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alt.syntax.tactical FAQ - Dealing with Trolls Crossposting and Flames Rev 20040215 - trollfaq.txt (1/1) |
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Greetings and Salutations:
This FAQ is about crossposts, troll and flames, and what to do about
them.
Table of contents to this FAQ:
o Introduction
o Introducing the alt.syntax.tactical group
o Defining troll, flames and crossposts
o What to do
o E-Mailing
o Killfiles
o A description of the alt.syntax.tactical crew (and lesser
trolls)
o The alt.syntax.tactical FAQ - Know your opponents
Introduction
============================================
Please feel free to repost this, e-mail it, put this FAQ on CD's or
any other media you can think of.
The latest & greatest version of this FAQ will be found at one of the
following:
http://gandalf.home.digital.net/trollfaq.html
(or http://home.digital.net/~gandalf/trollfaq.html)
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/alt.syntax.tactical/
Or *nicely* HTML'ed at:
http://www.cs.ruu.nl/wais/html/na-dir/net-abuse-faq/troll-faq.html
or
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/net-abuse-faq/troll-faq/
or
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/alt.syntax.tactical/
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/alt.spam/
Please email follow-ups / additions / changes comments / questions to
gandalf@digital.net . . . BUT PLEASE NOTE because I receive (on the
average) over 200 e-mails EVERY day (of which 195 or so are spam) you
MUST put the words "Alt.Syntax.Tactical" in the subject of the e-mail
or there is a VERY good chance the e-mail will be deleted without
being read. I get 10 or 15 "No Subject" spams a day.
http://it.geocities.com/roccopapaleo/faq/italiano/alt.syntax.tactical.
trad.txt - Italian Translation
Translate from/to English French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
(etc.)
http://babel.altavista.com/translate.dyn
or
English to French:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=fr&sl=en&u=http://digital.net
/~gandalf/trollfaq.html
English to German:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=en&u=http://digital.net
/~gandalf/trollfaq.html
English to Italian:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=it&sl=en&u=http://digital.net
/~gandalf/trollfaq.html
English to Spanish:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=es&sl=en&u=http://digital.net
/~gandalf/trollfaq.html
Introducing the alt.syntax.tactical group
============================================
The alt.syntax.tactical crew (of which I am definitely not a member)
decides every now and then to start a colossal crosspost / flame war.
One of their attacks started trolling by crossposting between
alt.smokers, can.talk.smoking, alt.support.non-smokers, asthma and SCI
groups. The trollers would take an original post from alt.smokers,
pass it thru a anonymous remailer (with the original e-mail name
intact) and repost it to all of the above groups. This (as you can
guess) started a massive flame war with the original (innocent) poster
getting in trouble for the crosspost that they never made. It
migrated to rec.pets.cats and beyond, but the lines are ever changing.
It is rumored that the alt.syntax.tactical crew communicates through a
listserver, planning their next attack thru the back channels.
Wouldn't want the plans posted out in the open, now would we :-).
Jonathan tells us that while alt.tasteless (FAQ
http://www.aracnet.com/~jaydog/index2.html - WARNING - there is a
reason why it is called alt.tasteless) claims to have been responsible
for the rec.pets.cats war, it was really the first unofficial ast
invasion. Anyhow, just remember, it was all in good fun and we never
meant to do more than rile up a few people who took things a bit too
seriously.
Michael tells us that the a.s.t. crew definitely DID NOT have their
origins in the alt.shenanigans newsgroup. There have been several
jokes played upon newsgroups which were planned in alt.shenanigans and
its associated mailing list, but none of them have been anything like
a.s.t. They've all been harmless, in fun, and have caused no real
damage.
