I checked misc.transport.road recently, first time in over a year. I see that it has been essentially destroyed by the trolls, and only a handful of people are still posting in the ashes of the newsgroup. Probably averages less than 10 road-related posts per day. Sad.
To be honest: 1/3 is Trolls, 1/3 is feeding the trolls and 1/3 is people pushing their religion or politics (which technically is Trolling, I guess :spin:)
I'd say AA Roads has become the new mtr as we knew it before the trolls.
Quote from: Brandon on March 24, 2012, 04:05:34 PM
I'd say AA Roads has become the new mtr as we knew it before the trolls.
Yes, but many of the same persons are now posting here.
Some of them are already testing the limits with the moderators, and it may just be a matter of time before they try to overwhelm the moderators, and try to make it like m.t.r with all the trolling and political diatribes.
This is a private forum though- if people are doing that, the banhammer can easily be wielded.
My hat's off to noble people like H. B. who are still posting good stuff there.
Quote from: corco on March 24, 2012, 08:20:14 PM
This is a private forum though- if people are doing that, the banhammer can easily be wielded.
Exactly. MTR lacked any sort of controls. Here, an overly political discussion can be shunted to the Off-Topic area or deleted altogether.
It's not just m.t.r. Usenet as a whole is pretty much useless. It's all overrun with spam and trolls. Although it does raise the question, can a troll really be a troll if nobody is listening?
Went to MTR once, saw nothing but mudslinging and trolling, never went back. If I wanted to see that, I'd go to (insert almost any website here).
Quote from: kurumi on March 24, 2012, 08:50:38 PM
My hat's off to noble people like H. B. who are still posting good stuff there.
Only to see it hijacked by idiots like Randy Hersh.
I'll always have a soft spot for the newsgroup because it was the first road forum I discovered on the Internet, but I don't see a lot of the posts anymore. My killfile is full, mostly from people whom I not-so-affectionately call the cellphone Nazis.
Quote from: realjd on March 24, 2012, 09:22:10 PM
It's not just m.t.r. Usenet as a whole is pretty much useless. It's all overrun with spam and trolls. Although it does raise the question, can a troll really be a troll if nobody is listening?
Well, we had OSTT (Operation Starve The Troll) on MTR for a while, but it didn't last: too many people felt compelled to respond even when they knew they shouldn't.
But it isn't just m.t.r. : I gave up on rec.org.sca because it became little more than a Spam collector. Plus a lot of ISP's are giving up on usenet.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 24, 2012, 10:40:16 PM
Quote from: kurumi on March 24, 2012, 08:50:38 PM
My hat's off to noble people like H. B. who are still posting good stuff there.
Only to see it hijacked by idiots like Randy Hersh.
I'll always have a soft spot for the newsgroup because it was the first road forum I discovered on the Internet, but I don't see a lot of the posts anymore. My killfile is full, mostly from people whom I not-so-affectionately call the cellphone Nazis.
Ditto George Conklin. Don't get me started on the damage that he did to the UseNet urban planning forvm!
Grrrrrrr.....
I agree on the 'soft spot' that I have in my heart, too, for MTR and for the same reason. In fact, recently, I was going though old MTR archives to try to reconstruct the itineraries of my late 1990s and early 2000s roadtrips.
Mike
Quote from: realjd on March 24, 2012, 09:22:10 PM
It's not just m.t.r. Usenet as a whole is pretty much useless. It's all overrun with spam and trolls. Although it does raise the question, can a troll really be a troll if nobody is listening?
What is the sound of one hand clapping?
Quote from: Brandon on March 25, 2012, 08:38:20 AM
Quote from: realjd on March 24, 2012, 09:22:10 PM
It's not just m.t.r. Usenet as a whole is pretty much useless. It's all overrun with spam and trolls. Although it does raise the question, can a troll really be a troll if nobody is listening?
What is the sound of one hand clapping?
That's easy. Watch the Simpsons' mini golf episode.
Quote from: Beltway on March 24, 2012, 08:13:23 PM
Quote from: Brandon on March 24, 2012, 04:05:34 PM
I'd say AA Roads has become the new mtr as we knew it before the trolls.
Yes, but many of the same persons are now posting here.
Some of them are already testing the limits with the moderators, and it may just be a matter of time before they try to overwhelm the moderators, and try to make it like m.t.r with all the trolling and political diatribes.
No, it won't be. :P
I still check mtr everyday through Google, and while I've seen a decent discussion once in a blue moon, it's getting less frequent over time. I'll probably stop checking it within a couple of months.
