Mike, also for the record, I tried to find out whether you started a rumor *unintentionally*.

I see two issues here. First, what is the definition of a rumor. Second, when can we say someone *starts* a rumor, rather than further spreads it.

I asked Craig what he thinks of the hypothetical case I hear my son say something and then spread that rumor on the UT. Who starts the rumor then?

The answer might be that it's spreading rather than starting. The reply to that might be that being the first who spreads it on the UT, is similar to being the one who starts the rumor on the UT.

If I'd hear my son say something like that, and if I'd believe that he got it from many other sources, e.g. from the internet, I'd not assume I'd be the one who started the rumor here. But in other cases I would seek confirmation or else admit I'd be the one who started the rumor (here).

In your case, I'm pretty sure that you assumed that it was an already quite widely spread rumor.


>Peter, for the record, I was not trying to start a rumor. I was told that Calvin has moved to the .NET data group and I believed it. Why wouldn't I believe it with practically everyone else on the VFP team having left either the group or the company?
>
>
>>So, if my son tells me that the president of the US has raped this woman he knows, and I write this down here on the UT, referring to my son as 'a reliable source', then I'm not the one who starts the rumor?
>>
>>>No, I don't think he was. He was just passing on something he heard from a reliable source.
>>>
>>>>Mike Beane. The one you replied to.