[geddes]

One of the first items:

    - Never send chain letters via electronic mail.  Chain letters
      are forbidden on the Internet.  Your network privileges
      will be revoked.  Notify your local system administrator
      if your ever receive one.

I think when I got on the internet around 1996 half of the e-mails I got were chain letters. Proves the fallacy of trying to claim that something is 'forbidden on the internet.'

[bencollier49]

Yep, loved this one. Brilliant!

"You network privileges will be revoked". Well that worked.

[csixty4]

I worked a college computer lab help desk in 1996. When people reported that they got a chain letter from one of our students, we forwarded it to the folks in charge of the mail servers & they got a stern warning.

I miss those days.

[pantalaimon]

They seem to have their revival on facebook today.

[simoncion]

It might have written with tongue firmly in cheek. :)

[username42]

No, it was written before "eternal september" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September

[RyanMcGreal]

Eternal September was in 1993, and the RFC 1855 was written in 1995. It is specifically a response to Eternal September:

"Today, the community of Internet users includes people who are new to the environment. These 'Newbies' are unfamiliar with the culture and don't need to know about transport and protocols. In order to bring these new users into the Internet culture quickly, this Guide offers a minimum set of behaviors which organizations and individuals may take and adapt for their own use."

[username42]

I have learned the netiqette rules in 1990 when I learned about internet. The RFC has gathered rules that were created before.

[username42]

2 points lost for giving insight and fixing mistakes. Thank you.

[username42]

3 points

by the way, if you read the rfc, you will see that many references are before 1993.

[DanBC]

In theory they are forbidden. Abuse desks are understaffed and overwhelmed and so nothing ever happens.

[TazeTSchnitzel]

The postmaster rules also suggest responding especially to reports of "chain mail" ;)