In article , Jim Elbrecht wrote:
(Doug Miller) wrote:

In article , David
Nebenzahl wrote:

-snip-

Despite your best efforts. Damned nymshifting troll.

plonk (again).

Whassup? Steve had to replonk Harry & you had to re-plonk David.
Neither one has gone past my filter on name & email. [and I don't
think I have some overly broad filter on as I don't see replies to
anyone whose posts I care about seeing]

Dunno. Might be a problem in my newsreader; same thing happened to me with one
poster in another newsgroup too.

On Jun 22, 6:47*pm, "Steve B" wrote:
"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message

...



(Doug Miller) wrote:

In article , David
Nebenzahl wrote:

-snip-

Despite your best efforts. Damned nymshifting troll.

plonk (again).

Whassup? * Steve had to replonk Harry & you had to re-plonk David.
Neither one has gone past my filter on name & email. [and I don't
think I have some overly broad filter on as I don't see replies to
anyone whose posts I care about seeing]

Jim

For me, I just don't care enough to find out why. *Whenever I see Harry, or
"Cliff" from another bunch of groups, or any of the usual suspects, I just
automatically hit BLOCK SENDER, and my inbox drops by about half of its
content. *I use standard off the rack programs, OE. *Have thought about
changing it lately, but lately, I'm busy just doing life, and my time is
more valuable than to waste it on the likes of trolls.

I still find out what I need to learn here and on other newsgroups, help out
the occasional person, and the trolls keep getting shot off the bridges.

Steve

But not valuable enough to continue posting to this OT thread that the
OP hasn't even responded to since the initial post?

On 6/22/2010 11:55 AM, David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 6/22/2010 2:56 AM The Daring Dufas spake thus:

"Dufas" is a proper name you big silly. Just like "Pennington"
or "Aceveds".

I always wondered about that. (Well, not always; wasn't born wondering
about it.) So it isn't the same as "doofus". Thanks for clearing that up.

Probably pronounced "do-FA", right?



You may pronounce it as you wish, it matters not since I can't
hear you. You should hear the Southern pronunciation for "Renault".

TDD

On 6/22/2010 10:05 AM, Steve B wrote:
wrote in message
...
agreed you areplonked
(how do i do that in thunderbird?)

Thunderbird requires you to include enough text so we know at least what you
are talking about.

HTH

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com watch for the book

A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.


I understand that there is a new add on, a PLONK button along with
sound effects. The sound is like a donkey braying PLONK!

TDD

In article , wrote:

You should hear the Southern pronunciation for "Renault".

Would that be "REN-awlt" or "REE-nawlt" ?

In article ,
David Nebenzahl wrote:

On 6/22/2010 9:48 AM Kyle spake thus:

If you want to talk politics, if you want to trash and insult any
given public figure, regardless of your political leaning, you are
free to do soŠIN THE FRAKKING POLITICS NEWSGROUPS. And those who are
inclined to engage in those heated conversations can do so there.

To be honest, I just think that some political discussions are more
interesting here as opposed to those political groups.

And apparently people like HeyBub, who's waaaay over there on the
opposite side of the aisle from me, enjoy it as well.

You can always choose not to read those threads ...

Sure, you can choose not to read the OT threads. How do you choose not
to read the ON topic threads into which so many here INSIST on
interjecting their own perverted version of politics? The damn
right-wingers who bash Obama and the whole democratic party every god
damn day are even more annoying than your left-winged off topic stuff.

This is a.h.r., for god's sake, let's try to stick with the ****ing
topic from time to time.

YMMV.

"Kyle" wrote in message news:2e079bb0-10ed-4d52-9610-

[snip]

And if a person posts enough OT crap in this group, I'm going to
filter/killfile/ignore you and then there's the possibility I'll miss
out on you making an actual contribution to the group and wouldn't
that be a shame?

