You can be sure the recipients were as thrilled to see the letter as you, not to mention e-mail network administrators working to maintain the regular flow of messages. Most annoying are the chain letters that start off as cute little games. They claim to be able to tell you your deepest dreams and desires by your answers to a series of questions. Once you finish answering the questions, they go in for the knockout, telling you to forward the messages to five people if you want those deep dreams and desires to ever come true. Finally, before passing along an e-mail message, think about where the recipients will be when they open it.
Most companies have e-mail policies discouraging the use of electronic messaging for personal use.
While many companies will ignore the occasional forwarded jokes sent via their e-mail systems, certain images and sound files are harder to justify. You've seen them. When you click on the file, an animated character or scene takes over your desktop, sometimes not going away until you shut your computer down. Electronic messaging, which can bridge distant worlds, is powerful in its own right. Think how powerful it could be with a little thought placed behind it.