|
Article |
A Usenet message |
|
Binary File |
A message that is specially
encoded to permit a non-text
file to be distributed using
Usenet. These are found in
alt.binaries.* |
|
Breidbart index |
A calculation that attempts to
identify messages that are
cancelable by Cancelbots and
other third party cancelers, due
to (almost) identical messages
being posted to too many groups
or too many times. |
|
Cabal |
The mythical group of powerful
News Administrators who control
Usenet and its power structure
(There is no Cabal) |
|
Cancel |
The process of telling Usenet to
"unsend" a message. Given the
way that Usenet works, the
effectiveness of a cancel varies
widely. |
|
CancelBot |
A CancelBot is a computer
program that watches Usenet in
real time, looking for articles
that violate the rules of
Usenet. When the articles are
spotted, a third party cancel is
issued. |
|
CancelMoose(tm) |
The proponent of
NoCeM. Also one of the
pioneers in CancelBots |
|
Cross-Posting |
Sending a message to more than
one group at a time. This is
usually done by putting a comma
after the first group name, and
adding more groups.
If the additional groups are
closely related to the topic of
the message, this might be
appropriate, but generally it is
a bad idea. |
|
Expire |
The process of removing messages
from a news server when they
have exceeded the retention
time. |
|
Flame |
An article whose purpose is to
humiliate the target of the
flame. One of the tools used to
enforce Netiquette. |
|
Followup |
The public reply to an article.
Followups should always have a
subject beginning with Re: and
the original topic. Frequently
changing the topic for no reason
is one of the traits of a
net.kook |
|
Godwin's Law |
"As a USENET discussion grows
longer, the probability of a
comparison involving Nazis or
Hitler approaches one." There
is a tradition in many groups
that, once this occurs, that
thread is over, and whoever
mentioned the Nazis has
automatically lost whatever
argument was in progress.
Godwin's Law thus guarantees the
existence of an upper bound on
thread length in those groups. |
|
Headers |
The first portion of an article
(normally hidden by your
newsreader) that identifies
important characteristics of the
message. In (Free)Agent, press
H to see the headers. |
|
Ignoring a Thread |
A feature of a good newsreader
that allows you to ignore all
future followups to an existing
Subject: Once a thread
devolves into a personality
conflict or wanders off-topic,
you may want to ignore the rest
of the thread until it goes
away. Press I in (free)Agent |
|
Kill Filter |
A feature in many news readers
that discards / ignores messages
based on the name of the sender,
the subject, or other rules.
Agent contains Kill Filters,
Free Agent does not |
|
Looser |
Gen-X for Loser. Frequently
seen in flames attempted by
newbies |
|
net.kook |
They come in many varieties.
Some oppose the Cabal. Some
just have to push the limits of
Netiquette until folks are
forced to push back. |
|
net.lawyer |
A person who posts legal
opinions to Usenet, but has no
provable professional
credentials.
They often have very innovative
legal theories. |
|
Netiquette |
The generally accepted rules of
conduct for the Internet -
mostly applies to posting to
Usenet. |
|
NewsAdmin |
Your local delegate in the Cabal
(There is no Cabal). Normally
can be reached at news@yourisp.net.
If you want a newsfroup that
isn't currently carried, your
NewsAdmin is the person to
contact. If you post a Make
Money Fast chain letter to
news.admin net-abuse.usenet,
your news admin will be writing
you a letter. |
|
Newbie |
Someone who has newly arrived on
the the shores of the Internet,
and is unskilled in its ways. |
|
Newsfroup |
An accidental typo made by
someone back in the ancient
era. If you want people to
think you're either an old-timer
or a net.kook, deliberately
spell newsgroup with an f. |
|
NoCeM |
The second generation of
de-Spammers.
Cancelbots have become less
"effective" over time, because:
-
There isn't complete
agreement when or if third
party cancels are ever
appropriate
(that pesky Censorship
concept)
-
The sheer volume of cancels
has become more of a problem
than the messages being
canceled
-
Cancelbots leave a clear
record of their work.
NoCeM is based on the "Out
of Sight, out of Mind"
principle. NoCeM doesn't
cancel messages, it just
hides them so we
don't C eM.
It's an interesting
semantic technical distinction. |
|
*Plonk* |
The sound made when someone's
name is added to a kill filter. |
|
Post |
Sending a message into Usenet
for distribution around the
world. |
|
Retention Period |
How long in days (sometimes
hours) a message is kept on a
news server before it is deleted
to make room for new incoming
messages. Most servers retain
messages based on the time the
message arrived at the news
server - some keep messages
based on the time the message
was sent. |
|
RFC |
Request For Comments. The set
of technical rules that define
the proper operation of the
Internet. Throw in "The RFCs
say you're wrong" to win an
argument.
(Unless the other person may
have actually have read the
RFCs). |
|
Spam Hippo |
A widely used system for
removing "SPAM" from your Usenet
feed. Hopefully, your definition
of 'unwanted' matches that of
the operators of the
Spam Hippo. |
|
Third Party Cancel |
An attempt to cancel a message
by some entity other than the
original sender or his Internet
Provider's news administrator.
Many News Admins refuse to honor
third party cancels. |
|
Thread |
An initial article, and all of
the followups. |
|
Troll |
A person who deliberately posts
Troll Posts |
|
Troll Post |
A message that has the intent of
starting a never-ending thread
of pointless messages.
Religion, sexual orientation,
politics and ethnicity are
common topics. Combining more
than one of the above increases
the effectiveness.
Cross-posting to popular
newsgroups ensures a
never-ending supply of newbies
who will perpetuate the thread. |
|
Warez |
Illegal copies of unlicensed
software.
Frequently contain viruses,
Trojan Horses, backdoors, and
other nice surprises. |