Isn't that cutting off your 'noise' to spite your face? If I had kill-filed
a certain person that annoyed the hell out of me I would have missed his
answer to my question that turned out to be the best of many suggestions. I
was shocked when it happened, as I has never seen much of any value from
said poster, but damn if he wasn't spot on with his answer. And his was the
only one like it. That's why I rarely kill-file people unless it's clear
they are absolutely trolls determined to do harm. Even Gollum had a purpose
in the end.

As radical as some opinions are here, I do believe that most posters believe
their opinion is well-founded. Sometimes, with the those who have been
misguided by extremists on both sides, merely walking through the assertions
step by step can actually change someone's opinion. I know that mine have
been changed by persuasive writings. I also know that for every poster
there are at least ten readers who never post but read every word.

I engage in the OT discussions because I think there's a lot polarization in
the world and that only by talking to each other can we reach some sort of
common ground. I can understand the annoyance of those who color inside the
lines and stay on topic, but after 20 years of this, I realize that it's
human nature and there's little anyone can do to change it. I suspect this
thread, for example, will have zero effect on the number of OT posts to the
group.

I've been in newsgroups moderated by total fascists and I think in many
cases, that's worse than tolerating OT excursions that occur. In AHR, there
are clearly people who "live" here 24x7 and who see the group as the town
tavern. That's not a bad thing, but it does lead to a lot of OT discussion
because it is a social meeting place for them. Besides, ten minutes in the
average political newsgroup makes you appreciate how calmly and sanely most
OT'ers are here.

My two cents? Just make sure that OT posts are marked OT so that those who
want to skip them can do so with ease.

--
Bobby G.

On 6/22/2010 9:11 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
In , wrote:

You should hear the Southern pronunciation for "Renault".

Would that be "REN-awlt" or "REE-nawlt" ?

Yep, the last one. ROTFLMAO

TDD

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...
On 6/22/2010 9:48 AM Kyle spake thus:

If you want to talk politics, if you want to trash and insult any
given public figure, regardless of your political leaning, you are
free to do so…IN THE FRAKKING POLITICS NEWSGROUPS. And those who are
inclined to engage in those heated conversations can do so there.

To be honest, I just think that some political discussions are more
interesting here as opposed to those political groups.

Amen. I tried and gave up the political groups because they just vomit up
the party line without thought or reachability. They don't read anything
except trigger words that make them puke up the canned responses that are so
predictable, boring and don't do anything to create a real dialog. As long
as the are clearly marked OT I don't see what the big deal is. I do dislike
threads that start out on topic and then drift into political polemics.
That's not fair to the people who have no interest in the OT stuff. I mean,
how hard is it to go to the Subject line and type the letters OT?

--
Bobby G.

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article ,
David Nebenzahl wrote:

On 6/22/2010 9:48 AM Kyle spake thus:

If you want to talk politics, if you want to trash and insult any
given public figure, regardless of your political leaning, you are
free to do soSIN THE FRAKKING POLITICS NEWSGROUPS. And those who are
inclined to engage in those heated conversations can do so there.

To be honest, I just think that some political discussions are more
interesting here as opposed to those political groups.

And apparently people like HeyBub, who's waaaay over there on the
opposite side of the aisle from me, enjoy it as well.

You can always choose not to read those threads ...

Sure, you can choose not to read the OT threads. How do you choose not
to read the ON topic threads into which so many here INSIST on
interjecting their own perverted version of politics? The damn
right-wingers who bash Obama and the whole democratic party every god
damn day are even more annoying than your left-winged off topic stuff.

This is a.h.r., for god's sake, let's try to stick with the ****ing
topic from time to time.

YMMV.

That was hilarious. Thank you.

Steve

"Ron" wrote in message
...
On Jun 22, 6:47 pm, "Steve B" wrote:
"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message

...



(Doug Miller) wrote:

In article , David
Nebenzahl wrote:

-snip-

Despite your best efforts. Damned nymshifting troll.

plonk (again).