The old alt.syntax.tactical crew as described by Lee Jackson
Beauregard ( http://www.smart.net/~rchason/ ) :
http://digital.net/~gandalf/tactical.txt
The first messages:
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_ugroup=alt.syntax.tactical&lr=&as_d
rrb=b&as_mind=12&as_minm=5&as_miny=1981&as_maxd=1&as_maxm=1&as_maxy=19
94&num=100&as_scoring=d&hl=en
The origins:
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=2cvf4b$aif@phakt.usc.edu&output=g
plain
The first FAQ:
http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&selm=jpdavidCHD
9r5.Kxs@netcom.com
The next:
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=jpdavidCHnp84.47q@netcom.com&outp
ut=gplain
The MEOW brigade is essentially the same animal as the
alt.syntax.tactical brigade, just a different section of that same
family tree that doesn't branch. Not as bright either. For a story
on MEOWs, look at http://digital.net/~gandalf/meow.txt ... This is
also a perfect example of a MEOW post ... a reply with all the
previous text and no additional content. The "meow-meow's" say "meow"
because, at the moment they came across alt.fan.karl-malden.nose there
was a thread about, of all things, Henrietta Pussycat from Mr. Rogers'
Neighborhood. She, as you may recall, speaks like this:
"Meow meow go to bed meow? Meow very tired meow."
As a side note, I do have to admit that a few of the meowers *are*
involved in fighting spam (Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail) and do make
worthwile / good contributions to the news.admin.net-abuse group but I
suspect that they think the rules are for everyone else, and do not
apply to meowers.
The coming and goings of the Meowers:
http://www.geocities.com/meowwatcher/index.html
Who's who description:
http://www.geocities.com/meowwatcher/who.html
The Meower's version, by The 2-Belo ( the2belo@alt.net ) is located at
:
http://member.newsguy.com/~shpxurnq/nora.html
Or look at http://extra.newsguy.com/~shpxurnq/ or
http://extra.newsguy.com/~shpxurnq/archive/raoul15.html
These children are a version of Internet vandals. They mostly cause
trouble. There are many ways that they attack. All of the methods
are very simple (remember the abilities of the people we are dealing
with here). They use open NNTP servers, anonymous remailers, list
servers, mail to news gateways, or a program that has as part of the
Path : ...!gergs_bane.org!anon. Many times they pick "real looking"
e-mail addresses so that someone who has gotten them mad before will
get in trouble. Clue : Don't mailbomb the e-mail or postmaster of the
site listed in the e-mail, they are probably innocent and all that
will accomplish is getting you in trouble.
While these children may see this as a harmless prank, the end result
is that they censor the regular readers of the target group by
overwhelming the group with off topic messages.
Then there are some who are accused of being trollers yet do not
agree. They argue that they are only having a discussion. They call
it "sarcasm" "irony" or witty banter. There are many versions of this
kind of person, they argue and cause an uproar and don't understand
the uproar they cause. Others may not have understood their intention
and both sides may have gotten a little too caught up in the
discussion. It is possible to try and help these people understand
the uproar they cause using e-mail. Sometimes the cause is hopeless.
As always an honorable mention must be given to Archimedes Plutonium,
see http://www.archimedesplutonium.com/ (I will let Archimedes speak
for himself) or
http://groups.google.com/groups?ic=1&selm=74t9li$rvl$1@dartvax.dartmou
th.edu
Bottom line is that every news group at one time or another has a
"troll". Someone who everybody learns to love to hate. The Troll
changes from news group to news group, from e-mail address to e-mail
address. Ever changing and nearly impossible to keep up with. Below
you will find out how to deal with these trolls.
You can find a list of the latest trollers (or the troller trying to
get their victim in trouble) by taking a look at the newsgroups
alt.usenet.kooks, alt.syntax.tactical, alt.fan.karl-malden.nose,
alt.flame, or alt.bigfoot.
See how well *your* Kook passes The Kook Test:
http://groups.google.com/groups?&selm=tAlTRWAOMst4Ew0F@lejniesw.demon.
co.uk
http://www.catnip.org/kat/
Defining troll, flames and crossposts
============================================
From the Jargon file (
http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/T/troll.html ):
troll v.,n.
