skygod7777 0 #1 May 14, 2004 what up a friend of mine just forwarded my this e-mail saying don't buy gas on may 19th. what the hell is this? is it just some stupid thing going around, or is someone really trying to screw the gas companies over, because it was saying something like they would lose 4 billion dollars, it just seams to me that with that much of a loss they would have to just raise the prices again to make up for the loss right. anyway, i'm just board out of my mind and figured i'd ask. lata Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
base704 0 #2 May 14, 2004 Come on... Either learn to spell, or use the spell check... If you're only 16, maybe you could ask your English teacher for help. sheesh Edited to add: Yeah...I'm really jealous.You can get a lot more done with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michele 1 #3 May 14, 2004 Quotee-mail saying don't buy guys Wow. My tastes run to men, but I've never had to "buy a guy" anyway. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Douva 0 #4 May 14, 2004 Claim: Participating in a one-day "gas out" will help bring the retail price of gasoline down. Status: False. Examples: [Collected on the Internet, 2004] IT HAS BEEN CALCULATED THAT IF EVERYONE IN THE UNITED STATES DID NOT PURCHASE A DROP OF GASOLINE FOR ONE DAY AND ALL AT THE SAME TIME, THE OIL COMPANIES WOULD CHOKE ON THEIR STOCKPILES. AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD HIT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WITH A NET LOSS OF OVER 4.6 BILLION DOLLARS WHICH AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINES OF THE OIL COMPANIES. THEREFORE MAY 19TH HAS BEEN FORMALLY DECLARED "STICK IT UP THEIR BEHINDS DAY" AND THE PEOPLE OF THIS NATION SHOULD NOT BUY A SINGLE DROP OF GASOLINE THAT DAY. THE ONLY WAY THIS CAN BE DONE IS IF YOU FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN AND AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN TO GET THE WORD OUT. WAITING ON THIS ADMIINSTRATION TO STEP IN AND CONTROL THE PRICES IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REDUCTION AND CONTROL IN PRICES THAT THE ARAB NATIONS PROMISED TWO WEEKS AGO? REMEMBER ONE THING, NOT ONLY IS THE PRICE OF GASOLINE GOING UP BUT AT THE SAME TIME AIRLINES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES, TRUCKING COMPANIES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES WHICH EFFECTS PRICES ON EVERYTHING THAT IS SHIPPED. THINGS LIKE FOOD, CLOTHING, BUILDING MATERIALS, MEDICAL SUPPLIES ETC. WHO PAYS IN THE END? WE DO! WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. IF THEY DON'T GET THE MESSAGE AFTER ONE DAY, WE WILL DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN. SO DO YOUR PART AND SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND MAKE MAY 19TH A DAY THAT THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES SAY "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Collected on the Internet, 2000] Last year on April 30, 1999, a gas out was staged across Canada and the U.S. to bring the price of gas down, and it worked. It's time to do something about it again. Only this time lets make it for three days instead of just one. The so-called oil cartel decided to slow production to drive up gasoline prices. Lets see how many Canadian\American people we can get to ban together for a three day period in April, NOT TO BUY ANY GASOLINE, during those three days. LET'S HAVE A GAS OUT. Do not buy any gasoline from APRIL 7, 2000, THROUGH APRIL 9, 2000. Buy what you need before the dates listed above, or after, but try not to buy any during the GAS OUT. If you want to help, just send this to everyone you know and ask them to do the same. We brought the prices down once before, and we can do it again. Come on North America lets stand together. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Even if you receive this 100 times keep passing it around, this way you know everyone is being informed and no one will forget!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Origins: Although it went into hiding for several years, the one-day "gas out" craze is back — and with it a reminder that protest schemes that don't cost the the participants any inconvenience, hardship, or money remain the most popular, despite their dubious effectiveness. A one-day "gas out" was proposed in 1999, and a three-day-long event was called for in 2000, but both drew little participation and had no effect on retail gasoline prices because they were based on a flawed premise. By definition, a boycott involves the doing without of something, with the renunciation of the boycotted product held up as tangible proof to those who supply the commodity that consumers are prepared to do without it unless changes are made. What the "gas out" calls for isn't consumers swearing off using or buying gasoline, even for a short time, but for them to simply shift their purchases by one day. The same amount of gasoline will be run through the cars of the boycotters during