snopes.com: More dangerous than informative?

Malfoyish · 01-10-2007, 01:33 PM

Would like your opinion on the following subject! First, a little background:

from snopes.com:

The Snopes were a family of characters weaved throughout the works of Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer William Faulkner. When David Mikkelson, creator of snopes.com, first came onto the Internet in the late 1980s, he worried even back in those relatively uncrowded days that no one would remember yet another David. He was thus inspired to adopt a nom-de-Net, selecting one that honored those fictional Faulknerian characters, and began signing his newsgroups posts as "snopes."

Over the years snopes established a fearsome online reputation for his ability to thoroughly research and debunk false claims. When it came time to name our domain, Urban Legends Reference Pages seemed the obvious choice.

In 2003, I was working at Toys R Us - a man approached me and a co-worker as we were stocking shelves, and told us that he worked for a surveying company. He was lugging around a black suitcase on wheels. Inside, he claimed to have several bottles of perfume that were not yet released to the public, and it was his job to have women sample the scent and fill out a survey. My co-worker said she would be more than happy to, and rather than conduct business right there and then, the man then insisted that the survey forms were in his car. He then asked us both to accompany him to his car where he would be more than happy to have us try out some samples.

I saw red flags right there and then....told my co-worker not to go anywhere without me. I said something along the lines of, "I'll go see if there's any more of these (Care Bears, maybe) in the back, wait for me." Antonella said she would while I went in search of the closest store manager. I told him the situation and he instructed another employee to call the police. By the time I re-approached Antonella, the man had taken off - perhaps he was feeling "suspicious," or figured out that he wasn't getting either one of us out of that store. Antonella told the manager that she had repeatedly told the man that she was "on duty" and couldn't leave the store until she was finished with her shift.

He had never opened his suitcase, nor did he produce any perfume at all. I believe that his intent was to get us (or one of us) out to his car, where if he were to give us anything to "sniff," it would be chloroform, causing one or both of us to pass out. The predator would then take his prey to a secluded location, and well...you can pretty much imagine the rest.

Here's the thing - I recall reading something like this in snopes.com, or in an email that was immediately referenced against snopes and I remember thinking at the time this man approached me, "this is a complete scam, I remember hearing about this!" However, I also had to think - I'm sure he has heard of this, too. Perhaps snopes.com was where he found the idea and he (and possibly an accomplice) decided to see if it would work. It would seem to me that there are people sick enough to give it a try. After all, the main reason for snopes's success is the mere fact that some of these stories, or rather, "urban legends" have been made believeable and many are quite plausible!

So my question to you all is - is snopes.com more dangerous to society and society's well-being than it is informative? It certainly is something to think about!!

***VamPyroX*** · 01-14-2007, 03:39 AM

I would rather say that it's informative.

Malfoyish · 01-16-2007, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VamPyroX

I would rather say that it's informative.

But is it informative to the right people? Or informative to the wrong people for the right reasons?

This is by no means an attack on snopes.com. I am just curious as to whether it does in fact play a role on some of the wacky things we see going on in the world as far as crime.

Eve · 01-16-2007, 11:07 AM

The fact of the matter is, the scams that scopes deals with, have already circled the internet in the form of emails. We humans have a tendency to be seduced by the spectacular. We then send this information on to our friends and family. This information is out there, whether snopes deals with it or not. Furthermore, you recalled seeing something about your incident online, and had you not, you might have been more easily lured to be that man's prey. Maybe snopes actually save you? More to ponder.

rockdrummer · 01-16-2007, 11:36 AM

It's funny because I often think along the sames lines as you do. When Snoops or even stories on the news like this come up, I think that if somebody is not doing this now, they have planted the idea in their head. So from that perspective, its not just snoops that can plant these ideas but also news and even many other internet sites. Information is indeed a powerful thing. It's powerful in the hands of good honest people and also in the hands of bad dishonest people. For me, the moral of the story is always go with your gut feeling and never give a stranger the benefit of the doubt. And always always... If it sounds to good to be true.. THEN IT IS!!!!

***VamPyroX*** · 01-16-2007, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malfoyish

But is it informative to the right people? Or informative to the wrong people for the right reasons?

This is by no means an attack on snopes.com. I am just curious as to whether it does in fact play a role on some of the wacky things we see going on in the world as far as crime.

If someone decides to change a myth to a reality based on what was read on Snopes, then you shouldn't blame Snopes for it.

What's on Snopes are things that are confirmed myths or reality. If it's confirmed a myth, it doesn't mean that it won't ever happen. It's just there to show that it not true and/or hasn't happened yet. Sometimes, there are myths that cannot be true based on certain facts.

