ESCAPE VELOCITY

1 - Good job on the training Nathan! My parents forward silly e-mails sometimes. I pretty much have them trained now to at least send it to me first before mass mailing it to everyone they know. They still haven't quite figured out that if it's something really unbelievable then it's probably not to be believed. They also send me virus notifications that Snopes tells me have been circulating for 4 years... :)

2 - Well done Nathan!

Last time I tried to help my father with computers he still asked me metaphysical questions like "Is my document in a folder or in Word?"

3 - @2, pedro, the answer is 'penguin'.

4 - LOL! Three cheers for dad!
A very common misconception of end users also is that if it's on Snopes, it automatically means it's true - somewhere along the lines everyone played telephone, and word got out that Snopes contains TRUE items. So many people do a search, see the subject line, and include "This has been checked via Snopes" in the message.

I tell people to make sure they read the entire article, and better yet - include a link to it. Snopes contains a link back to the article at the bottom of every page.

It's common now in hoaxes to write "this has been verified on Snopes", so sadly I can't even trust that anymore unless it actually contains a link!

5 - @4 - When spammers and script kiddies try to spoof your verification, you know you've arrived.

6 - @3 haha that actually started being my excuse from a certain moment on: "Sorry dad I only use Linux these days - don't know anything about Windows anymore"

I don't think I'd dare installing it on his machine though.

7 - My experience is that education is a highly personal thing. Some people want to learn, others don't.

When I lived in Atlanta in the 90's I did computer literacy classes for senior citizens (in Wesley Woods, for the ATL contingent out there). The attendees ranged from people so afraid of the mouse their hands shook to people who thought it was fun to delete files until Windows stopped working. By the end of the three day class they were aware of what was general best practice with Windows as well as a comfort level with basic e-mail and Microsoft Office. I was only called back twice in a year to fix the computer lab, which I thought was pretty good.

In 1999 the Notes/Domino system I implemented was the first e-mail most of my coworkers had ever used. This was a well-established family-owned company and most of the employees had been there 10+ years, and were at least 10 to 15 years older than me. Very early on I made it clear that any e-mail that says "forward this to everyone you know" is most likely a hoax. Some took it to heart, others needed some reminders, and some still forward everything they get to everyone they know (except the IT staff) -- "just in case" -- to this day.

My partner is 20 years older than me, and while we're compatible on many levels there is a bit of a technological generation gap. After cleaning malware off his computer for the umpteenth time I went a step beyond strongly suggesting he not do certain things. I refused to fix his computer when he broke it. After a few weeks of that he finally got the message and started listening to me. Now he knows what is appropriate to open and what to leave alone, and knows how to research warnings. He still asks me before he forwards anything, though, and I don't mind. He's able to filter out the vast majority on his own.