In article ,
"h" wrote:

"Robert Green" wrote in message
...
Plonking seems to be a power trip wherein a
person tries to project an authority to make judgements about who can
belong
to the "in" crowd. It seems to be equal parts: "Look at how bad and weak
YOU are and how good and powerful I am."

I don't think of it that way at all. I plonk all the time, simply because I
just don't want to hear from a particular person anymore. I just don't have
time to filter out the crap. I will also plonk people who respond to the
truly obnoxious like speed and the monkey. I just don't want to see it.

I think PUBLIC plonking is power trip. If I just plonk somebody
because he or she doesn't interest me or has proved annoying (I have a
couple plonked because every response was largely cuss words or
suggesting that I do somethings that appears (at least at my age) to be
anatomically impossible), then it is just me deciding that I don't want
to socialize with them. If I found them next to me at a bar, I would
move down a couple of seats. Same idea.
Public plonking, though is saying pretty much what Robert suggests.
A little bit of a power trip saying "I don't like you, so no one else
should, either."
The other annoying thing is when people publicly leave a news group
in a Huff (r).

--
I want to find a voracious, small-minded predator
and name it after the IRS.
Robert Bakker, paleontologist