morcheeba's Journal: Hong Kong gov spams 6M phones to avert SARS panic

To avert a panic over SARS, Hong Kong governnment officials have spammed 6 million phones with an SMS message saying Hong Kong isn't an infected area. The city of 6.8 million residents has had 16 deaths, more than 700 sick, and hundreds placed under quarantine. The spam was allegedly in response to a hoax website, not in response news reports of the mysterious killer.

* 2003-04-03 19:19:56 Hong Kong gov spams 6M phones to avert SARS panic (articles,spam) (rejected)

You are slightly incorrect...

[Xerithane]

They aren't saying that Hong Kong doesn't have occurances of SARS, but that it isn't listed as an Infected City. If it were an "Infected City" the entire city would be under quarantine, and there would be nobody going in or out.

This also isn't spam, as it's not commercial :)

Re:You are slightly incorrect...

[morcheeba]

Hi

Now that I've started enabling comments, thanks for the first real reply to a journal entry!!

It's all relative; I'd say that Hong Kong is more of an infected city than Wash. DC... I don't really know what the official definition of "infected city" means. I didn't read the hoax website, but if they meant to dispel rumors of a city-wide quarantine, then that's what they should have spammed with.

Also, I've aparently got a lower threshold of pain for spam :) I'm using the "unsolicited bulk email" definitio

Re:You are slightly incorrect...

[Xerithane]

It's all relative; I'd say that Hong Kong is more of an infected city than Wash. DC... I don't really know what the official definition of "infected city" means. I didn't read the hoax website, but if they meant to dispel rumors of a city-wide quarantine, then that's what they should have spammed with.

Infected City is actually a real definition, though. I'm just offering this up for the education factor. You can't say that a Flammigalibobby is a car, or that a car is suddenly a computer.

Also, I've apa