Those of you who only belong to large newsgroups think you need never worry
about your group being killed, but it is the easiest thing in the world to
kill a small newsgroup. ARBR was more or less thriving up to a couple of
years ago when a single person showed his ugly face and proceeded to kill
the group. He was a criminal vandal troll by the name of Ed Gin (Johnny
NoCom - just one of his many user names).
What did this criminal vandal troll do? He trampled on every thread with a
spam type of message and cast scurrilous obscenities at everyone. He used
names not his own and forged other names not his. He NEVER repsonded to
anyone else, just went on and and on with his own insane monologue. He used
proxies and newsreaders that insured anonymity so that no one could ever get
a complaint registered against him. It would have taken a police detective
to track this scoundrel down. Don't believe me? Just go to the Google
archives for ARBR from 2 winters ago and you will see the destruction taking
place.
Everyone got disgusted and left ARBR for mainly BROL, a moderated forum. I
have absolutely nothing against moderated forums and believe they are the
wave of the future. All of Usenet is doomed precisely because it is
unmoderated. Frankly, I got disgusted myself with ARBR too because of the
fact that a single criminal vandal troll could so easily destroy it.
So what do I see on the other newsgroups? I see nothing but chat rooms. No
one will post anything at all seriously anymore because of all the idiots,
morons and cretins who infest the groups. Even Tom Sherman, formerly the
heart and soul of ARBR, will no longer post substantial messages because he
knows the group has died and gone to hell.
All of this just because of one criminal vandal troll! If it can happen to
ARBR, it can happen to your group too no matter how large. Be warned!
Regards,
Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota