From: roccopapaleo@yahoo.it Subject: alt.syntax.tactical FAQ - Dealing with Trolls Crossposting and Flames Rev 20001126 traduzione italiana parziale e spin-off: FAQ - Troll crossposting e litigi ver 20011703 Newsgroups: it.discussioni.litigi, it.discussioni.folli It.cultura.cybersocieta.lamer [Never: it.faq] Disclaimer: chi lo legge non ne ha bisogno, chi ne ha bisogno non lo leggera'. Dovevo almeno provarci. Followup-To: it.discussioni.litigi Summary: Questo post descrive i modi di trattare troll, crosspost e litigi (flame) Posting-Frequency: aperiodico Last-modified: 30-03-2001 Versione originale URL: http://ddi.digital.net/~gandalf/trollfaq.html Indice FAQ: o Introduzione o Introduzione ai gruppi it.discussioni.litigi [solo parziale] o Definizione di troll, flame e crosspost o Cosa fare o E-Mailing o Killfiles o Una descrizione delle gente di it.discussioni.litigi [non fatta] o La FAQ di it.discussioni.litigi - Conosci l'avversario [non esiste] Introduzione ============================================ Questa mail e' liberamente distribuibile in ogni forma e media cosi' come e'. La versione aggiornata della versione originale (in inglese) puo' essere trovata http://ddi.digital.net/~gandalf/trollfaq.html ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/alt.syntax.tactical/ O in HTML in: http://www.cs.ruu.nl/wais/html/na-dir/net-abuse-faq/troll-faq.html o http://www.netmeg.net/faq/internet/net-abuse/troll-faq/ [non fatto] PLEASE email follow-ups, additions / changes to gandalf@digital.net, My news source is OK, but I sometimes miss items. http://www.unojust.org/html/trans.htm Introduzione al gruppo it.discussioni.litigi ============================================ [non ancora fatta] Se volete informazioni su alt.syntax.tactical leggetevi la versione originale in inglese di questa FAQ. Una vera introduzione a it.discussione.litigi non e' stata ancora fatta. [cut] Definizione di Troll, flame e crosspost ============================================ http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/Usenet/Humor/Trolling/ http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm Ci sono le seguenti definizioni di Trol: * Giocoso (1 off trolling) * Tattico (troll a lungo termine con un solo carattere) * Strategico (trolling a lungo termine usando personaggi multipli e ondate differenti) * Dominante Nella realta' italiana i piu' frequenti sono quelli giocosi. From : The ONE AND ONLY alt.flame FAQ- by Christopher Henrik Lund : a) Flame: commenti rudi, insulti, attacchi personali. b) Trolling: Cercare il litigio. Di solito prende la forma di post inutili come chiacchere sdolcinate, informazioni inutili e noiose, McClatchie's FAQ[?] etc. c) Cascades: Infinito thread senza significato in cui i poster ripetono la stessa frase, alcune volte con leggere variazioni. La cosa diverte i partecipanti ma annoia tutti gli altri. d) Crosspost: postare, conporaneamente, su piu' di un gruppo, mettendo in comunicazione piu' gruppi diversi (che potenzialmente potrebbero avere scopi ed argomenti diversi) [NdR_: i link sono vecchi, molti non funzionanti. Soprattutto quelli che si riferiscono a deja ora google] Evitare il litigio: http://www.melsa.net/internet/tut11.htm http://www.lowdown.com/%7Edakal/troll.html - AOL Sucks Troll FAQ http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/8789/lame.htm - REC.MUSIC.REM lame post FAQ http://www.la.dtu.dk/~hbm/alt.flame/napalm.html - Alt.flame page http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/2342/waste.html - a.t.x-files troll info Flame e troll : http://4newsgroups.4anything.com/4/0,1001,5195,00.html http://www.angelfire.com/biz4/glynnegilmore/page11.html - Excellent article on trolling in the newsgroups http://www.deja.com/article/439276455 - Alt.Troll FAQ http://www.deja.com/article/499362270 - Bill Palmers comments on trolling http://www.firelily.com/support/depression/trolls.html http://www.firelily.com/support/recovery/flame.retardant.html http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/byzantium/55/troll.htm - Troll Descriptions http://www.intersurf.com/~aevinc/aev2trol.htm - All about trolls (short) http://www.netspace.org/~dmacks/internet-songbook/.spam/trolling-in-the- newsgroups.html - The Song :-) ... http://x.deja.com/article/553348264 - "Don't Feed The Trolls" article La Alt.Goth troll FAQ: http://www.zenweb.com/pan/panstuff/agsffaq.htm Oppure usate : http://www.hotbot.com/ e cercate delle flame fatte da troll. Definizione di Troll : http://www.altairiv.demon.co.uk/troll/trollfaq.html Cosa fanno nelle big8: http://members.aol.com/macabrus/tacticalfaq.html Uno dei Club: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/utbhumanresourcesrecruiting Alt.net finalmente smette di trollare: http://afk-mn.eist.co.jp/news22.html - Alt.net caves in E i gruppi che combattono i Troller e gli Spammer: http://www.bostonphoenix.com/supplements/TheNet/fall97/NET_SCUM.html Cosa fare: ============================================ State leggendo uno dei vostri newsgoups favoriti e vedete un messaggio come il seguente: Subject: Can I bring my cat to Hell with me? Newsgroups: