Moderator of this group

Hello,

Can anyone do something about the smut on here? I thought this was a camera
group.

Thanks.

Kevin

 

It used to be even more than that, but we've been having too much fun lately

 

Can anyone do something about the smut on here? I thought this was a

Sorry but there is no moderator (nor is there in most newsgroups). And the
system is decentralized with no central control point. Beyond some limited
control exerted by the administrators of the various newsservers as to
which new newsgroups to create there's really not much in the way of
governance. It means there's no censorship but it also leads to lots of
advertising spam.

 

Whoever is sending all that stuff has some serious mental problems and
needs to get a life.

 

Which is why USENET is ultimately doomed. Of course I've been saying
that for years. And I'm happy to have been wrong so far, for I'm a big
proponent of USENET. It's kinda like panning for gold.

But the temporary tsunami o'smut we're soaking in right now is not what
I think will be the end of USENET; most of the non-M$ newsreaders are
already adept at filtering.

It's the fact that it is largely decentralized. Governments and
corporations can't STAND that kind of thing.

The major damage caused by the forgers and spammers and goobers is in
offending thousands of hypersensitive newbies. They are just horrified
that newsgroups are not run the way their third grade classrooms were,
with a dominant leader guiding and protecting and yes, punishing them.

These people usually are the first to call for a MODERATOR. Much of the
time it isn't even from a crapflood, it's from a post they don't like or
an argument they lose.

If enough of these people complain, the remaining ISPs will make it even
harder to use newsgroups and we will be herded into overdesigned,
ponderous, pretentious and moderated "discussion groups" such as the
dpreview forums. Bleh.

Oh yeah, some governments might eventually prohibit these Obviously
Dangerous, decentralized USENET newsgroups for "the children," or for
"homeland security."

What it boils down to is: Most people not only will surrender freedom
for security, they'll surrender it for a little convenience as well.
Hell, many Americans would willingly Bend and Submit in exchange for a
/TiVo/.

Solution: They might win but you don't have to be one of them. Get a
decent newsreader, learn the filters, wait out the storm and use while
you can one of the few things about the Internet that haven't been
corporatized or censored to a mushy sludge.

Corry
--
It Came From C. L. Smith's Unclaimed Mysteries.
http://www.unclaimedmysteries.net

"Religion isn't the opiate of the masses. When
properly used, religion is the methamphetamine
of the masses." - nu-monet v6.0 in alt.slack

 

"Unclaimed Mysteries"

As are the M$ newsreaders. In fact, M$ Outlook Express is better at
filtering than the Mozilla/Netscape newsreader.

I just love it when someone threatens to contact someone's ISP. No ISP cares
about petty squabbles in a Usenet group.

In one newsgroup, when it was clear I had won an argument, someone reported
me to my ISP because I had posted into a rec.autos.makers newsgroup, but I
didn't own the type of car that was being discussed. The head of my small
ISP called me, and we shared a good laugh over that one! The guy was simply
incredulous that my ISP wasn't interested in what he had to say. I tried to
explain "Terms of Service" to him, in vain. He was just sure that there was
someone who cared!

From: Jay Millikan ()
Subject: Re: I emailed Scharf's ISP
Newsgroups: rec.autos.makers.saturn
Date: 1998/10/27

"They (grin.net) want nothing to do with it. According to them, he's
doing nothing wrong!"

Well stated! The only way I know that our little pervert friend is back is
because of the posts calling for a moderator, or if I go to Google Groups
which has no filtering.

 

There's no moderator. Thanks for giving the trolls more attention. Use
your news reader filters, ignore the posts, don't start new threads about
them. If everybody did this, they would go away in short order.

Mark

 

<snip>

Actually, I think that it may be why it's more likely to survive - at least
in some limited form.

 

What we really need is someone good enough in data communications to be
able to track down the true address of the troll(s). If we can get
that, sending a few examples of the post to his (their) ISP should get
the account(s) cancelled. No ISP would put up with that if they saw
what he was sending.

 

Agent is a newsreader with good filtering.

 

You energize the trolls with EVERY new complaint post.

They get bored easily with silence.

 

Yesterday, I set up a digital photography list on the Listserv I manaage.
The list is brand new so traffic isn't happening yet, but feel free to
subscribe. The list is at http://listmail.temple.edu/archives/digiphoto-l.html
and those who just want to post off-topic stuff such as porn are not welcome.