Revitalizing A.R.B.R - suggested methods

In article , Edward Dolan
wrote:

"War On Error" wrote in message
newspXkd.88124$R05.44815@attbi_s53...
Here are some suggested methods for revitalizing A.R.B.R:

- Do not feed trolls. Ever.

But some enjoy the give and take of adult conversation.

- Obvious off-topic threads should be ignored and/or moved to another NG.

Nobody will ever do that. Get real!

- Persistent trolls should be killfiled/blocked/plonked with prejudice.

Nonsense. Just don't read those threads.

- Advertise our revitalization effort on relevant web boards.

Screw all other boards. If you are on more than one board, then you are
spreading your self too thin.

- Start as many interesting threads as you can.

More nonsense. Only post when you have something to say that you are really
interested in.

- Make a point to actively participate in polite, on-topic discussions.

Politeness is all in the eye of the beholder. He wants you to be boring as
hell, like he is.

- "Lively" discussion - on topic - is good, but harassment is not.

If you even say boo to him, he will consider it harassment.

- Overtly rude, antisocial people should be ignored and/or killfiled.

If you do that, you will be bored to death by the posts and you will want to
shoot yourself in the head so as to escape the misery of it all.

- Let's keep spelling and grammar policing to a minimum (Hi Tom! ;-)

Let others learn how to post properly. ARBR does not need to accommodate
slobs and other miscreants. We are an intellectual group. Let the morons go
to BROL.

- Do not engage trolls or rude people *at all*. That's what they're
looking for.
- I repeat: Don't respond to rude OT threads, no matter how provocative.

OT is just fine as long as it is labeled as such. But any thread that goes
on and on is likely to be OT. Is all of this rocket science or are others
more stupid than I could ever imagine them to be.

I really like A.R.B.R. It's a shame to let a few rude people ruin it for
those of us who are here to discuss recumbents. This is a community. In
a community, social mores are observed, and anti-social behavior is
punished. We need to use tried-and-true methods to rid ourselves of the
antisocial element. Let them cry about restrictions of free speech on
alt.thread-crapping.trolls.d ;-) There are thousands of newsgroups. Let
them find the right one on their own. That's not our job.

OT is OT. What is the problem? There are many of us here who enjoy OT. We
are basically all old codgers and civilized (unlike Monkey Island) and are
not going to cause any damage to the on topic threads. I repeat, what is the
problem?

I am publicly asking for posts from you "lurkers" out there. Don't be
afraid of the trolls, just ignore them. If you don't know how to block
the trollse (so you won't see their posts), just ask. You need newsreader
software; but it's free. All Windows PC's come with Internet Express,
which is what I have used for many years. There are other newsreaders
available for free if you use a Mac.

I realize that this is technically an off-topic posting. I hope you'll
forgive this infraction, and let me stick around. I'm incognito for now;
but I've been posting on A.R.B.R for about 6 years. I want to help
nurture it back to health. I hope you agree. It's going to be a long
winter for some of us. I hope we can all keep warm with great stories,
inspiring ideas, tricky questions, helpful hints, and solid advice.
That's what we're here for, isn't it?

War On Error, you are way off base. ARBR is big enough for all of us. Usenet
is a tremendous invention and we should all enjoy it to the max. Subject
threads are the key. If you can't comprehend this very simple idea, then you
should not be on Usenet in the first place.

All this carping about OT comes down to the fact that others do not like
BALANCED political comment.

Drum roll please:

War on Error is none other than ... Jon Meinecke. I would recognize his
style in a sewer which is where it belongs. He is a liberal tyrant who is
nothing if not a controller. I have had many run ins with him over the past
year. He wants to be the moderator of this group. You can judge for yourself
if you would want some one like him running this group. He is sneaky and
never above board. In other words, a typical liberal.


WOE has inadvertantly posted trollbait to the troll.
Ed loves these posts WOE. Don't think he won't respond 100 times to
this thread.

Another way to revitalize this group might be to create an official
rec.bicycles.recumbent.moderated group. That would de-trollify the
space almost immediately.

http://www.swcp.com/~dmckeon/mod-faq.html (info on starting a
moderated group)

"Laurel Thomason" wrote in message
om...
Another way to revitalize this group might be to create an official
rec.bicycles.recumbent.moderated group. That would de-trollify the
space almost immediately.

http://www.swcp.com/~dmckeon/mod-faq.html (info on starting a
moderated group)

Laurel, get into contact with Jon Meinecke of this group right away. He has
been proposing what you are proposing for years. He knows all the ins and
outs of it.

Maybe if the two of you get such a group up and running, you could make me
the moderator. I would be very good at this as I just love to censor the
hell out of everyone. I was probably the only librarian in the world that
ever thought censorship was a very good thing - as long as I am the censor
of course. Ahh ... nihil obstat. Imprimatur Ed Dolan. Yea, I can see it all
now. I certainly do agree with you that that would be the best of all
possible worlds.

Best of luck to you and Jon in your endeavors. I place myself at your
service as your censor. Believe me, I was born for a job like that. There
would be none better.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Censor - Minnesota

PS. Anyone but me notice that all of Laurel's posts have been off topic, if
these house keeping threads can even be so regarded. It is all due to my
charisma of course.

What you suggest is not very nice, not ethical and does not belong on ARBR.
Posters cannot be threatened with losing their employment or their ISP just
because they've annoyed another poster. THIS is not how you save a
Newsgroup/

Joshua
******

"Laurel Thomason" wrote in message
m...
Some of the trolls live in Worthington, Minnesota. A google search of
"edward dolan minnesota" will return their address. Maybe it's time
for gift subscriptions of popular magazines. Or friendly phone calls
inquiring into how they are doing? Or perhaps contacting their ISP
about their behavior. Or contacting their employer. The options are
limitless.