alt.flame, alt.spleen, k12.chat.teacher, alt.bigfoot, alt.tasteless, alt.gathering.rainbow, alt.evil, alt.bigfoot, alt.sex.cthulhu, k12.chat.senior, alt.satanism, rec.pets.cats Date: 26 Jun 1994 23:41:48 -0700 From: antebi@phakt.usc.edu (Ron Shmet) Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA I am aware that I can't take my "stuff" with me when I die... Subject: BONSAIKITTEN: E' ORRIBILE! Newsgroups: (*)[it.discussioni.litigi, it.discussioni.folli, it.fan.studio-vit, alt.italia, it.hobby.scout], it.discussioni.animali.gatti Date: 26 Jun 1994 23:41:48 -0700 From: ottorino.lapera@fattimiei.it (Ottorino La Pera) Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA Non e' terribile? SONO DEI TORTURATORI. Avete visto cosa stanno facendo a quei poveri gattini su www.bonsaikitten.com (www.gattibonsai.it) Subject: Siete solo degli ipocriti! Newsgroups: (*)[it.discussioni.litigi, it.discussioni.folli, it.fan.studio-vit, alt.italia, it.hobby.scout], it.discussioni.animali.gatti Date: 26 Jun 1994 23:41:48 -0700 From: animalista@fattimiei.it (animalista) Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA Fate tanto gli animalisti e poi segregate quei poveri gattini, siete dei nazisti questa e' la verita'. (*) uno o piu' fra questi, quasi sicuramente il primo. Nei gruppi it.* il cross- post e' limitato a tre. O.K... so you know what a flame, a crosspost and a troll are. Now what do you do about it? Saputo cosa e' un flame, il crosspost e cosa sono i troll ora cosa bisogna fare in merito? a) Sedetevi sulle vostre mani e mordetevi la lingua. Rileggete il post. Potrebbe essere solo un innocente persona in Internet che ha innocentemente scosso i vostri nervi. b) Guardate alla linea dei newsgoups e guardate quanti elementi contiene. Nello specifico guardate se uno dei gruppi e' it.discussione.litigi o it.discussioni.folli c) Continuate a stare seduti sulle vostre mani. d) Guardate l'header per controllare che qualcuno non abbia truccato la e-mail di ritorno per mettere qualcun altro nei guai. Per aiutarvi in questo guardate: http://ddi.digital.net/~gandalf/spamfaq.html ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/alt.spam/ O guardate questo per capire come rintracciare qualcuno: http://208.233.94.170/fravia/fravia.org/enemy.htm e) Smettete di stare seduti sulle vostre mani, ma non rispondete ancora al post. f) Leggete la alt.bigfoot FAQ: http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/internet/news/faq/archive/bigfoot.part1.html http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/internet/news/faq/archive/bigfoot.part2.html g) Sedete e pensate. h) Leggete qualcosa riguardo alle *bufale in rete* (hoax). C'e' un bell'editoriale da passare ai vostri amici che vi mandano delle mail con una di queste *bufale* http://www.sccu.edu/faculty/R_Harris/warning.htm http://www.deja.com/article/406150013 Oppure le Hoax su internet: http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html i) In ogni caso, non rispondete al post in questione. j) Sedete e pensate. Andate a pulire la muffa dal gorgonzola che avete lasciato in frigo una settimana piu' del consentito. Cercate di ricordare che internet non e' la vita reale. Non serve a nulla prendersela. I news-groups di cui fate parte si dimenticheranno di voi se smettete di postare in sei mesi (e molto probabilmente molto prima). La vita reale andra' avanti con o senza internet. k) "discutere con degli sconosciuti anonimi su internet e' un gioco da stupidi perche nella maggior parte dei casi essi si riveleranno - o saranno indistinguibili da - dei sedicenni egocentrici con un infinita quantita' di tempo libero. -Neal Stephenson, _Cryptonomicon_ l) guardate il file originale di creazione del gruppo (il file non e' necessariamente aggiornato) ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/control/ ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/control/ Sperabilmente a questo punto il vostro livello di irritazione si sara' di molto abbassato. Quanto sopra e' applicabile a tutti gli articoli che sono dei troll (esche). Il post potrebbe essere stato inviato ad un solo gruppo, nonostante cio' e' ugualmente stato inviato da un troll per cercare di causare problemi nel newsgroups. NON POSTATE! Se lo farete manderete le persone in bestia ancor di piu' del flamer originale. If you feel like you *have* to post a message TRIM THE NEWSGROUPS! Delete EVERY other newsgroups from the header except the group you are posting to. If you cannot delete the excess newsgroups, please do everybody a favor and don't post. Se proprio non ce la fate ed e' *necessario* che postiate qualcosa in risposta, TOGLIETE IL CROSS-POST MULTIPLO! Cancellate OGNI gruppo dall'header tranne quello del gruppo in cui state postando. Se non potete cancellare il crossposting in eccesso, fate un favore a tutto la popolazioen usenet e *non* postate. E-Mailing ============================================ Innanzitutto (come penso avrete ormai indovinato) NON postate un messaggio al vostro newsgroup a tutti quelli che stanno trollando aspettandovi una risposta. Questo incasinera' ulteriormente lo