Also known as the grape vine, the RumourMill occurs when too many rumours are flying around. Rumours by themselves aren't devastating(*), but if the majority of information is speculative, often in this overly dramatic, negative, cynical way, things are going badly. A solid injection of real information is needed. Contrast FairProcess.

(*) From L. Hirschhorn "Managing Rumours" in L. Hirschhorn (ed.), ''Cutting Back; Redevelopment in Human and Community Services'' ISBN 0875895689 pp. 49-52, the evidence shows that 75 percent of rumours are accurate. Moreover, rumours often serve to

# Structure and reduce anxiety
# Make sense of limited or fragmented information
# Serve as a vehicle to organize group members or outsiders into coalitions
# Signal a sender's status or power (i.e. I'm inside the loop, whilst you are not)

and arise in situations that

* are important to us,
* are ambiguous, or
* cause anxiety

Rumours serve to show what people care about, even though only about 10% of people actively propogate them.

''The above adapted from Organization Behaviour--Concepts, Controversies, Applications (2nd Canadian ed.) by Robbins and Langton, pp. 284-5.'' ISBN 0138574596, new edition ISBN 0130166804

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See also PhonyFlood