Oh, the old lady who microwaved her dog? I don't know if it's happened or not... but there are a lot of absent-minded old ladies out there who are suffering Alzhiemer's. We don't always know when these nice old ladies will snap and go mental on us. So, one of these days... it COULD happen. However, it still stands to state that we shouldn't panic... but to be careful anyway.

Oh, the Target rape? Maybe, it happened. Maybe, it didn't. It's already common sense that we shouldn't be talking and working with strangers like that. It's also common sense to be with friends when you're to go places full of strangers. I usually shop with friends when I'm out late at night. I know I'm safe. I know not to talk to strangers like that. I handle myself well. If I decide to follow some stranger into the parking lot, that's my own fault for not being careful... not Snopes' fault for providing information to the stranger to try on me.

01-10-2007, 01:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
Malfoyish Keepin' it real... Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: New York Posts: 2,656	snopes.com: More dangerous than informative? Would like your opinion on the following subject! First, a little background: from snopes.com: The Snopes were a family of characters weaved throughout the works of Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer William Faulkner. When David Mikkelson, creator of snopes.com, first came onto the Internet in the late 1980s, he worried even back in those relatively uncrowded days that no one would remember yet another David. He was thus inspired to adopt a nom-de-Net, selecting one that honored those fictional Faulknerian characters, and began signing his newsgroups posts as "snopes." Over the years snopes established a fearsome online reputation for his ability to thoroughly research and debunk false claims. When it came time to name our domain, Urban Legends Reference Pages seemed the obvious choice. In 2003, I was working at Toys R Us - a man approached me and a co-worker as we were stocking shelves, and told us that he worked for a surveying company. He was lugging around a black suitcase on wheels. Inside, he claimed to have several bottles of perfume that were not yet released to the public, and it was his job to have women sample the scent and fill out a survey. My co-worker said she would be more than happy to, and rather than conduct business right there and then, the man then insisted that the survey forms were in his car. He then asked us both to accompany him to his car where he would be more than happy to have us try out some samples. I saw red flags right there and then....told my co-worker not to go anywhere without me. I said something along the lines of, "I'll go see if there's any more of these (Care Bears, maybe) in the back, wait for me." Antonella said she would while I went in search of the closest store manager. I told him the situation and he instructed another employee to call the police. By the time I re-approached Antonella, the man had taken off - perhaps he was feeling "suspicious," or figured out that he wasn't getting either one of us out of that store. Antonella told the manager that she had repeatedly told the man that she was "on duty" and couldn't leave the store until she was finished with her shift. He had never opened his suitcase, nor did he produce any perfume at all. I believe that his intent was to get us (or one of us) out to his car, where if he were to give us anything to "sniff," it would be chloroform, causing one or both of us to pass out. The predator would then take his prey to a secluded location, and well...you can pretty much imagine the rest. Here's the thing - I recall reading something like this in snopes.com, or in an email that was immediately referenced against snopes and I remember thinking at the time this man approached me, "this is a complete scam, I remember hearing about this!" However, I also had to think - I'm sure he has heard of this, too. Perhaps snopes.com was where he found the idea and he (and possibly an accomplice) decided to see if it would work. It would seem to me that there are people sick enough to give it a try. After all, the main reason for snopes's success is the mere fact that some of these stories, or rather, "urban legends" have been made believeable and many are quite plausible! So my question to you all is - is snopes.com more dangerous to society and society's well-being than it is informative? It certainly is something to think about!!

01-14-2007, 03:39 AM	#2 (permalink)
*VamPyroX* bloody phreak from hell Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Hell Posts: 27,867	I would rather say that it's informative. __________________ Check out my city... CLICK HERE! (If you already visited yesterday, visit again today!)

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01-16-2007, 11:07 AM	#4 (permalink)
Eve Goddess Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Paradise Posts: 1,125	The fact of the matter is, the scams that scopes deals with, have already circled the internet in the form of emails. We humans have a tendency to be seduced by the spectacular. We then send this information on to our friends and family. This information is out there, whether snopes deals with it or not. Furthermore, you recalled seeing something about your incident online, and had you not, you might have been more easily lured to be that man's prey. Maybe snopes actually save you? More to ponder.

01-16-2007, 11:36 AM	#5 (permalink)
rockdrummer Always 1 beat off Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Chicago area Posts: 3,008	It's funny because I often think along the sames lines as you do. When Snoops or even stories on the news like this come up, I think that if somebody is not doing this now, they have planted the idea in their head. So from that perspective, its not just snoops that can plant these ideas but also news and even many other internet sites. Information is indeed a powerful thing. It's powerful in the hands of good honest people and also in the hands of bad dishonest people. For me, the moral of the story is always go with your gut feeling and never give a stranger the benefit of the doubt. And always always... If it sounds to good to be true.. THEN IT IS!!!!