Whassup? Steve had to replonk Harry & you had to re-plonk David.
Neither one has gone past my filter on name & email. [and I don't
think I have some overly broad filter on as I don't see replies to
anyone whose posts I care about seeing]

Jim

For me, I just don't care enough to find out why. Whenever I see Harry, or
"Cliff" from another bunch of groups, or any of the usual suspects, I just
automatically hit BLOCK SENDER, and my inbox drops by about half of its
content. I use standard off the rack programs, OE. Have thought about
changing it lately, but lately, I'm busy just doing life, and my time is
more valuable than to waste it on the likes of trolls.

I still find out what I need to learn here and on other newsgroups, help
out
the occasional person, and the trolls keep getting shot off the bridges.

Steve

But not valuable enough to continue posting to this OT thread that the
OP hasn't even responded to since the initial post?

pot..........kettle...............

On Jun 23, 12:46*am, "Steve B" wrote:
"Ron" wrote in message

...
On Jun 22, 6:47 pm, "Steve B" wrote:



"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message

.. .

(Doug Miller) wrote:

In article , David
Nebenzahl wrote:

-snip-

Despite your best efforts. Damned nymshifting troll.

plonk (again).

Whassup? Steve had to replonk Harry & you had to re-plonk David.
Neither one has gone past my filter on name & email. [and I don't
think I have some overly broad filter on as I don't see replies to
anyone whose posts I care about seeing]

Jim

For me, I just don't care enough to find out why. Whenever I see Harry, or
"Cliff" from another bunch of groups, or any of the usual suspects, I just
automatically hit BLOCK SENDER, and my inbox drops by about half of its
content. I use standard off the rack programs, OE. Have thought about
changing it lately, but lately, I'm busy just doing life, and my time is
more valuable than to waste it on the likes of trolls.

I still find out what I need to learn here and on other newsgroups, help
out
the occasional person, and the trolls keep getting shot off the bridges..

Steve

But not valuable enough to continue posting to this OT thread that the
OP hasn't even responded to since the initial post?

pot..........kettle...............

Hook....line...and... sinker.

On 6/22/2010 11:37 PM, The Daring Dufas wrote:
On 6/22/2010 9:11 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
In ,
wrote:

You should hear the Southern pronunciation for "Renault".

Would that be "REN-awlt" or "REE-nawlt" ?

Yep, the last one. ROTFLMAO

TDD

The last one was how i grew up hearing it.

--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email

On 6/23/2010 5:36 AM, Steve Barker wrote:
On 6/22/2010 11:37 PM, The Daring Dufas wrote:
On 6/22/2010 9:11 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
In ,
wrote:

You should hear the Southern pronunciation for "Renault".

Would that be "REN-awlt" or "REE-nawlt" ?

Yep, the last one. ROTFLMAO

TDD

The last one was how i grew up hearing it.


Did You grow up in The Southeast? I speak several American dialects
including Hillbonics, Yankbonics and of course Ebonics. I have to be
able to understand a wide variety of languages in order to take care
of my business dealings with people. I'm getting pretty good at the
job of communicating with people who's English is colored by their
native tongue of Urdu or Hindi. Understanding those folks is very
important for the purposes of tech support concerning data and telecom
systems. 8-)

TDD

"Ron" wrote in message
...
On Jun 23, 12:46 am, "Steve B" wrote:
"Ron" wrote in message

...
On Jun 22, 6:47 pm, "Steve B" wrote:



"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message

.. .

(Doug Miller) wrote:

In article , David
Nebenzahl wrote:

-snip-

Despite your best efforts. Damned nymshifting troll.

plonk (again).

Whassup? Steve had to replonk Harry & you had to re-plonk David.
Neither one has gone past my filter on name & email. [and I don't
think I have some overly broad filter on as I don't see replies to
anyone whose posts I care about seeing]

Jim

For me, I just don't care enough to find out why. Whenever I see Harry,
or
"Cliff" from another bunch of groups, or any of the usual suspects, I
just
automatically hit BLOCK SENDER, and my inbox drops by about half of its
content. I use standard off the rack programs, OE. Have thought about
changing it lately, but lately, I'm busy just doing life, and my time is
more valuable than to waste it on the likes of trolls.

