21st Challenge No. 28

Forward, march! Join the dance of the eternally circulating e-mail.

By Charlie Varon and Jim Rosenau

Nov 6, 1999 | Could the genius who devised the "forward" button have possibly fathomed the volume of e-mail that would result? Jokes, urban legends, recipes, petitions, conspiracy theories, unintentionally funny things allegedly written by schoolchildren -- they ricochet around the Net, and our lives are all enriched.

Or are they?

We invite readers to spoof this cybercultural phenomenon. With a subject line (up to seven words) and a message (up to 50 words), create the beginnings of an Ultimate E-mail Forward. Feel free to combine elements of traditional forwards (e.g.: inspirational human story plus virus warning), or to cook up something altogether new.

R U L E S

Send your submissions via e-mail only to salon21st@salon.com. Please include your full name and an accurate e-mail address so we can contact you if you're a winner. By submitting your entry you give Salon Technology permission to publish it. Deadline for entries is Nov. 15, 1999.

P R I Z E S

The winning response will receive a copy of Salon Technology senior correspondent Andrew Leonard's book, "Bots: The Origin of New Species."

In two weeks we'll publish a winner and some selected entries -- then start over a couple weeks after that with a whole new challenge.

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