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Top portion of a "Letter from Heaven," produced in England.
Chain Letter in 2006, David Rhodes PERTH
A typical chain letter consists of a
that attempts to convince the recipient to make a number of copies of the
and then pass them on to as many recipients as possible. In reality, the "chain" is actually a geometrically progressing pyramid that cannot be sustained indefinitely. Common methods used in chain letters include
, and the exploitation of
to threaten the recipient with bad luck or even physical violence or death if he or she "breaks the chain" and refuses to adhere to the conditions set out in the letter. Chain letters started as actual letters that one received in the mail. Today, chain letters are generally no longer actual letters. They are sent through email messages, postings on , and text messages.
There are two main types of chain letters:
Hoaxes - Hoaxes attempt to trick or defraud users. A hoax could be malicious, instructing users to delete a file necessary to the operating system by claiming it is a virus. It could also be a scam that convinces users to send money or personal information. Phishing attacks could fall into this.
Urban legends -
are designed to be redistributed and usually warn users of a threat or claim to be notifying them of important or urgent information. Another common form are the emails that promise users monetary rewards for forwarding the message or suggest that they are signing something that will be submitted to a particular group. Urban legends usually have no negative effect aside from wasted time.
In the United States, chain letters that request money or other items of value and promise a substantial return to the participants (such as the infamous
scheme) are illegal. Other types of chain letters are viewed as a general nuisance in that frequently multiplying letters clog up the postal system and do not function as correspondence mail, but rather, a game. Some colleges and military bases have passed regulations stating that in the private mail of college students and military personnel, respectively, chain letters are not authorized and will be thrown out. However, it is often difficult to distinguish chain letters from genuine correspondence.
The oldest known channel for chain letters is written, or printed, on letters on paper. These might be exchanged hand-to-hand or distributed through the mail. One notorious early example was the "Prosperity Club" or "Send-a-Dime" letter. This letter started in
in 1935, based on an earlier luck letter. It soon swamped the Denver post office with hundreds of thousands of letters before spilling into
and other cities.
Chain letters take religious perspectives especially relating to Christianity.[] Often these letters originate from Photocopy centers, claiming to have originated from the Pope, with the intent of persuading people to make copies of such letters. The content usually gives one or two examples of people, sometimes public figures who obeyed and were rewarded and others who disobeyed and suffered heavily, which may even include cases of deaths and of someone becoming a millionaire overnight.[] These types of letters will flourish for some days and will die out naturally, partly based on the economic realities of the people, and maybe many would also reason that if that was truly the original letter, then it cannot contain cases of people who had broken or continued the chain.
Some email messages sent as chain letters may seem fairly harmless, for example, a grammar school student wishing to see how many people can receive his/her email for a science project, but can grow exponentially and be hard to stop. Messages sometimes include phony promises from companies or wealthy individuals (such as ) promising a monetary reward to everyone who receives the message. They may also be politically motivated, such as "Save the Scouts, forward this to as many friends as possible" or a concept that a popular TV or radio show may be forced off the air. Some, like the "Hawaiian Good Luck Totem" which has spread in thousands of forms, threaten users with
if not forwarded. There are many forms of chain email that threaten death or the taking of one's soul by telling tales of others' deaths, such as the Katu Lata Kulu chain email, stating that if it is not forwarded, the receivers of the message will be killed by the .
Platforms like ,
can host chain letters playing with users' emotions. They may also be in the form of a warning, such as stories of escaped convicts et cetera which urge the reader to pass the message on. One chain letter distributed on MSN
began, "Hey it's Tara and John the directors of MSN"... and tells you that your account will be deleted if you don't send that message to everyone.
Another common form of email chain letter is the
and a form of .
Chain letters have become widespread on
(in the form of Myspace bulletins) and
(in the form of video comments) as well as on
through messages or applications. For instance, the chain post/email of , a girl who was pushed down a sewage drain in a firedrill, states that, "if you do not repost/send this to 10 people, Carmen will find you and kill you." Chain letters are often coupled with intimidating
or the promise of providing the sender with "secret" information once they've forwarded the message.
The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a
of the subject. Please
and discuss the issue on the . (July 2014)
A chain letter may qualify as a fraudulent activity, as in the case of a
which asks recipients to funnel money up the chain while requesting the letter be distributed to multiple new recipients.
The legality of chain letters comes into question when they attempt to funnel monetary value to a single source. When a chain letter suggests a game of chance or a lottery with an opportunity for financial gain it is considered fraudulent under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302, the . Chain letters that ask for items of minor value such as business cards or recipes are not covered by this law.
