Just testing

Newsgroups: alt.memetics
From: ashton@netcom.com (shub)
Subject: !meme
Date: Sat, 7 Jan 1995 19:32:50 GMT

"If you see this message, please delete it."

Why is

"Just testing"

so damn virulent?

From: nv91-asa@lurkers.nada.kth.se (Anders Sandberg)
Date: 09 Jan 1995 14:35:38 GMT

Actually, "Testing" isn't a real meme. A lot of people are uncertain if
their systems work, so its natural for them to try to test them. But
the "Just testing" message has been seen by so many, that many use it
as a testing message, and thus it spreads. 

Just testing my theory.

From: whuang@cco.caltech.edu (Wei-Hwa Huang)
Date: 10 Jan 1995 18:52:10 GMT

So perhaps "The phrase 'Just testing' must be used whenever testing" is
a meme?

From: nv91-asa@hemul.nada.kth.se (Anders Sandberg)
Date: 11 Jan 1995 12:42:34 GMT

whuang@cco.caltech.edu (Wei-Hwa Huang) wrote:
>
>So perhaps "The phrase 'Just testing' must be used whenever testing" is
>a meme?

Exactly! Or rather, the phrase above is just a way of transmitting the
meme in a readable form. In its "natural form" its just the message
"Just Testing" together with the normal responses humans have to it
(a bit like certain viruses which doesn't code for all the enzymes
they need, but use their host's enzymes instead). 

Many memes have their most important parts in non-verbal form.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Anders Sandberg			 	  	     Towards Ascension!
nv91-asa@hemul.nada.kth.se   http://www.nada.kth.se/~nv91-asa/main.html
GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y

From: Roger Hayes 
Newsgroups: alt.memetics
Subject: test,please ignore
Date: 5 May 1995 08:20:16 GMT

just a test