Quote from: US71 on March 24, 2012, 10:49:55 PM
Well, we had OSTT (Operation Starve The Troll) on MTR for a while, but it didn't last: too many people felt compelled to respond even when they knew they shouldn't.
And, too, we have all kinds of people who act like they cannot stand Randy in other places, but they either sock up or nymshift and continue to carry the water for him.
Carl is funny, but Randy's just nasty.
Quote
Plus a lot of ISP's are giving up on usenet.
I blame Eliot Spitzer in large part for that.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 25, 2012, 01:22:49 PM
Quote
Plus a lot of ISP's are giving up on usenet.
I blame Eliot Spitzer in large part for that.
The former NY governor who was caught with the prostitutes? I'm curious, how is he involved with usenet's demise?
Quote from: realjd on March 25, 2012, 01:39:57 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on March 25, 2012, 01:22:49 PM
Quote
Plus a lot of ISP's are giving up on usenet.
I blame Eliot Spitzer in large part for that.
The former NY governor who was caught with the prostitutes? I'm curious, how is he involved with usenet's demise?
I know there was one politician who went after Usenet for the spread of pedophilia. I don't see why this would require any more effort than going after a few dark corners and trying to stop spam, but apparently that politician decided all of Usenet was the problem and basically broke off both its legs and arms, metaphorically speaking, to try to stop the spread. In other words, the cure was possibly worse than the disease. If that politician was Spitzer, there you go, but I don't recall.
It was Andrew Cuomo, when he was Spitzer's attorney general.
Quote from: Steve on March 25, 2012, 06:55:04 PM
I know there was one politician who went after Usenet for the spread of pedophilia. I don't see why this would require any more effort than going after a few dark corners and trying to stop spam, but apparently that politician decided all of Usenet was the problem and basically broke off both its legs and arms, metaphorically speaking, to try to stop the spread. In other words, the cure was possibly worse than the disease. If that politician was Spitzer, there you go, but I don't recall.
Maybe he thought he could get more press by attacking Usenet than individual spammers?
Quote from: US71 on March 25, 2012, 07:22:59 PM
Quote from: Steve on March 25, 2012, 06:55:04 PM
I know there was one politician who went after Usenet for the spread of pedophilia. I don't see why this would require any more effort than going after a few dark corners and trying to stop spam, but apparently that politician decided all of Usenet was the problem and basically broke off both its legs and arms, metaphorically speaking, to try to stop the spread. In other words, the cure was possibly worse than the disease. If that politician was Spitzer, there you go, but I don't recall.
Maybe he thought he could get more press by attacking Usenet than individual spammers?
Perhaps. People need a scapegoat to latch onto, after all.
Quote from: Takumi on March 25, 2012, 07:08:05 PM
It was Andrew Cuomo, when he was Spitzer's attorney general.
I thought it was Spitzer when he was AG.
At any rate, he was going after child pr0n and the binary groups are a leading source of it. So instead of just dropping the offending groups or the alt.binaries.* hierarchy in general, a lot of ISPs just dropped Usenet altogether. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. AOL dropped the newsgroups and pointed people toward some of the pay services (EasyNews, etc.) or Motzarella/Eternal September. When AT&T dropped Usenet, it caused a lot of local independent ISPs to have to drop Usenet as well because many of them used AT&T's Usenet feed.
Quote from: US71 on March 24, 2012, 10:49:55 PM
Quote from: realjd on March 24, 2012, 09:22:10 PM
It's not just m.t.r. Usenet as a whole is pretty much useless. It's all overrun with spam and trolls. Although it does raise the question, can a troll really be a troll if nobody is listening?
Well, we had OSTT (Operation Starve The Troll) on MTR for a while, but it didn't last: too many people felt compelled to respond even when they knew they shouldn't.
But it isn't just m.t.r. : I gave up on rec.org.sca because it became little more than a Spam collector. Plus a lot of ISP's are giving up on usenet.
Are you a scadian as well
Quote from: ARMOURERERIC on March 26, 2012, 12:26:51 AM
Quote from: US71 on March 24, 2012, 10:49:55 PM
Quote from: realjd on March 24, 2012, 09:22:10 PM
It's not just m.t.r. Usenet as a whole is pretty much useless. It's all overrun with spam and trolls. Although it does raise the question, can a troll really be a troll if nobody is listening?
Well, we had OSTT (Operation Starve The Troll) on MTR for a while, but it didn't last: too many people felt compelled to respond even when they knew they shouldn't.
