Faxlore

You would have seen these behind the receptionist in dentists offices and public schools:

https://bavatuesdays.com/xeroxlore-folklore-in-the-age-of-me...

By the 2000s, the more-intense pranksters had discovered that high-volume printers on college campuses left IPP open.

Hmm.. I think I just realized that I had fallen for the "lights out" hoax for the longest time. I heard about it first in an email around 1998. I believed it to be true until I read this Faxlore wikipedia link today. Wow!

To clarify, just a month after I heard about this, I had a confirming event. I was in Detroit at that time and my wife and I were staying in a motel. It was just after sundown. We pulled out of the motel parking lot into the road. It was less than a minute later that I realized I did not have my car headlights turned on and I switched them on. Seconds later, a cop who was following us stopped us and questioned us if we just pulled out of a parking lot. He didn't give me a ticket, just an enquiry and let us off. That incident worked as a confirming event for me.

Bunch, Michael: "Technology Aided Spread of Terrifying Hoax", San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 4, 1993 – "Lights Out" gang initiation legend spreads by fax and copier.

I once faxed “oh god how did this get here i am not good with computer”[1] to Cheezburger, Inc.

[1] https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/oh-god-how-did-this-get-here-...

My very first encounter with a Nigerian Prince scam was in the form of a fax received by my college roommate. He was from another country and didn't really understand it. I remember just telling him it looked suspicious and to ignore it.

Around the same time I also knew a religious family who had the a copy of the Proctor & Gamble "Satanism" warning taped to the front of their refrigerator (it listed all the P&G brands, so they'd know which ones to avoid).

If I wanted to set up a fax number to collect random fax spam, how would I attract spammers to the number?

Reminds me of tapelooping and blacklooping. Not only urban legends were spread by fax. All sorts of scams, baseless legal threats, harassment, and more were too.

Since in theory it tied up meaningful resources (time on the phone line and potentially paper and ink) some places made sending certain things by unsolicited fax illegal. In the US IIRC one could be fined and be made to pay restitution and punitive damages to to recipient if they could find and name the party to the government.

For your consideration: Glendale Police Department report on the Satanic Panic. Undated. Good times, hail Baphomet and assorted lesser demons. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/149064NCJRS.pdf

The blue star tattoo legend made it's way around my primary school twice while I was there.

Anyone know a good collection of faxlore? Id love to see more, but examples online seem a little sparse.

Someone tell me there's a section hidden on textfiles.org with examples of these.

I'm surprised not to see the IBM mouse balls tech note on the list.