Email Forwardables: Folklore in the Age of the Internet

Email communication fosters an environment wheremessages have an inherent ‘truth value’ while at the same
time senders have reduced inhibitions about the types of
messages sent. When this is combined with a convenience
and ease of communication and an ability to contact huge
numbers of people simultaneously, email becomes a rapid
and effective distribution mechanism for gossip, rumour
and urban legends. Email has enabled not only the birth of
new folklore, but also the revival of older stories with
contemporary relevance and has facilitated their
distribution on an unprecedented scale.