But it isn't just m.t.r. : I gave up on rec.org.sca because it became little more than a Spam collector. Plus a lot of ISP's are giving up on usenet.
Are you a scadian as well
Yes. Just got home from Gulf Wars ;)
I own James River Armoury
Quote from: ARMOURERERIC on March 26, 2012, 10:26:15 AM
I own James River Armoury
I've heard of you. I've seen some of your stuff on-line, as well. Very nice work.
I used to be a regular lurker on MTR until a couple years ago. I thought about checking it recently, and discovered you can't even navigate to Usenet groups from Google's home page. (Now, trying it again, it brings up the "old" google groups by default.) So, it wouldn't surprise me if Google terminated this service.
I will say that MTR survived about 8 years longer than most usenet communities.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 25, 2012, 09:52:46 PM
Quote from: Takumi on March 25, 2012, 07:08:05 PM
It was Andrew Cuomo, when he was Spitzer's attorney general.
I thought it was Spitzer when he was AG.
At any rate, he was going after child pr0n and the binary groups are a leading source of it. So instead of just dropping the offending groups or the alt.binaries.* hierarchy in general, a lot of ISPs just dropped Usenet altogether. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak.
Yeah, the problem was that since the alt.* hierarchy was unregulated, the "offending groups" kept changing and it was hard to keep chasing after them. By that point, Usenet was dying off on its own, and ISPs couldn't be bothered with a more nuanced policy; easier to just drop Usenet entirely, since few users would change ISPs as a result.
I occasionally check m.t.r. and occasionally post there, but mostly it's a waste of time. The other Usenet groups I followed, either the trolls have completely driven out most of the remaining intelligent users, or the moderators of one small but useful group just shut it down completely. I'll probably drop Usenet entirely in the next few months.
I like to visit MTR every now and again, but very rarely post. Just as described, it's basically overrun by spam, political and religious fighting, etc.
Usenet is most useful nowadays for piracy.
One thing about MTR:
A certain poster "Tom from Ohio" would write "So and so, do us all a a favor and **** off, posts full of tirades directed at well-respected members.
Did we ever figure out who it was or what the motivation was?
Quote from: Mdcastle on November 28, 2014, 10:56:41 PM
One thing about MTR:
A certain poster would write "So and so, do us all a a favor and **** off, posts full of tirades directed at well-respected members.
Did we ever figure out who it was or what the motivation was?
Welcome to Internet trolls.
Quote from: Mdcastle on November 28, 2014, 10:56:41 PM
One thing about MTR:
A certain poster "Tom from Ohio" would write "So and so, do us all a a favor and **** off, posts full of tirades directed at well-respected members.
Did we ever figure out who it was or what the motivation was?
I know who it was, and was apparently one of the last to know, but Tom himself fessed up to me. He did it mostly for fun.
Did we ever figure out who "Gillespie from Florida" was?
Quote from: hbelkins on November 28, 2014, 11:33:38 PM
Quote from: Mdcastle on November 28, 2014, 10:56:41 PM
One thing about MTR:
A certain poster "Tom from Ohio" would write "So and so, do us all a a favor and **** off, posts full of tirades directed at well-respected members.
Did we ever figure out who it was or what the motivation was?
I know who it was, and was apparently one of the last to know, but Tom himself fessed up to me. He did it mostly for fun.
"Tom" actually posts to this board, but as to their true identity, I shan't say unless they want to share it themselves.
Quote from: bandit957 on November 29, 2014, 07:48:49 PM
Did we ever figure out who "Gillespie from Florida" was?
Who?
Quote from: bugo on November 30, 2014, 11:51:41 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on November 30, 2014, 11:47:14 AM
Quote from: bandit957 on November 29, 2014, 07:48:49 PM
Did we ever figure out who "Gillespie from Florida" was?
Who?
I know, but I'm sworn to secrecy.
I have no memory of a "Gillespie from Florida." But I checked the MTR archives on Google Groups and found a response to a thread in which he posted, which said this:
Trolls, just like terrorists, have as their major goal to disrupt the lives
of others. Posts like yours are doing exactly this, and are giving the troll
the win.Anybody wanna guess
which type of interchange who posted that?
Just browsing the web, and I actually came across "Roadgeek" in the urban dictionary:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=roadgeek
Whoever this "Tom from Ohio" guy is, it looks like he wrote the first definition. Although apparently this was done in 2003, and I certainly don't know for sure if this is the same guy. Just has the same name.