I still find out what I need to learn here and on other newsgroups, help
out
the occasional person, and the trolls keep getting shot off the bridges.

Steve

But not valuable enough to continue posting to this OT thread that the
OP hasn't even responded to since the initial post?

pot..........kettle...............

Hook....line...and... sinker.

bink .....................

notbob wrote:
On 2010-06-21, Metspitzer wrote:

The solution has always been kill filters.

....and common sense, which seems to becoming less common at an ever
increasing pace.

I concur with both of these statements. I still love usenet though, I just
wish people would not bring their personal divisive issues into them (unless
those divise issues are on-point with the group, of course).

Especially the political bickering.

Jon

h wrote:
"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...


Disagree. When trolls are ignored, they go away quickly. They will
not hang
around in places where nobody feeds them. So while the problem you
describe is
real, it's very short-lived.

I don't know about that. I just KF anyone who responds to the
particularly annoying trolls. I just don't want to see it at all.

If that was the case, I would have just KF'd you.

Jon

Smitty Two wrote:

Sure, you can choose not to read the OT threads. How do you choose not
to read the ON topic threads into which so many here INSIST on
interjecting their own perverted version of politics? The damn
right-wingers who bash Obama and the whole democratic party every god
damn day are even more annoying than your left-winged off topic stuff.

It was just annoying when the other side was bickering about the last
administration. The overwhelming majority of idiots in my bit bucket are
there due to political whining, *regardless* of party affiliation.

Jon

Jon Danniken wrote:
notbob wrote:
On 2010-06-21, Metspitzer wrote:

The solution has always been kill filters.
....and common sense, which seems to becoming less common at an ever
increasing pace.

I concur with both of these statements. I still love usenet though, I just
wish people would not bring their personal divisive issues into them (unless
those divise issues are on-point with the group, of course).

Especially the political bickering.

Jon



I'm guilty of a good deal of politicking on the ng, and will avoid more
unless it is a thread everyone joins in with intelligent discussion.
The OP made a good point, as I have seen a formerly great ng disappear
entirely after being taken over by crazy trolls in one narrow interest
topic. AHR has been good, but the trolling has increased dramatically
in just the past couple of months. Answering the main troll is foolish,
and does diminish enjoyment for me. I use Thunderbird for email and
news reader and haven't found a way to filter ng messages. I just
scroll past the usual trollers (most of the time) and look for something
of interest. There is a great deal of good advice, save those who get
hostile when a newbie apparently hasn't Googled first )

"Jon Danniken" wrote in message
news:hvtrs8short-lived.

I don't know about that. I just KF anyone who responds to the
particularly annoying trolls. I just don't want to see it at all.

If that was the case, I would have just KF'd you.


Huh? You've killfiled Doug?

On Jun 23, 5:37*am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
On 6/22/2010 9:11 PM, Doug Miller wrote:

In , wrote:

You should hear the Southern pronunciation for "Renault".

Would that be "REN-awlt" or "REE-nawlt" ?

Yep, the last one. *ROTFLMAO

TDD

The Frog way (which must be correct) is Ren-aw.

On Jun 23, 5:40*am, "Robert Green" wrote:
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message

.com...

On 6/22/2010 9:48 AM Kyle spake thus:

If you want to talk politics, if you want to trash and insult any
given public figure, regardless of your political leaning, you are
free to do so…IN THE FRAKKING POLITICS NEWSGROUPS. And those who are
inclined to engage in those heated conversations can do so there.

To be honest, I just think that some political discussions are more
interesting here as opposed to those political groups.

