faxlore

A Canon FAX-L240 fax machine. Faxlore is spread through such devices.

fax +‎ lore.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfækslɔː/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfækslɔɹ/, /-loʊɹ/
• Hyphenation: fax‧lore

faxlore (uncountable)

1. A kind of folklore comprising humorous material and urban legends that are shared by fax machine.
   • 1996, Gail de Vos, “Science, Technology, and the Contemporary Legend”, in Tales, Rumors, and Gossip: Exploring Contemporary Folk Literature in Grades 7–12, Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, Greenwood Publishing Group, →ISBN, part III, page 120:

     Both Xeroxlore and faxlore have an increasing emphasis of visual material: / [It may be] a characteristic of both the increasingly visual sophistication of youth in our society and the capacities of the fax machine which sends images rather than alphanumeric messages; […]

   • 2010, Jamie Frater, “Food and Drink”, in Lauren Harrison, editor, Listverse.com’s Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists: Fascinating Facts and Shocking Trivia on Movies, Music, Crime, Celebrities, History and More, Berkeley, Calif.: Ulysses Press, →ISBN, pages 147–148:

     The origins of the [cabbage soup] diet are unknown, bu it gained popularity by word of "faxlore" in the 1980s because it spread virally through people sharing it via fax machines.

   • 2016, “Xeroxlore”, in Christopher R. Fee and Jeffrey B. Webb, editors, American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore, volume III (Q–Z), Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 1073:

     Xeroxlore, photocopylore, faxlore, folklore by facsimile, office graffiti, or formerly typescript broadsides refer to materials circulated through fax machines, Xerox machines, or other photocopiers—usually within a workspace.

   • 2015, [Robert Durham], “Modern Folklore”, in Modern Folklore, [s.l.: CreateSpace Independent Publishing], →ISBN, page 128:

     Faxlore is a sort of folklore: humorous texts, folk poetry, folk art, and urban legends that are circulated, not by word of mouth, but by fax machine. […] Some faxlore is relatively harmless. Cartoons and jokes often circulate as faxlore; the poor graphic quality becoming worse with each new person who resends the joke to the next recipient.

• copylore
• photocopylore
• xeroxlore

• faxlore on Wikipedia.Wikipedia