Ok, this is a vent/rant!
I post articles on my projects. Sort of a 'look at me' and partly a 'look what can be done!'
I expect some amount of "I don't get it?" or "I did it differently!"
What I was not expecting was spam. Keyword spam, on Instructables.
There is the bit of text going around, faithfully cut-n-pasted over the years, that makes the statement "All solder contains lead. All lead will leach out in flowing water. Hot water carries 10,000 times more lead that cold water." I am paraphrasing, but this text goes on at length with why to 'run your taps' before drinking water from copper pipes.
The source of this text? A Readers Digest article from the 1980's.
Sweat-soldered copper pipe was a 'new thing' back then, and the debate over leaded vs. unleaded solder had just gotten started.
How do I know about the source of this 'article'?
It is making the rounds when the keywords 'solder' or 'soldering' are used on Instructables.
I saw it 4 years ago cropping up on Craft-Distilling boards. Any post with the word 'solder' in it got Spammed by this 'warning'.
I saw it over 10 years ago when I used to post articles about competitive target shooting. 'Lead Warning' post that had nothing to do with air-born lead, everything to do with plumbing. Again, 'lead', 'bullet' or 'shot' would get the same Spam-bot action.
I saw the Original around 20 years ago when I was hanging out in my Dentists office. Yeah, old copy of Readers Digest.
Why does this upset me so much?
Simple: People who do not know are posting information that they do not understand to other people who cannot tell the difference between what is factual and what is not. And these idiots get to feel good about 'posting useful information'.
And the name of the board is "Instructables". Implies that you are getting instructions, right?
Apparently, Johnny Keyclick knows more that people who are actually doing the work.
Well, I say let Johnny keep his little world where everything is 'just so'.
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