Amen. *I tried and gave up the political groups because they just vomit up
the party line without thought or reachability. *They don't read anything
except trigger words that make them puke up the canned responses that are so
predictable, boring and don't do anything to create a real dialog. *As long
as the are clearly marked OT I don't see what the big deal is. *I do dislike
threads that start out on topic and then drift into political polemics.
That's not fair to the people who have no interest in the OT stuff. *I mean,
how hard is it to go to the Subject line and type the letters OT?

--
Bobby G.

Most threads that go on fo a while drift. Not always into politics
but stuff like cars, guns and sex. Quite often there are two or three
parallel discussions going on in one thread.

"harry" wrote in message
...
On Jun 23, 5:40 am, "Robert Green" wrote:
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message

.com...

On 6/22/2010 9:48 AM Kyle spake thus:

If you want to talk politics, if you want to trash and insult any
given public figure, regardless of your political leaning, you are
free to do so…IN THE FRAKKING POLITICS NEWSGROUPS. And those who are
inclined to engage in those heated conversations can do so there.

To be honest, I just think that some political discussions are more
interesting here as opposed to those political groups.

Amen. I tried and gave up the political groups because they just vomit up
the party line without thought or reachability. They don't read anything
except trigger words that make them puke up the canned responses that are
so
predictable, boring and don't do anything to create a real dialog. As long
as the are clearly marked OT I don't see what the big deal is. I do
dislike
threads that start out on topic and then drift into political polemics.
That's not fair to the people who have no interest in the OT stuff. I
mean,
how hard is it to go to the Subject line and type the letters OT?

--
Bobby G.

Most threads that go on fo a while drift. Not always into politics
but stuff like cars, guns and sex. Quite often there are two or three
parallel discussions going on in one thread.

Agreed. Thread drift is a part of Usenet and always has been. Unless the
groups are moderated, I don't see much that can be done to prevent it. I
must admit, when it's MY question I get a little peeved when instead of
getting suggestions, I get political or entertainment news, but I usually
just don't respond to the posts that are irrelevant to the question I asked.
I also realize that keeping the thread alive, even though the posts drift,
presents more opportunities for me to get an answer to my original question.

--
Bobby G.

On 6/23/2010 4:00 PM, harry wrote:
On Jun 23, 5:37 am, The Daring
wrote:
On 6/22/2010 9:11 PM, Doug Miller wrote:

In , wrote:

You should hear the Southern pronunciation for "Renault".

Would that be "REN-awlt" or "REE-nawlt" ?

Yep, the last one. ROTFLMAO

TDD

The Frog way (which must be correct) is Ren-aw.

It always cracked me up when some backwoods mechanic got hold
of a little Renault and snapped off a head bolt or something
else important because he was used to working on real American
iron like a Flathead Ford or IH tractor; something that requires
a cheater bar attached to a torque wrench to get a bolt tight enough.
Their comments were usually along the lines of, "That little thang
ain't worf a dam, didge ya see how easy it busted?" The guys
weren't too familiar with automobiles that tipped the scales at
only 1,7030lbs. ;-)

TDD

"Robert Green" wrote in message
...
"harry" wrote in message
...
On Jun 23, 5:40 am, "Robert Green" wrote:
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message

.com...

On 6/22/2010 9:48 AM Kyle spake thus:

If you want to talk politics, if you want to trash and insult any
given public figure, regardless of your political leaning, you are
free to do so.IN THE FRAKKING POLITICS NEWSGROUPS. And those who are
inclined to engage in those heated conversations can do so there.

To be honest, I just think that some political discussions are more
interesting here as opposed to those political groups.

Amen. I tried and gave up the political groups because they just vomit up
the party line without thought or reachability. They don't read anything
except trigger words that make them puke up the canned responses that are
so
predictable, boring and don't do anything to create a real dialog. As
long
as the are clearly marked OT I don't see what the big deal is. I do
dislike
threads that start out on topic and then drift into political polemics.
That's not fair to the people who have no interest in the OT stuff. I
mean,
how hard is it to go to the Subject line and type the letters OT?