1. [From the Usenet group alt.folklore.urban] To utter a posting on
Usenet designed to attract predictable responses or flames; or, the
post itself. Derives from the phrase "trolling for newbies" which in
turn comes from mainstream "trolling", a style of fishing in which one
trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. The well-
constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies and flamers
to make themselves look even more clueless than they already do, while
subtly conveying to the more savvy and experienced that it is in fact
a deliberate troll. If you don't fall for the joke, you get to be in
on it. See also YHBT. 2. An individual who chronically trolls in sense
1; regularly posts specious arguments, flames or personal attacks to a
newsgroup, discussion list, or in email for no other purpose than to
annoy someone or disrupt a discussion. Trolls are recognizable by the
fact that they have no real interest in learning about the topic at
hand - they simply want to utter flame bait. Like the ugly creatures
they are named after, they exhibit no redeeming characteristics, and
as such, they are recognized as a lower form of life on the net, as
in, "Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll." Compare kook. 3. [Berkeley]
Computer lab monitor. A popular campus job for CS students. Duties
include helping newbies and ensuring that lab policies are followed.
Probably so-called because it involves lurking in dark cavelike
corners.
Some people claim that the troll (sense 1) is properly a narrower
category than flame bait, that a troll is categorized by containing
some assertion that is wrong but not overtly controversial. See also
Troll-O-Meter.
The use of `troll' in either sense is a live metaphor that readily
produces elaborations and combining forms. For example, one not
infrequently sees the warning "Do not feed the troll" as part of a
followup to troll postings.
http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/Chats_and_Forums/
Usenet/Humor/Trolling/
http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm
With the following Troll definitions:
* Playtime (1 off trolling)
* Tactical (long term trolling by a single character)
* Strategic (long term trolling using multiple characters and
different waves)
* Domination (trolls who run mailing lists themselves)
From : The ONE AND ONLY alt.flame FAQ- by Christopher Henrik Lund :
a) Flaming: I.e. rude comments, insults, personal attacks, etc.
b) Trolling: I.e. fishing for flames. Usually takes the form of inane
postings like smarmy love chatter, useless pieces of boring
information, McClatchie's FAQ, etc.
c) Cascades: Endless meaningless threads the posters repeat the same
phrase over and over, sometimes with a little variation. They are
amusing to the ones participating in them, boring to everyone else.
Crossposting is posting a message to more than one group.
Avoiding flaming :
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/online-providers/aol-sucks-faq/part3/ -
alt.AOL.sucks Troll FAQ
http://orangefox.svs.com/rem/other/lame-posts-faq - REC.MUSIC.REM lame
post FAQ
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/2342/waste.html - a.t.x-
files troll info
http://www.intersurf.com/~aevinc/aev2trol.htm - How to avoid being
trolled
Flames and trolls :
http://www.netxpress.com/users/geri/TrollLinks.htm - Troll Links
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=36b8544c.35158813@ruble.net -
Alt.Troll FAQ
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=7lchu7$2gs@dfw-
ixnews19.ix.netcom.com - Bill Palmers comments on trolling
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=&selm=3A2802BC.3EDD%40aloha.net -
Understanding A.R.E. Trolls
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=&selm=34nos093nvvsloti03mfls@trollfa
q.org - Troll FAQ part 1
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=&selm=sdio325mn__weoibm8043kncmvx@tr
ollfaq.org - Troll FAQ part 2
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=&selm=3nvol3903n1pnamxndju744@trollf
aq.org - Troll FAQ part 3
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=&selm=enal3n8rn510qmznceisnt876@trol
lfaq.org - Troll FAQ part 4
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=&selm=38bm86sp10zx456ghj_qwerty@trol
lfaq.org - Troll FAQ part 5
http://www.firelily.com/support/depression/trolls.html
http://www.firelily.com/support/recovery/flame.retardant.html
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/byzantium/55/troll.htm - Troll
Descriptions
http://www.intersurf.com/~aevinc/aev2trol.htm - All about trolls
(short)
http://www.intwg.com/trolls.htm
http://www.netspace.org/~dmacks/internet-songbook/trolling-in-the-
newsgroups.html - The Song :-) ...
