confirming event. I was in Detroit at that time and my wife and I were staying in a motel. It was just after sundown. We pulled out of the motel parking lot into the road. It was less than a minute later that I realized I did not have my car headlights turned on and I switched them on. Seconds later, a cop who was following us stopped us and questioned us if we just pulled out of a parking lot. He didn't give me a ticket, just an enquiry and let us off. That incident worked as a confirming event for me. Bunch, Michael: "Technology Aided Spread of Terrifying Hoax", San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 4, 1993 – "Lights Out" gang initiation legend spreads by fax and copier.

ThinkingGuy 4y ago

My very first encounter with a Nigerian Prince scam was in the form of a fax received by my college roommate. He was from another country and didn't really understand it. I remember just telling him it looked suspicious and to ignore it. Around the same time I also knew a religious family who had the a copy of the Proctor & Gamble "Satanism" warning taped to the front of their refrigerator (it listed all the P&G brands, so they'd know which ones to avoid).

mbg721 4y ago
To this day, the P&G corporate HQ in Cincinnati has blank white circles on the top, where the supposedly Satanic logo would have gone.
- dylan604 4y ago
  Can you point out for me in this picture where these white circles are that you just posted as fact? https://www.google.com/maps/place/1+Procter+%26+Gamble+Plaza,+Cincinnati,+OH+45202/@39.1028629,-84.507022,304m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8841b15c1c4448bf:0xabda647a80923cf4!8m2!3d39.1028572!4d-84.5061603 https://www.google.com/maps/place/1+Procter+%26+Gamble+Plaza...
  - JasonFruit 4y ago
    Obviously that picture was altered by Google, which works with the P&G Satanists. Search for any health or beauty product category on Google and see how long it takes for one of the P&G brands to pop up. It's no coincidence.
    - dylan604 4y ago
      shhhh, the P&G mafia will soon be knocking on your door if you keep informing the public like this. You have been warned!
  - mbg721 4y ago
    In the center of the short sides of the octagon on each tower (taking the top as an octagonal prism), just under where the roof slants upward.

quercusa 4y ago

I'm surprised not to see the IBM mouse balls tech note on the list.

whoosh3 4y ago
Reminds me of the time I got a box of mouse balls from AT&T, the guys got a chuckle out of that.

ben_w 4y ago

The blue star tattoo legend made it's way around my primary school twice while I was there.

jordemort 4y ago

If I wanted to set up a fax number to collect random fax spam, how would I attract spammers to the number?

cestith 4y ago

Reminds me of tapelooping and blacklooping. Not only urban legends were spread by fax. All sorts of scams, baseless legal threats, harassment, and more were too. Since in theory it tied up meaningful resources (time on the phone line and potentially paper and ink) some places made sending certain things by unsolicited fax illegal. In the US IIRC one could be fined and be made to pay restitution and punitive damages to to recipient if they could find and name the party to the government.

jszymborski 4y ago

Someone tell me there's a section hidden on textfiles.org with examples of these.

buildsjets 4y ago

For your consideration: Glendale Police Department report on the Satanic Panic. Undated. Good times, hail Baphomet and assorted lesser demons. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/149064NCJRS.pdf https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/149064NCJRS.pdf

koofdoof 4y ago

Anyone know a good collection of faxlore? Id love to see more, but examples online seem a little sparse.