--
Bobby G.

Most threads that go on fo a while drift. Not always into politics
but stuff like cars, guns and sex. Quite often there are two or three
parallel discussions going on in one thread.

Agreed. Thread drift is a part of Usenet and always has been. Unless the
groups are moderated, I don't see much that can be done to prevent it. I
must admit, when it's MY question I get a little peeved when instead of
getting suggestions, I get political or entertainment news, but I usually
just don't respond to the posts that are irrelevant to the question I
asked.
I also realize that keeping the thread alive, even though the posts drift,
presents more opportunities for me to get an answer to my original
question.

"Drift" is one thing. The monkey, speed, or moron, etc. is another. There
are hundreds of idiots in my KF, and its only getting bigger. However,
"drift" is normal.

On Jun 24, 4:49*am, "Robert Green" wrote:
"harry" wrote in message

...
On Jun 23, 5:40 am, "Robert Green" wrote:





"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message

s.com...

On 6/22/2010 9:48 AM Kyle spake thus:

If you want to talk politics, if you want to trash and insult any
given public figure, regardless of your political leaning, you are
free to do so IN THE FRAKKING POLITICS NEWSGROUPS. And those who are
inclined to engage in those heated conversations can do so there.

To be honest, I just think that some political discussions are more
interesting here as opposed to those political groups.

Amen. I tried and gave up the political groups because they just vomit up
the party line without thought or reachability. They don't read anything
except trigger words that make them puke up the canned responses that are
so
predictable, boring and don't do anything to create a real dialog. As long
as the are clearly marked OT I don't see what the big deal is. I do
dislike
threads that start out on topic and then drift into political polemics.
That's not fair to the people who have no interest in the OT stuff. I
mean,
how hard is it to go to the Subject line and type the letters OT?

--
Bobby G.

Most threads that go on fo a while drift. *Not always into politics
but stuff like cars, guns and sex. *Quite often there are two or three
parallel discussions going on in one thread.

Agreed. *Thread drift is a part of Usenet and always has been. *Unless the
groups are moderated, I don't see much that can be done to prevent it. *I
must admit, when it's MY question I get a little peeved when instead of
getting suggestions, I get political or entertainment news, but I usually
just don't respond to the posts that are irrelevant to the question I asked.
I also realize that keeping the thread alive, even though the posts drift,
presents more opportunities for me to get an answer to my original question.

--
Bobby G.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

This thread itself is "OT". Anyone worried about that?

On Jun 23, 12:35*am, "Robert Green"
wrote:

Even Gollum had a purpose in the end.

Excellent point, and I thank you for reminding me not to be so
absolutist.

(And once again, Tolkien teaches me a life lesson using Gollum…)

"harry" wrote in message news:37874e2e-e856-49d2-b0da-

stuff snipped

This thread itself is "OT". Anyone worried about that?

I added the OT to the subject when I jumped in, but it didn't stick for more
than two messages. It's clearly up to the originator to get the thread
subject heading appropriately marked, which didn't happen in this case, as
you've noticed.

--
Bobby G.

"Kyle" wrote in message
...
On Jun 23, 12:35 am, "Robert Green"
wrote:

Even Gollum had a purpose in the end.

Excellent point, and I thank you for reminding me not to be so
absolutist.

(And once again, Tolkien teaches me a life lesson using Gollum…)

Now we have to ask, (well, I do) - what was the first time?

--
Bobby G.

"Harlan Messinger" wrote in message

stuff snipped

Kill filters have never been a solution past a certain point, when
people first arriving for legitimate purposes see a newsgroup that's 95%
garbage and turn around on their heels, leaving the legitimate usership
of the newsgroup a closed one that dwindles through natural attrition
until it is no more.

Good analysis. It's the way I've seen many a newsgroup fail. Kill-filing
often leaves the worst offenders around to great new members which never
seemed to be a good idea. 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."