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=065f8722.73c4d2fb@usw-ex0102-
016.remarq.com - "Don't Feed The Trolls" article
http://home.att.net/~newsbee/asl/trolls.html - Troll point system and
how to ignore trolls
http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk/killfile
http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk/killfile/antitrollfaqhtm.htm - Anti-
Troll FAQ
http://faqs.jmas.co.jp/FAQs/1999/Feb/990211.01 -
Alt.Fan.Karl.Malden.Nose FMQ
http://spiralx.dyndns.org/howto.html - Slash Dot Troll
http://www.trollville.org/ - Where Trolls can go be themselves, no
censorship allowed
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_umsgid=m2n1daetkb.fsf@ryoko.tky.hut
.fi - Finnish Troll FAQ
The current Alt.Goth troll FAQ:
http://www.legendsmagazine.net/pan/panstuff/agsffaq.htm
Or bring up :
http://www.hotbot.com/ or http://www.google.com/
and search for trolls flames
Or for a definition of Trolls :
http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/Internet_troll
http://it.geocities.com/roccopapaleo/italiano.html - Italian
translations
Fravia suggests you have a look at troll lore :
http://www.searchlores.org/trolls.htm
Stalking lore:
http://www.searchlores.org/stalking.htm
And more general anonymity lore:
http://www.searchlores.org/noanon.htm
What some of these children enjoy doing:
http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/ip/freenet/subs/complaints/spam/faqs/tacfaq
.txt
One of the clubs:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/utbhumanresourcesrecruiting/
And the start of the messages:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/utbhumanresourcesrecruiting/messages/1
What to do
============================================
You are reading one of your favorite newsgroups and all of the sudden
you see the following message:
Subject: Can I bring my cat to Hell with me?
Newsgroups: alt.flame, alt.spleen, k12.chat.teacher, alt.bigfoot,
alt.tasteless, alt.gathering.rainbow, alt.evil, alt.bigfoot,
alt.sex.cthulhu, k12.chat.senior, alt.satanism, rec.pets.cats
Date: 26 Jun 1994 23:41:48 -0700
From: antebi@phakt.usc.edu (Ron Shmet)
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
I am aware that I can't take my "stuff" with me when I die...
O.K... so you know what a flame, a crosspost and a troll are. Now
what do you do about it?
A) Sit on your hands and bite your tongue. Reread the post. It may
be a new person to the Internet who has innocently hit your raw nerve.
B) Look at the newsgroups line and see how many groups the post is
posted to, specifically look for one the newsgroups
alt.syntax.tactical, alt.flame or alt.tasteless.
C) Continue to sit on your hands.
D) Look at the header to make sure that someone hasn't forged the e-
mail return address to get someone else in trouble. For help with the
header see :
http://digital.net/~gandalf/spamfaq.html
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/alt.spam/
Or look at how to track someone:
http://www.searchlores.org/
E) Stop sitting on your hands, but *Don't* reply to the post.
F) Read the alt.bigfoot FAQ :
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/bigfoot/part1/
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/bigfoot/part2/
G) Sit and think.
H) Read about the Gullibility Virus. This is a very funny editorial
to be passed along to your friends who send you all those hoaxes :
http://www.virtualsalt.com/warning.htm
And see what the hoax e-mail subject lines are:
https://mail.hr.doe.gov/hoax.htm
And why Disney is *not* giving away 13,000 free trips, why Bill Gates
is not collecting e-mail addresses (and many other hoaxes):
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/nothing/billgate.asp
And Hoaxes on the Internet:
http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/
I) Whatever you do, DO NOT reply to the post.