the "gas out," and the same amount of gasoline will ultimately be purchased by motorists (albeit some of it a day earlier or a day later). Because the "gas out" doesn't call on consumers to make a sacrifice by actually giving up something, the threat it poses is a hollow one. Not buying gas on a designated day may make people feel a bit better about things by providing them a chance to vent their anger at higher gasoline prices, but the action won't have any real impact on retail prices. An effective protest would involve something like organizing people to forswear the use of their cars on specified days, an act that could effectively demonstrate the reality of the threat that if gasoline prices stay up, American consumers are prepared to move to carpooling and public transportation for the long term. Simply changing the day one buys gas, however, imparts no such threat, because nothing is being done without. Moreover, the primary effect of the type of boycott proposed in the "gas out" messages is to hurt those at the very end of the oil-to-gasoline chain, service station operators — the people who have the least influence in setting gasoline prices and survive on the thinnest of profit margins. As such, the "gas out" is a punch on the nose delivered to the wrong person. News accounts from across North America about previous "gas out" non-events have documented both their low level of participation and their ineffectiveness: Friday's gasoline boycott was an effort that sputtered, coughed, then died. Motorists continued to fill up gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles and trucks alongside smaller vehicles despite a one-day protest aimed to pressure oil companies to lower gas prices. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The one-day boycott was loosely organized by World Wide Web surfers angry about gasoline prices in California. Fuel prices rose dramatically in March but stabilized [just before the boycott] and in some cases decreased. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Although a gasoline boycott that began as an electronic mail campaign kept some drivers nationwide away from the pump, dealers say they saw little, if any, effect on their traffic. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Seattle, there were so many cars waiting to get into [a] Texaco station . . . yesterday afternoon that it caused a backup five cars deep into [the] right-hand lane. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reports indicated few motorists paid attention to a nationwide boycott touted initially by Internet e-mail and later by word of mouth. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A planned nationwide boycott protesting the high price of gasoline didn't have much effect on local gas stations. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "We were expecting something substantial," said Mark Johnson, the owner of a Chevron station. "We haven't really noticed much of a difference." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Irving stations in sunny Halifax said the boycott had no effect on business. "It's been busy as a bugger here," said Bruce Riley, manager of one station. "We haven't been busier in the last two weeks," added the manager at another Halifax outlet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gas stations [in Ottawa] reported "busier than ever" conditions at the pumps on the day of The Great Internet Gas-Out. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The owner [of a Chevron station near downtown Sacramento], Ross Relles, complained that gas stations are the wrong targets. "Whoever is promoting this idiotic day, all it's hurting is the small retailers like me." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Independent gas station owners say they raise their prices to keep up with the rising prices from suppliers. "The high prices upset us, too, and the people usually get mad at us. But we have no control over it," said [service station owner] George Dekermenjian. And, contrary to the claims made in the latest "gas out" exhortation, shifting one's purchase of gasoline by a single day will not jam up stockpiles and thereby cost oil companies billions of dollars: [The "gas out"] was really sort of a hoot, because the initiative was so, well, American in that it didn't require sacrifice or inconvenience. Rather than urging a prolonged vehicle-use moratorium to emphasize consumer power, gas out organizers simply recommended not buying gasoline [on Friday]. This means overall consumption won't be affected, thereby accomplishing nothing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "If no one bought gas today, half would have bought yesterday, and half would buy today," said Scott Espenshade, the Independent Petroleum Assn. of America's chief economist. "That doesn't change the demand, it just moves it to a different day." Oil companies, which run their inventories on a weekly basis, wouldn't even notice the change, he said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The trouble is, experts say it won't work, short of repealing the laws of supply and demand. "It's all the same to the oil companies and OPEC whether you fill up on Thursday or Friday," says chief economist David Wyss of Standard & Poor's DRI in Lexington, Mass. