The New & Improved Method for Excluding Trolls From Your Life

For those that want the same results without having to go to the bother of mastering the mystery of various filtering criteria, just
follow the advice here:

1.   Take a look at the list of authors contributing when you have downloaded the updated posts to the Group. Use the scroll bar with
your mouse to scroll down and select a message from an author you would like to read, double click and read the post.

2.   If you happen to open one from Bill Davidson (which quickly becomes apparent because they are instantly recognisable as puerile) then go on
to the next post.

3.   Thereafter just select those posts you want to read, and simply 'ignore' those authors that you don't want to read.

4.   It's called the "Ignoring Technique" which I have invented and refined so that it now is fully functioning and will work every time.

If you must use filters, here follows the latest ideas faithfully copied from other web sites by John Williams:

How can I filter out trolls in Forté Agent?

Forté Agent has a limited filter or "killfile" capacity for newsgroups: only the "From" and "Subject" headers can be filtered. That can be a problem with trolls who constantly change their user IDs or email addresses; it can be even more of a problem when a troll steals the user IDs of legitimate non-troll subscribers. For that reason, it's a good idea to examine the headers of a suspected troll message. To be sure that you see the full headers of newsgroup messages in Agent, just open any message and press the "H" key. The "H" key will toggle full headers on and off, and all subsequent messages will display full headers or basic headers until the "H" key is toggled again.

Even when a troll constantly changes user IDs or email addresses, certain characteristics within the headers will usually remain consistent. The header most likely to remain the same (largely because the troll is limited in its ability to change it) will be the troll's IP address, which can usually be found under the header "NNTP-Posting-Host." The common characteristics of some of MFW's known trolls may be found in my personal troll list. With a little practice, you will easily be able to identify the common characteristics in the headers of trolls who constantly change user IDs and email addresses.

Once you have identified a troll post, the keystroke shortcuts for filtering or "killfiling" the troll are relatively simple. Open the "Kill" dialog box simply by pressing Ctl-K (kill). The dialog box will look like this:

The first time you open the "Kill" dialog box, you will want to make a few adjustments. First, you should adjust which part of the "From" field you wish to filter: name only, address only, or entire field.

Personally, I recommend the "Address only" filter. Why? A troll can choose to forge any common name, like "Bob." If you filter the name "Bob," anyone who posts under that name will also be filtered or "killfiled." However, most trolls are smart enough not to forge a legitimate email address. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) risk extensive legal liability for tolerating users who forge legitimate email addresses. Even ISPs that are excessively tolerant of Usenet trolls will instantly expel a user who is caught forging legitimate email addresses. Once you set the field preference to "Address only," it will remain that way for future filtering until it is changed again.

Next, adjust the "Kill Action":

Until you are fairly certain that the email address you are filtering is one which is being used only by the troll, you should leave the action at the default "Mark read." Using the "Delete" function on an email address that might belong to a legitimate non-troll subscriber will prevent any future messages from that person appearing in your download of newsgroup messages. "Mark read" will continue to be the default "Kill Action" every time you open the "Kill" dialog box. If you are sure that the email address you see is being used only by the troll and not by any legitimate contributor, you can switch to "Delete" mode simply by pressing Alt-D (delete).

Finally, you should decide whether you want that filter or "killfile" to apply globally or only to that particular post:

Until you are certain that the email address is being used only by the troll and not by any legitimate contributor, you should check the box marked "This message only." If you check the box marked "Apply filter to group immediately," not only will it delete any future messages from that email address, but it will also delete any messages already downloaded which contain that email address in the "From" header.

Some trolls will boast, "I can change my IDs faster than you can killfile them!" I don't think so. Once one becomes practiced at recognizing the consistent characteristics of messages by known trolls (e.g., an unchanging IP address) and determining that the email address in the "From" header doesn't belong to any legitimate user, removing all existing posts under that email address, as well as blocking any future messages from that email address, can be accomplished with three simple keystrokes and a quick confirmation:

Using the settings and email address shown in the images above, I successfully deleted 34 inflammatory political posts from the known troll, Henry "Hank" Hansteen, and it took less than five seconds to do it. Cool, huh?

We are indebted to John M Williams for making this Troll information available to members of the MFW Newsgroup

With helpful additions and advice from the Web Master of Fitnwell

Disclaimer

Copyright © 2000 Fitnwell, UK
Tuesday July 04, 2006 09:37:33

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