J) Sit and think. Go clean that green stuff off the sides of your
fish tank like you have been meaning to do. Try to remember that the
Internet is not real life. It is not worth getting upset over. The
news group you are so involved in would forget that you exist if you
stop posting for 6 months (most likely even quicker). Real life goes
on with or without the Internet.
K) "Arguing with anonymous strangers on the Internet is a sucker's
game because they almost always turn out to be -- or to be
indistinguishable from -- self-righteous sixteen-year-olds possessing
infinite amounts of free time." -Neal Stephenson, _Cryptonomicon_
L) Look at the original group creation file (not necessarily up to
date):
ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/control/
ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/control/
Hopefully if you have done all these steps your blood pressure has
gone down a few points.
The above applies to *all* posts that are trolls. The post may only
be to one newsgroup, but none the less it is a troll to try & cause
problems in the newsgroup. DO NOT POST! It will only get more people
upset at you than at the original flamer.
If you feel like you *have* to post a message TRIM THE NEWSGROUPS!
Delete EVERY other newsgroups from the header except the group you are
posting to. If you cannot delete the excess newsgroups, please do
everybody a favor and don't post.
E-Mailing
============================================
First off (as you might have guessed) DO NOT post a message to your
newsgroup to *anybody* who is trolling for a reply. It will only
clutter up your newsgroup and get everybody else upset at *you* for
replying.
Raffaele does mention, however, there are groups where some regs
encourage to do exactly the opposite of the golden rule, and even
accuse of cowardice those who don't scream and yell when a suspected
troll enters the group.
Bottom line, as always, read the FAQ for that particular group.
Remember, Google is your friend. Go to
http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search and type in the e-mail
of the poster in the field "with the exact phrase", click on "Google
Search". This will tell you the tendencies of the poster and may give
a clue as to their proclivities. If they post to alt.flame, then you
know how they operate.
If the message has been posted thru a anonymous remailer then you
should just contact the remailer. Unfortunately this only causes more
problems for the ability to post anonymous messages (an important
freedom of speech resource that should not be destroyed). The E-mail
address has probably been forged. To find out about remailers, see:
http://www.eskimo.com/~turing/remailer/FAQ/
For a list of them see :
http://www.eskimo.com/~turing/remailer/stats/db/rlist.html
http://www.eskimo.com/~turing/remailer/stats/db/mlist.html
Fravia refers us to the new "enemy" and enemy-related sections:
http://www.searchlores.org/noanon.htm
http://www.searchlores.org/statoo.htm
http://www.searchlores.org/luring.htm
and
http://www.searchlores.org/trolls.htm
If you feel like you have to do *something*, then you should contact
the person who posted the message. PLEASE send a *nice* message and
ask them why they did this. Remember, the e-mail is *very* easy to
forge and the troll may have been posted only to get someone else in
trouble. Another item to consider is that the person may be a net
newbie. They may not *know* that they are starting a flame war or
making posts that look like trolls. They *may* be sincere about their
posts and just need some guidance. Help them, please.
If you get a nasty reply (or no reply and the posts continue), then
your next option is to send a message to the persons postmaster. See
the above spamfaq URL for how to figure out what postmaster to send
your message to.
Andrew reminds us:
1. Keep it simple, keep it short. Postmasters are amazingly busy
people.
2. Be polite. It's not the postmaster you're cheesed off at.
3. Make sure you include the full headers so the postmaster has the
all-important Message-ID tag to track the troll. Export the message to
a text file and paste it back in if you need to.
4. Thank the postmaster for his/her efforts at the end. Gratitude
before the fact will help spur the postmaster to effort on your
behalf.
5. Be patient. It may take the postmaster a few days or a few gripes
to act. Don't repost the same gripe multiple times. New gripes,
however, are permissible.
6. If the troll becomes harassing and/or actionable and you can
identify the site from the headers, call the postmaster. LD charges
may be worth it. Follow the preceding rules for the phone call. Be
polite, be brief, and thank the person for their efforts. One call is
usually all it takes.
