There are many similar gems in this old Usenet thread: https://web.archive.org/web/20060327191523/http://www.speedygrl.com/funnies/texts/computer.folklore.from

There are many similar gems in this old Usenet thread: https://web.archive.org/web/20060327191523/http://www.speedygrl.com/funnies/texts/computer.folklore.from.net.rumors.html https://web.archive.org/web/20060327191523/http://www.speedy... There's an overarching theme of, "computers used to be much, much, much more sensitive to interference."