4.3 Man, what do I do about this [spammer/flamer/etc]? (alt.fan.conan-obrien)
Description
This article is from the Conan O'Brien FAQ, by Joseph Gebis j-gebis@uiuc.edu with numerous contributions by others.
4.3 Man, what do I do about this [spammer/flamer/etc]? (alt.fan.conan-obrien)
The first and most important rule to any of the above is to *not
reply to the spammer or flamer*. For the most part, all these people are
trying to do is disrupt the newsgroup by starting a fight and drawing in
as many people as possible for the longest time. Do not reward them by
doing so. Obviously, never send any money to someone posting a ponzi
scheme or similar con.
Sometimes, the infraction is a little more serious. In the case of
spams or ponzi schemes ["MAKE MONEY FAST"], you should take the header of
the post and mail it to the postmaster of the user who posted it at:
postmaster@users.site
Tell the postmaster what happened in your mail. Be polite.
Just plain flamers are a different story. The best and only thing you
can usually do is to ignore them and not reply. If a particular person
upsets you tremendously, you can put them in a "kill file," a file that
filters out and deletes posts by a certain user before you see them. Ask
your internet provider about how to set one up for your particular
newsreader. There are only a pair of consistent flamers who, like an ugly
rash, never seem to go away. You will eventually run into them. Once
they are in your killfile, 98% of flames on the newsgroup will disappear
for you.
However, a flamer can go to far. If a flamer begins to harass you,
either on the newsgroup or through e-mail, take the offending posts or
e-mails and send them to the user's postmaster, using the same method
described above.
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