Example gripe :
Dear Postmaster:
Please find attached the headers and body text of a harassing message
posted to . As the message originated at your site,
I'd like to request your assistance in explaining to the offending
user the rules of online etiquette. Thank you for your time.
Killfiles
============================================
Most newsreaders support a killfile. A killfile tells your newsreader
to "ignore" certain posts or posters. The beauty is that you never
have to see a message from "X" again, or about subject "X" again.
Adding posts to killfiles :
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/killfile-
faq/faq.html
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.software.readers/rn_KILL_file_FAQ
If you are a News Administrator (or you know one), you can filter out
A.S.T posts (thereby also stopping the propagation of these same
posts). Look at :
List of anti-spam software:
http://www.exit109.com/~jeremy/news/antispam.html
Some of the software:
http://www.exit109.com/~jeremy/news/cleanfeed.html
http://www.spamhippo.com/
If you follow all of the above steps, you will be happier, but most
importantly Usenet will be happier for having less bandwidth abused.
Welcome to the Troll FAQ.
A description of the alt.syntax.tactical crew (and lesser trolls)
=================================================================
You will find a description of the AST crew below, but first I must
mention the lesser groups that inhabit the Internet. From the group
alt.games.creatures we find a group of trolls that (as many trolls do)
try to make it seem that they are the purveyors of the truth ...
everybody else is wronging them.
See http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/6042/index.html (Well, it
*was* there :-) ... I figured it would disappear so I kept a copy
below ...)
Where we find THE AVENGER SQUADRON
----------------------------------
The terrorists on AGC have opened a Pandora's box of terrorism. We
intend to neutralize that box and close it once and for all, without
breaking any laws.
"Fear is a powerful and dangerous thing." -A quote.
We will stop them, without breaking the law.
We are the defenders of justice and peace and we will fight to protect
innocent people from the savage violence and hatred on AGC that exists
because it was formerly overrun with terrorists. We have successfully
ridden it of several hate-mongering persons and groups, and continue
to do whatever we can to uphold freedom and peace.
Those guilty of violations have accused us of trickery, lies, and
forgery. This is not the case. We have never lied. We only make
legitimate complaints that truly violate Terms of Service Agreements.
Those who wrongly accuse us of these things are no doubt guilty of
violations themselves and wish to rid themselves of us so that they
can continue their inappropriate activities and get away with them.
They will not succeed in trying to destroy us. We are here to stay.
----------------------------------
Isn't that just the CUTEST thing :-) ...
The rest of this AST FAQ is here for historical purposes only. Below
we find the sad description of the AST crew and a copy of their
invasion FAQ. Everything below this down to my .sig has not been
updated (and will not be updated) since the troll FAQ was created in
early 1996. Jonathan tells me that the *original* AST FAQ was written
in 1994. See:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=&selm=1994Jun28.030029.24541@lugb.la
trobe.edu.au - All About Alt.Syntax.Tactical (or, Know Your Jerk)
Victor wrote a description about the alt.syntactical wrecking crew.
Below is his post. The section "The alt.syntax.tactical FAQ - Know
your opponents" contains the tactics used by the AST crew to disrupt
any USENET group.
Date: Tue, 8 Nov 1994 11:52:38 MST
Welcome to the All About alt.syntax.tactical FAQ
(or, Know Your Jerk)
Irregular Posting
*Sigh*. A fresh batch of shitheads have arrived. I do applaud everyone
for ignoring them. However newbies are advised to read the following.
-- What is this FAQ about? --
This FAQ is for new users who enter the wonderful world of Internet
only to be disappointed by stumbling upon gigabytes of stupidity and
old timers who know that idiots tend to hang around in groups. The
subject here are a bunch of infantile losers known as -
Alt.syntax.tactical
A.s.t can claim the dubious honor of being the only group that even
alt.flame can look down upon.
-- Why do they do this? --
Beats me. Seems like an awful lot of boring, repetitive rote work with
the only reward being regarded as an electronic cockroach plague by
the rest of the net community.