Similarly, I don't see plonkers as contributing very much to making any
group a better place to be. Every time I see a plonk I think of a little
girl in pigtails, hands on hips, saying "You can't play with my dollies
anymore because I don't like you. Nah, nah!" or even worse as Tweety Bird
"Ooh, ooh, you hurt my wittle eyes!" Mostly it's an attempt to portray
oneself as a "power" in the group with the right to exclude members. The
only problem is - the plonkees are still there after plonking so it rarely
had any positive effect. It's just a public announcement of a newly formed
hostility towards another poster whom they've adjudged (often quite wrongly)
a troll. In fact, I rather think many trolls consider their accumulated
plonks as indicators of their success at disruption.

I wish I had a nickel for every plonker who ends up arguing with his plonkee
shortly after the plonking occurs. But, hell, it's a free country and
people are free to project any image of themselves that they want to the
public at large. I just don't see the point of wanted to be seen as an
angry Pippi Longstocking or a canary with a lisp. Doesn't seem to be the
image of power that a rational person would seek.

Undoubtedly someone will plonk me for expressing this view, to which I say
"I've been plonked by far better people than YOU!"

--
Bobby G.

"Ivan" wrote in message
...
It's a pity, in a way, that responding to OT topics is so
destructive. Yes, there are groups where these political postings
would be welcome, but not many neutral ones (AFAIK) where there's a
free exchange of views. Too many political chatrooms and such have a
definite political slant: posting to them with a different point of
view invites flaming; posting with the same slant is not just
preaching to the choir but the beginning of a transformation from
discussion group to echo chamber, the mindless parroting of slogans
and sound bites, and demonization of the opposition.

You sound like a very bright guy, Ivan. That was a very good capsule
summary of what's been happening to Usenet lately. Indirectly I believe
it's also why OT threads continue to evolve here and why it may not be such
a bad thing.

I've never seen a group completely ban OT posts without a moderator and
those groups are just as troubled in their own way. It's unstoppable human
nature to want to discuss things like the big oil spill among people whose
opinions on home repair you've come to know and respect. How hard is it to
add OT to the subject line or filter on it with your newsreader or you index
finger? Not very.

As I've said elsewhere, the OT topics parallel the kind of discussions that
might take place if a bunch of us were working together on a home
improvement project. Not very harmful, at least compared to whacking on
newbies for not following the rules that are not posted anywhere and not
even agreed upon to BE rules.

--
Bobby G.

"The Daring Dufas" wrote in message
news:hvpevc$gm0

stuff snipped

I reserve a killfile for only the most horribly obnoxious and
foul posters. I haven't really come across anyone like that in
this group.

I believe I've only KF'ed only two, which is remarkable for a group this
size. Most people really do behave themselves here, and I've seen nothing
like what happens in groups that are the victims of deliberately destuctive
acts. A little around the edges, maybe, but well within tolerance.
Hopefully it can stay that way, especially if OT'ers can remember to show a
little consideration by marking their threads OT.

A thread can easily be killed by pressing K in my
newsreader which is Thunderbird and I will do that when some
idiot decides to advertise gold watches, etc. Most OT threads
will eventually fade unless it's kept going by jousting trolls.

Or, like the BP spill, until the problem is solved or fades from view.

It's easier to kill a thread without a second thought than to
configure a killfile. Perhaps more folks should try that instead.

Less panty bunching and more pressing "Next" goes a long way towards keeping
the peace.

--
Bobby G.

On 6/25/2010 6:43 PM, Robert Green wrote:
"The Daring wrote in message
news:hvpevc$gm0

stuff snipped

I reserve a killfile for only the most horribly obnoxious and
foul posters. I haven't really come across anyone like that in
this group.

I believe I've only KF'ed only two, which is remarkable for a group this
size. Most people really do behave themselves here, and I've seen nothing
like what happens in groups that are the victims of deliberately destuctive
acts. A little around the edges, maybe, but well within tolerance.
Hopefully it can stay that way, especially if OT'ers can remember to show a
little consideration by marking their threads OT.

