Netflix has a bigger P.R. fire burning - and a lot of users hopping mad. Just before Christmas they removed their new releases listings and replaced them with a limited list that only shows titles that are in stock in the warehouse - that only displays 4 titles at a time and requires a mouseclick to see the next 4 - and that includes DVDs released months ago as if they were new releases.

Since Netflix also removed the contact form for emailing customer service, upset users have gradually found their way to the official Netflix Community blog - and left over 900 angry comments. (Well, figure 600 angry comments and 300 trollish/sockpuppet defenses.) http://blog.netflix.com/

Chief among Netflix defenses for this move is that customers don't like having to wait for movies, and the strategy of only listing movies they don't have to wait for is succeeding. They also point out that the Releasing This Week list can still be found if you have the ultra-double-secret URL (not posted anywhere on the netflix.com site of http://www.netflix.com/AllNewReleases?lnkctr=NavAllNewReleases . (The list looks thinner then usual to me. I don't think it is updating properly.)

There's also a petition up at http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?netflix . Only 1000 signatures so far, but word is spreading.

But snopes does NOT bust the rumor. They were unable to determine if it was true or false, but they did find references going back to 1995.

It sure sounds like the sort of thing you'd make up to try and fool gullible stoners into sucking in shit-stink, but at this point there are just suspicions of a hoax, not a conclusion.