This &quot;threat&quot; was made in 1996 (not 2004 as some other commenters are noting—the _thread_ is from 2004). This is a fascinating view into how things have changed between then and now. Honestly, in 1996 you could make a threat like this and a vast _vast_ majority of recipients would recognize that you weren&#x27;t being serious. It&#x27;s a little sad that we&#x27;ve lost so much innocence on the web since then.