A thread can easily be killed by pressing K in my
newsreader which is Thunderbird and I will do that when some
idiot decides to advertise gold watches, etc. Most OT threads
will eventually fade unless it's kept going by jousting trolls.

Or, like the BP spill, until the problem is solved or fades from view.

It's easier to kill a thread without a second thought than to
configure a killfile. Perhaps more folks should try that instead.

Less panty bunching and more pressing "Next" goes a long way towards keeping
the peace.

--
Bobby G.



I think there is only one person/creature in my killfile and he/she/it
is not posting in alt.home.repair. It's so easy to skip a thread with
Thunderbird by pressing "R" which marks the thread read without wiping
it out by pressing "K". There are threads I may not be interested in at
a particular time but someone who has a good head on their shoulders
may post something to the thread and I might want to read it. There is
so much good information posted to this group by some wonderful folks
who know what they're talking about. A famous man once said, "Experience
is a fool's best teacher." If I read about what some fool
has done to cause damage to whatever, I'm going to pay attention and
not repeat his or her mistake. I get a lot of links from this group.

TDD

"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.

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

"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...
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."

I view public plonking as polite. You're telling the plonkee not to waste
his or her time replying to you or waiting for a response from you.

In article ,
"h" wrote:

"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...
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."

I view public plonking as polite. You're telling the plonkee not to waste
his or her time replying to you or waiting for a response from you.

I still don't see the point. If you are still at the polite stage,
then why plonk?

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

"The Daring Dufas" wrote
Robert Green wrote:

Less panty bunching and more pressing "Next" goes a long way towards
keeping
the peace.

I think there is only one person/creature in my killfile and he/she/it is
not posting in alt.home.repair.

Grin, only 2 in mine that aren't those silly 'ladies watches' or whatever
spam.

it out by pressing "K". There are threads I may not be interested in at
a particular time but someone who has a good head on their shoulders
may post something to the thread and I might want to read it. There is
so much good information posted to this group by some wonderful folks
who know what they're talking about. A famous man once said, "Experience
is a fool's best teacher."

Yup! I find that unless I ask something that no one has any experience with
(recently asked on Duro Shed brands after reading reviews), I get lots of
good feedback. Just good folks here overall.

In article ,
Kurt Ullman wrote:

In article ,
"h" wrote:

"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...
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."

I view public plonking as polite. You're telling the plonkee not to waste
his or her time replying to you or waiting for a response from you.

I still don't see the point. If you are still at the polite stage,
then why plonk?

H plonks people for disagreeing with her, even if they do so politely.
The laminate kitchen floor thread was a perfect example. I think she
plonked at least 6 of us for having the gall to suggest that laminate
was an acceptable floor in a kitchen.

On 6/26/2010 12:01 PM, cshenk wrote:
"The Daring Dufas" wrote
Robert Green wrote:

Less panty bunching and more pressing "Next" goes a long way towards
keeping
the peace.

I think there is only one person/creature in my killfile and he/she/it
is not posting in alt.home.repair.

Grin, only 2 in mine that aren't those silly 'ladies watches' or
whatever spam.

it out by pressing "K". There are threads I may not be interested in at
a particular time but someone who has a good head on their shoulders
may post something to the thread and I might want to read it. There is
so much good information posted to this group by some wonderful folks
who know what they're talking about. A famous man once said,
"Experience is a fool's best teacher."

Yup! I find that unless I ask something that no one has any experience
with (recently asked on Duro Shed brands after reading reviews), I get
lots of good feedback. Just good folks here overall.



Sometimes I can't help myself when someone leaves themselves wide open
with a post that they haven't thought through. I have to respond with
something weird or suggestive but I'm not going to be ugly or foul.
You don't have to be smutty to be funny. It's kind of like conversations
that go on at every supply house counter when you get a bunch of
preverts [sic] together. *snicker*

TDD