Klarinet Archive - Posting 000589.txt from 1996/12

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Free books for sick kids
Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 10:32:22 -0500

On Sat, 21 Dec 1996, Mark Charette wrote:

> Edwin V. Lacy wrote about the Houghton-Mifflin giveaway:
> > Not true. This is another hoax, now thoroughly de-bunked on the internet.
> > It has been widely discussed on many lists.
>
> No, Ed, this one was true. Many are hoaxes, though.
>
> Houghton-Mifflin was the sponsor of "The Polar Express Share the
> Spirit Campaign", whereby they promised to give away 1 book for
> every 25 e-mails. They gave away 2500 books this year, and reached

And the question which I proposed on another list remains: If they want
to give books to children's hospitals, why do they need to receive e-mail
messages? They will get a tax write-off even if they never receive a
single message. More than likely, they are trying to build a data base of
e-mail address in order to promote their commercial interests.

If anyone can tell me the value of my sending an e-mail message with no
content whatsoever to a publisher in order to induce them to make a
charitable contribution, I will gladly send them a hundred such messages.

Ed Lacy
el2@-----.edu