Communique on Net Viruses

From the Memetic Watchforce
Regarding the "Good Times" memetic virus and its companion virus "Virus Warning". Please be informed by this communique and act accordingly. Propagation is advised.

This is memetic warfare at work. For the "Good Times" chain letter is a virus, and its target is to spread using soft hearts as a vector of infection. It belongs to the same class of viruses as the ".sig" virus and the "MAKE.MONEY.FAST" virus. They work as memetic attractors, luring the mind to act as a site of reproduction by promising small pleasures (in the instance of "Good Times" the bait is literally *good times*, whereas the more insiduous "MAKE.MONEY.FAST" promises actual money and the ".sig" only a moment of whimsical delight). So baited, the human mind in all its simple glory will act as a womb from which new instances of the virus emerges, sometimes in as large numbers as 20 at a time, ensuring exponential growth of the virus population. Some infected sites are so deeply affected that they will in fact ensure survival of the virus by re-posting it without prodding when the population seems low. In this way, the net becomes a petri dish for the ASCII lifeform.

The "Virus Warning" quoted above operates by the same means as the other memetic lifeforms that it seeks to destroy. By indicating (falsely) that the "Good Times" virus will bring actual harm to the recipient, it tries to quench the spread at the site of the potential vector. It might be termed a contingent virus, as its propagation relies on the "Good Times" virus to be effective. Once the population of "Good Times" falls below a significant number, the "Virus Warning" population will drop as well.

Have no fear. You will not be harmed by the passing of these viruses through your systems, at least not in the case of "Good Times", ".sig" and "Virus Warning". The "MAKE.MONEY.FAST" should be treated with far more caution, since its propagation is in fact illegal under most legal systems, as it describes a pyramid scheme. This virus is toxic to those infected, and its propagation should clearly be advised against. The other viruses mentioned have no such clear repercussions, although mass-posting "Good Times" (or even its companion virus "Virus Warning") to mailinglists and newsgroups will probably cause some indignation and even anger to bounce back. The virus has a lot to earn by this method of propagation, since it increases its chances of reproduction.

This message is brought to you by Memetic Watchforce. We advise all readers to send this message on to possible sites of infection. Also watch for the Geneva Convention's official communique on the status of memetic weaponry, real soon now. More information on memes might be found at http://www.uio.no/~mwatz/memetics/. If you find previously unidentified memetic viruses active in the field of battle please take action by adding them to the list at the end of this communique and propagating it further. Always send a copy of the new communique to m.i.watz@usit.uio.no, so that it might be archived for inspection.

Currently identified memetic viruses on the Net

Last updated: December 4th 1994 (created December 4th 1994)

Marius Watz - Mail to: m.i.watz@usit.uio.no