Oh the joys of Eternal September.
I used to get a lot of this kind of crap, but sending Snopes links every time pretty much ended that after a while. People got tired of me making them look like the idiots they were, I guess. Fortunately, few of them were people I'd consider friends, and the few that were grew up and got off of AOL.
AOL is the spawn of satan, a truly evil being that even the Great Old Ones fear. It's so easy and "idiot proof" that, of course, lots of idiots will use it. Back in the day, technical knowledge and skill was a bright dividing line between those who were intelligent enough to get online, and those who had trouble tying their shoes without help. Then along comes QuantumLink with the simplified networking; morphs into AOL and does the "dumbed down so far it makes developmentally disabled preschoolers look lik geniuses by comparison" and a world of morons gets connected. Fortunately, they were still an insular little world, completely seperate from the Great Experiement that was the Internet. They began to offer some Internet access, but it was limited and expensive. Still, it was the beginning of the end.
Then the unthinkable happened. AOL began offereing unlimited, free Internet access on top of their regular network. It became the first day of September, forever. Now, instead of being limited to it's own little cesspool, the sewage began to innundate the net. Before long, other services began touting their own "Simple enough for brain-damanged mongolids" services; and soon the entire net was eyeball-deep in untreated human wastes.
Then began the ascendency of the World Wide Web. The intelligence barrier had not merely been lowered, it had been removed entirely. Now everyone, everywhere, could have the same brainless, "even your dog can do it" access to the entirety of the Internet, through various web gateways, such as Google Groups; while creating entirely new platrorms for the weak-minded and vociferious to proclaim their self-important worthlessness. Gullible idiots were soon overwhelmed with many different contradictory lies to believe; and, unfortunately, managed to do so without their brains exploding. Not only is intelligence no longer a requirement, it's actually a hindrance in experiencing the 'Net in it's fullness. A whole generation has grown up with Internet access from the cradle, in an environment that strongly discourages the development of archaic, outmoded concepts such as "proper spelling and grammar", "effective communication skills", "common courtesy", "rational discourse", and "critical thinking".
And we're still waiting for October to happen.