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Despite all the publicity, many economists said the boycott would do little to ease gas prices. "It's a purely symbolic event that will have no real effect on the market," said Severin Borenstein, head of the Energy Institute at the University of California at Berkeley. Gasoline is a fungible, global commodity, its price subject to the ordinary forces of supply and demand. No amount of consumer gimmickry and showmanship will lower its price in the long run; only a significant, continuous reduction in demand will accomplish that goal. Unfortunately, for many people achieving that goal would mean cutting down on their driving or opting for less desirable economy cars over less fuel-efficient models, solutions they find unappealing. An event like a "gas out" can sometimes do some good by calling attention to a cause and sending a message. In this case, though, the only message being sent is: "We consumers are so desperate for gasoline that we can't even do without it for a few days to demonstrate our dissatisfaction with its cost." What supplier is going to respond to a message like that by lowering its prices? Last updated: 13 May 2004 The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/nogas.asp Click here to e-mail this page to a friend Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2004 by Barbara and David P. MikkelsonI don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Conundrum 1 #5 May 14, 2004 Geez, wanna give us some cliff's notes for that shit? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Douva 0 #6 May 14, 2004 I used to receive this stupid email all the time. I hadn't seen it in a few years, until a friend emailed it to me about a half hour ago. I think we should start a web page titled simply, "Dedicated to the Gullible," and list the names and email addresses of anyone who forwards it. --DouvaI don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Laurel 0 #7 May 14, 2004 If it sounds like a sham, it's probably a sham. I beg of you to use some common sense. Oh and just in case you were wondering, not everyone in China is going to jump at the same time to see if it starts an earthquake, either (read that in an email once). ..................................................................... PMS#28, Pelogrande Rodriguez#1074 My Pink M Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #8 May 14, 2004 Worthless e-mail spam. That's what I call 98% of the worthless shit that people forward to my inbox. Basically, they get one chance, I e-mail them back and tell them not to do that, that it is spam, if they send me something else, their address is added to my spam filter. End of story.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carbonezone 0 #9 May 14, 2004 Quote Come on... Either learn to spell, or use the spell check... If you're only 16, maybe you could ask your English teacher for help. sheesh Edited to add: Yeah...I'm really jealous. Man you are a just a freaking bully Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cloud_monkey 0 #10 May 14, 2004 QuoteGeez, wanna give us some cliff's notes for that shit? Yeah Douva!! WTF???? You need to shorten it up a little bro! Bet you don't hear that very often By the way, that's a nice lookin' avitar you've got there. Looks familiar for some reason Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gravitymaster 0 #11 May 14, 2004 Yeah, good idea. I'll just either fill up on the 18th or wait til the 20th to fill up. That will teach them to mess with the American people. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydivingNurse 0 #12 May 14, 2004 In a word, no. Snopes.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #13 May 14, 2004 the most reasonable idea I heard was "don't buy gas from exxon/mobile" because if nobody buys their stuff, they have to lower their prices to attract business back, and then the other companies will have to lower their prices to remain competitive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #14 May 14, 2004 QuoteI used to receive this stupid email all the time. I hadn't seen it in a few years, until a friend emailed it to me about a half hour ago. I think we should start a web page titled simply, "Dedicated to the Gullible," and list the names and email addresses of anyone who forwards it. --Douva I usually reply to ALL with the debunkment when I get this crap. People learnnot to forward me this crap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Douva 0 #15 May 14, 2004 QuoteQuoteI used to receive this stupid email all the time. I hadn't seen it in a few years, until a friend emailed it to me about a half hour ago. I think