OT: occasional post- Does your dog do this?

[Julia Altshuler]

Please, please don't repost and crosspost all that just to let him and a few thousand other people know that you've plonked him. Here's the canned post on the subject. As soon as you have him killfiled, killfile on "occasional post" so you don't have to see these messages.

--Lia

This message is posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior (r.p.d.b.) regularly and occasionally to other newsgroups including alt.animals.dog, rec.pets.dogs.rescue, alt.pets.dog, and rec.pets.dogs.misc. These are unmoderated groups meaning that no one checks the messages to make sure they're on-topic, civil or sensible before they go through.

The purpose of this occasional posting is to give information about the newsgroup so that discussion about the newsgroup itself is cut down and discussion about dogs increases.

Like so many usenet groups, this group has people who post annoyingly and constantly, people who post angry and abusive messages, people who post to irritate others. It's up to individuals to decide which posters bother them.

Here are some guidelines that many people follow to make this newsgroup pleasant and informative:

1. Use your killfile. A killfile (or filter) makes invisible posts by any particular person or with any particular words in the subject line. The posts are still there, but they don't show up on the screen of the person using the killfile. Look at for instructions. Or try:

1. Don't make more noise. The only thing more annoying than a troll is an otherwise rational person arguing with or about a troll. That's known as feeding the trolls. Please don't feed the trolls. It really is insane to attempt rational discussion with the insane.

2. Want to exercise your right to free speech and argue about or with trolls anyway? Put "ninnyboy" in the subject line. That way the people who want to join the fracas can, and those who don't can opt out by killfiling "ninnyboy." If you don't do this, expect to be killfiled yourself. [Jerry], with the brackets is also a recognized signal.

1. Figured out that arguing with trolls is useless but still want to talk about trolls by referring to them in the third person? Put "ninnyboy" in the subject line then too. That subject is boring too.

2. Trim quoted posts to include only the part you're responding to. Quoting an entire long post in order to respond to only a small piece of it is annoying. Again, if you don't do this, expect to be killfiled.

1. Understand Candace. Candace is an automatic program that answers troll posts automatically, repetititively and relentlessly. Most of us find these posts boring after a short while and killfile it too. That's O.K. You can't hurt its feelings.

2. Show no fear. Have a question or need to admit that you've made errors in dog training in the past? This is still a good place to come for (often contradictory) advice. Use your own judgment to decide what advice to follow and what not to. No harm can come to you even if people vehemently disagree, call you names or repost your old messages.

1. Label off-topic threads as "OT." A label helps people decide what to read and what not to.

2. Check the F.A.Q. for answers to frequent non-complicated questions.

1. Don't post pictures. This is not a binary newsgroup. That's plain text only, no HTML, no attachments. If you'd like, post a pointer to a website with pictures on it.

2. Don't crosspost. It's bad enough when someone posts something dog related to all the groups having to do with dogs. It's worse when totally unrelated groups get tossed in the mix. Feel like you absolutely have to jump in on something that's been crossposted to unrelated groups? Erase the extraneous ones when you answer.