If pyramid scheme chain letters are sent through email it may constitute . An email chain letter may contain
or another type of
which is covered under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) [18 U.S.C. Section 1030]. This law makes it illegal to distribute computer codes or place them in the stream of commerce if their intent is to cause damage or economic loss.
An episode of Wings had the characters Fay and Antonio receive chain letters instructing them to make copies in the name of "the sun god Ra". Antonio throws it away, calling it garbage and an affront to his Roman Catholicism, and writes off future misfortune that his beliefs will not be shattered.
Calvin & Hobbes had Calvin receiving a chain letter saying that a man who broke the chain went bald and a man who made copies for others got a promotion. Hobbes claims it is for "superstitious nincompoops" and recommends Calvin dispose of the chain letter, only to have it say "dumb kids who listen to friends get run over by cement mixers".
Mon cher Mustapha letter – a chain letter used as a form of
– distribution of chain-letters or similar material by fax machine
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service cites Ok
when it asserts the illegality of chain letters:
illegal if they request money or other items of value and promise a substantial return to the participants, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302, the Postal Lottery Statute.]
VanArsdale, Daniel W. (2002) [1998]. .
Mikkelson, B David Mikkelson. . Urban Legends Reference Pages.
Mikkelson, B David Mikkelson. . Urban Legends Reference Pages.
Mikkelson, B David Mikkelson. . Urban Legends Reference Pages.
(2004). . pp.144.
. BBC News. 8 March 2006.
Dan Squier. The Truth About Chain Letters, 1990, Premier Publishers,
Athena Dean. All That Glitters is Not Gold: Breaking Free From the Sweet Deceit of MLM, 1998, Winepress Publishing,
James Walsh. You Can't Cheat An Honest Man: How Ponzi Schemes & Pyramid Frauds Work, Merritt Publishing,
Gary Tartaglia. Shattered Dreams: How To Avoid Costly Mistakes In Multi-level Marketing, 1985, Targeted Communications,
Stephen Butterfield. Amway: The Cult of Free Enterprise, 1985, South End Press,
John Scarne. Complete Guide to Gambling, Fully Revised, Expanded, Updated edition. Fireside, 1986,
, . A historical analysis, including an archive of actual letters.
: Hidden categories:get a letter=什么?近义词_百度作业帮
get a letter=什么?近义词
get a letter=什么?近义词
receive a letter英语模拟试题题库
本试题来自：（2013年英语模拟试题，）Research shows that by using computers, students become better problem solvers and better communicators. Over a network, using
and sharing files, students have the chance to collaborate and work
with other classmates, peers, and teachers. Networking electronically can
learners create, analyze, and produce information and ideas more
and efficiently. Networking people "put the inspiring and usable set of tools
reach of the mass of computer
(26) , empowering them to
(27) . beyond simply processing information to design, publish, and express" (Mello, 1996). Through this
electronic access to the world around them, students’ social awareness and
increase. Networking
them from the limitations of
writing tools that often inhibit and restrict writing processes. Learning is then
from a traditional passive-listening exercise to an experience of discovery, exploration, and excitement. Students can begin to
their full potential when
are empowered to contribute and collaborate as a team to accomplish their writing tasks
effectively.Ⅲ．Cloze Directions: For each blank in the following passage, there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that is most suitable and mark your answer by blackening the corresponding letter on ANSWER SHEET Ⅰ.A. letter
D. message正确答案：有， 或者
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D. To explain the role of sport.答案：有，单项选择题：（)Why does the writer say "at the risk of inflation"A．Because he feels that he might be exaggeratingB．Because he has recently praised more works than usualC．Because he finds it hard to be objectiveD．Because he feels he may not praise the work sufficiently答案：有，
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相关词典网站：I think e-mail is a cheaper and quicker way than a letter.这句话对不?刚才问了一遍,不知道怎么回事,只能看见一个答案,只能再问一遍拉,对刚才回答过我问题的过说声抱歉哦,我也不知道百度是怎么回事呢._百度作业帮
I think e-mail is a cheaper and quicker way than a letter.这句话对不?刚才问了一遍,不知道怎么回事,只能看见一个答案,只能再问一遍拉,对刚才回答过我问题的过说声抱歉哦,我也不知道百度是怎么回事呢.
这句话对不?刚才问了一遍,不知道怎么回事,只能看见一个答案,只能再问一遍拉,对刚才回答过我问题的过说声抱歉哦,我也不知道百度是怎么回事呢.
I think sending e-mail
cheaper and quicker than sending a letter.
不对，应该是I think e-mail is a way that cheaper and quicker than a letter
我认为电子邮件是比写信更便宜跟快的方式`
I think it's cheaper and quicker to send an e-mail than a letter.}