we should start a web page titled simply, "Dedicated to the Gullible," and list the names and email addresses of anyone who forwards it. --Douva I usually reply to ALL with the debunkment when I get this crap. People learnnot to forward me this crap. I used to do the same thing, until it nearly cost me a good friend. One of my best friends sent me that same "gas out" email a few years ago, and I "replied to all" with a Snopes rebuttal. It went to his family and coworkers, and he was mortified. After that, I decided there are probably some things more important than the dissemination of the truth. --DouvaI don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keith 0 #16 May 14, 2004 Quote -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- e-mail saying don't buy guys -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wow. My tastes run to men, but I've never had to "buy a guy" anyway. Dr. Freud!? Dr. Freud!? Is there a Doctor Freud in the house??? Keith Don't Fuck with me Keith - J. Mandeville Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildblue 7 #17 May 14, 2004 Quotethe most reasonable idea I heard was "don't buy gas from exxon/mobile" because if nobody buys their stuff, they have to lower their prices to attract business back, and then the other companies will have to lower their prices to remain competitive. That would actually backfire - Exxon/Mobile would sell their gas to the other companies who now can't keep up with the demand, probably at a higher price, which they would pass onto you. Here's an idea: Use less gas I'm so tired of people bitching about the price of gas. It's not that high here. Did you know California alone consumes as much gasoline as all of Japan?it's like incest - you're substituting convenience for quality Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paige 0 #18 May 14, 2004 QuoteQuote Come on... Either learn to spell, or use the spell check... If you're only 16, maybe you could ask your English teacher for help. sheesh Edited to add: Yeah...I'm really jealous. Man you are a just a freaking bully I read it and was like damn...dick. Oh well, to each his own. I just brush people like that off. Offer something constructive to say and maybe I'd listen. Not like he even touched on the topic posted, isn't that a no no in some forum FAQ also?Tunnel Pink Mafia Delegate www.TunnelPinkMafia.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paige 0 #19 May 14, 2004 Well, he really only misused/misspelled one word, board instead of bored.Tunnel Pink Mafia Delegate www.TunnelPinkMafia.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #20 May 14, 2004 hey, I take the train every day to work. I wouldn't have any impact at all on a gas boycott, because I use about 1 tank a month, if that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
funks 1 #21 May 14, 2004 QuoteWell, he really only misused/misspelled one word, board instead of bored. how about "seams"? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rdy2skydive 0 #22 May 14, 2004 I wouldn't pay too much attention to e-mails like that. It was probably started by the same person who started the e-mails after 9/11 saying no one should go to the mall on a specific date because of terrorist attacks. Unfortunately the e-mail neglected to mention which mall. Even if it was true, we won't be here next Wednesday anyway. According to the men in dresses outside my office building, the world is coming to an end on Sunday. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #23 May 14, 2004 California is a lot more spread out than Japan, especially in the city areas. Most people in California HAVE to drive a car to get to where they need to be. For example, my old job was ten miles from the Irvine metrolink station. My office was directly behind the bus depot. BUT...the busses did not go to the train station! go figure. the only way I could get to work was to drive (although I did carpool). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tink1717 2 #24 May 14, 2004 The short answer is: It's bullshit. This has been floating around the net for a few years now. It seems to resurface anytime the price of gas jumps. Such a thing wouldn't work anyway. Those who boycott on one day have to buy gas the next. Stupid.Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildblue 7 #25 May 14, 2004 QuoteCalifornia is a lot more spread out than Japan, especially in the city areas. Most people in California HAVE to drive a car to get to where they need to be. For example, my old job was ten miles from the Irvine metrolink station. My office was directly behind the bus depot. BUT...the busses did not go to the train station! go figure. the only way I could get to work was to drive (although I did carpool). Ok, then how about this - California uses more gas than the other 49 states combined. CA is more spread out than the rest of the US?it's like incest - you're substituting convenience for quality Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
