A WORDS-L MOMENT? Sometimes the blogosphere looks like the new home of listservers. Someday I might elaborate on the parallels between the Buffy blogburst and the Outbreak outbreak (both involve parts of the pop culture that I'm not familiar with.) Another recent thread has involved Nigerian bank frauds. The latest riposte seeks sympathy for the family of a high U.S. government official, and a poster on the O trains discussion list has offered the following:

My Dear Mutombo: (Tabitta, Akahra, etc)

I am very interested in your project as I truly believe you have the
best interests of your countrymen at heart.

Send $100,000 immediately as a show of good faith and, trust me, I will
work with you to help you and your bereaving family.

BTW, send $500,000 and I will send you a complete O Scale Electric
Train, choice of two roadnames.

$10,000,000 will buy you a complete shortline railroad with an
extremely profitable Gibium mining operation.

Be assured that I trust you and I await your certified cheque. Some of
my closest relatives have spent time in your country and I hope some day you will spend time in mine.

It is important that you keep this confidential and never, never divulge this to any member of the Otrains Mailing List
as one or two of the members might be skeptical about your (and my) honorable intentions.

What's the Words-L moment? Years ago some programmers wrote a program called "Virupaksha Mokshagundam" that faked posts by someone using the subcontinental version of English. I sometimes wonder if the Nigerian email spammers aren't using something similar.