-- How do I recognize an alt.syntax.tactical post in general? --
- Cross posting to a large number of groups. Attention seeking
exercise.
- The "flogging a dead horse" syndrome. Taking topics that have been
done to death and rehashing them. In this case, trying to start
another alt.tasteless/rec.pets.cats flame-war (ho-hum). This is likely
due to the article detailing the original flame-war appearing in WiReD
magazine, so probably seeking attention again.
- General lack of interest, humor and a lame attempt to be offensive,
like crossposting to rec.pets.cats, the two K12 groups and
alt.gathering.rainbow.
Other general characteristics -
- a.s.t posters are in the habit of following up there own articles if
the original was (wisely) ignored.
- reposting complete articles or flame/counter flames with one line
comments, thus maximizing bulk.
- endless flame/counter-flames between the various a.s.t invasion wave
members when the real newsgroup members(wisely) ignore them.
As a rule of thumb, if it is boring, pointless and inane, you can bank
on it being from a.s.t.
-- What can I do about stupid a.s.t posts? --
The golden rule is ignore. If someone farts in a room, the smell will
eventually go away. Likewise, if a.s.t is largely ignored, they too
will go away.
Resist all urges to reply. You'll be bashing your head against a brick
wall and only giving them satisfaction. Learn to use your kill-file,
ask someone you know how if you don't know. The more hi-tech among you
may want to track them down and extract whatever electronic revenge
you can.
-- Where do a.s.t reside, usually? --
There originally was an a.s.t group, and it still gets used
occasionally. Mostly, they hang out in alt.bigfoot, which was
probably originally a Sasquatch interest group which they invaded and
decided to keep, and in alt.flame.
-- Who are the members of a.s.t? --
(Note : These people haven't posted in a long time, so this is an old
list)
OK, here is the listing. If any body has any other addresses, e-mail,
and we'll add them.
Name and/or handle Address
_____________________________________________
Robert Trent trent@vertigo.helix
Supreme commander harmoni@vertigo.helix
Shafik Harmoni trent@mprgate.mpr.ca
Antebi antebi@scf.usc.edu
Rev. Antebi antebi@ucla.edu
Ron Shmet antebi@phakt.usc.edu
antebi@chaph.usc.edu
shmet@ucla.edu
Wilf wilf@doe.carlton.ca
Bulldog bulldog@achilles.net
wilf@sce.carlton.ca
Dewme sdew@charlie.usd.edu
Charlie Dew sdew.nyx.du.edu
sdew@tulip.usd.edu
Wild Bill traveller@teleport.com
Bill Travis bill@suntan.vid.ilstu.edu
Doug Weber grossy@netcom.com
Lisa Park Yzer-GOD brotman@netcom.com
John Kordic jpdavid@netcom.com
Plus an ever changing variety of others. As has come to pass, it isn't
even necessary to know the above idiots, though they are the most
predominant and have popped up in a.t several times this year.
A.s.t has matured with time to be just another generic term for
bandwidth wasting shit-heads.
The alt.syntax.tactical FAQ - Know your opponents
=================================================
Here's some relevant source material, obtained from one of the
members, the "real" FAQ of AST, a somewhat less serious one, and one
distributed -about- AST.
The Invasion FAQ of A.S.T.
Although not exactly a FAQ, this file is more of an explanation of why
alt.syntax.tactical and the tactical-list were created. It also lays
down the foundation for the structure, strategy, and protocol of
USENET invasions.
* Invasion *
Each of us brings our own reasons, backgrounds and motivations into
this scheme. What is important is that each individual brings into
this their own brand of inspired mischief. In some ways it is
completely innocent. In some ways it is completely destructive.
Anyone can walk into alt.sex and post that pornography should be
banned. Anyone can walk into rec.sport.baseball and say "baseball
sucks". It takes unbelievable skill and discipline to cause a
PROLONGED flame war. That is what we do. But it can only be done with
talent, and numbers to match that talent. We only bring into the fold
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