It's that time of year. New computer owners are plugging in their shiny new machines, signing onto an Internet service provider, and discovering the wonders of the Web and e-mail. Soon many of them will fall for a net hoax or urban legend and pass it along to everyone on their brand new e-mail list.

My e-mail box frequently overflows since I'm coeditor of two weekly e-zines and am active in several online genealogical endeavors. And my e-mail box frequently contains urgent messages. However, I've learned to go "ho-hum" and hit the delete button as soon as I recognize an "urgent" urban legend or recycled net hoax making the circuit again.

Friends and colleagues mean well, but after seeing the fifth or sixth "Giant Virus Eating Hard Drives" message, it gets frustrating. However, there is something in human nature that makes us forward these stories along to our friends and family.

Some of these hoaxes are clever, and many urban legends sound plausible. They usually are supposed to have happened to someone's relative or friend, which gives them an air of credibility. Of course, some people refuse to believe that they are guilty of passing along myths and will argue with you, if you have the time, that THIS story is really true. None of us likes to admit we've been hoodwinked.

One correspondent was so sure he was right that he forwarded me a copy of the latest "bulletin" he had found on the Web. It was dated 1996, and he had missed the part about the story being a hoax.

To do your share in cutting down the Internet congestion, the next time you receive a "warning" or "alert" message or someone asks you to pass a message along, stop and think about it -- especially if you are brand new to the Internet. Before you hit that FORWARD button, take the time to check out the latest in urban legends and folklore by visiting this website: http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/blhoax.htm

Some of the hoaxes/urban legends making the rounds again on the Net are:

--Neiman-Marcus (Mrs. Fields) Cookie Recipe

--Deadly Rat Urine on Soda Pop Cans

--Dirty Needles in Pay Phone Coin Slots

--FCC and Per-minute Access Charges

--Headlight Flashing/Gang Initiation (this one has been around since 1994)

--Bud Frogs Screen Saver Warning

--Prehistoric Barbie

--Save a dying child (various names and diseases)

Find the DELETE key and learn to use it, and thank you for not forwarding any of these stories to me.

Visit Cyndi's List at http://www.cyndislist.com often to keep up-to-date on genealogical and Internet happenings. Be sure to check out the links from her topic entitled "Internet Stuff You Need to Know."

Myra Vanderpool Gormley is coeditor of RootsWeb Review, at: http://www.rootsweb.com/TILDEreview/ and Missing Links, at: http://www.rootsweb.com/TILDEmlnews/

(c) 1998, Los Angeles Times Syndicate