stato del newsgroup e fara' in modo che la gente si arrabbi con voi. Raffaele dice, comunque, che ci sono gruppi in cui ci sono regole che incoraggiano il fare l'esatto contrario della regola d'oro (NON POSTATE), e accusano di connivenza chi non urla e strepita quando un sospetto troll entra nel gruppo. Quindi, come sempre, e' necessario leggete la FAQ di quel particolare gruppo. Ricordate, groups.yahoo.com e' vostra amica. Andate in quel sito e scrivete la e-mail del postatore. L'insieme dei posting fatti comparira'. Questo vi dira' che tipo di tendenze ha il postatore e potrebbe darvi un indizio delle sue inclinazioni. Se posta su it.discussioni.litigi e' probabilmente un troll. [NdR: provate con giannafolla@yahoo.it] Se il messaggio e' stato postato tramite un remailer anonimo potreste semplicemente contattare il remailer. Sfortunatamente questo potrebbe causare ulteriori problemi alla possibilita' di postare messaggi anonimi 8 un importante fonte di liberta' di parola che non dovrebbe essere distrutta). L'indirizzo E- mail e' stato probabilmente truccato. Per trovare qualcosa a proposito dei remailer, guardate: http://www.well.com/user/abacard/remail.html per una lista degli stessi : http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~raph/remailer-list.html If you feel like you have to do *something*, then you should contact the person who posted the message. PLEASE send a *nice* message and ask them why they did this. Remember, the e-mail is *very* easy to forge and the troll may have been posted only to get someone else in trouble. Another item to consider is that the person may be a net newbie. They may not *know* that they are starting a flame war or making posts that look like trolls. They *may* be sincere about their posts and just need some guidance. Help them, please. Se pensate sia necessario fare *qualcosa*, potreste contattare la persona che ha postato il messaggio. PERFAVORE mandate un messaggio *educato* chiedendo come mai ha compiuto questo errore. Ricordate, la e-mail e' veramente falide da truccare e il troll potrebbe aver postato solo al fine per mettere qualcun altro nei guai. Oppure potrebbe essere che ************************************sin qui ************************************ ******************************************************************************** If you get a nasty reply (or no reply and the posts continue), then your next option is to send a message to the persons postmaster. See the above spamfaq URL for how to figure out what postmaster to send your message to. Andrew reminds us: 1. Keep it simple, keep it short. Postmasters are amazingly busy people. 2. Be polite. It's not the postmaster you're cheesed off at. 3. Make sure you include the full headers so the postmaster has the all- important Message-ID tag to track the troll. Export the message to a text file and paste it back in if you need to. 4. Thank the postmaster for his/her efforts at the end. Gratitude before the fact will help spur the postmaster to effort on your behalf. 5. Be patient. It may take the postmaster a few days or a few gripes to act. Don't repost the same gripe multiple times. New gripes, however, are permissible. 6. If the troll becomes harassing and/or actionable and you can identify the site from the headers, call the postmaster. LD charges may be worth it. Follow the preceding rules for the phone call. Be polite, be brief, and thank the person for their efforts. One call is usually all it takes. Example gripe : Dear Postmaster: Please find attached the headers and body text of a harassing message posted to Your Newsgroup. As the message originated at your site, I'd like to request your assistance in explaining to the offending user the rules of online etiquette. Thank you for your time. Killfiles ============================================ Most newsreaders support a killfile. A killfile tells your newsreader to "ignore" certain posts or posters. The beauty is that you never have to see a message from "X" again, or about subject "X" again. Adding posts to killfiles : http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/killfile-faq/faq.html ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.software.readers/rn_KILL_file_FAQ If you are a News Administrator (or you know one), you can filter out A.S.T posts (thereby also stopping the propagation of these same posts). Look at : List of anti-spam software: http://www.exit109.com/~jeremy/news/antispam.html Some of the software: http://www.exit109.com/~jeremy/news/cleanfeed.html http://www.spamhippo.com/ If you follow all of the above steps, you will be happier, but most importantly Usenet will be happier for having less bandwidth abused. Welcome to the Troll FAQ. A description of the alt.syntax.tactical crew (and lesser trolls) ================================================================= You will find a description of the AST crew below, but first I must mention the lesser groups that inhabit the Internet. From the group alt.games.creatures we find a group of trolls that (as many trolls do) try to make it seem that they are the purveyors of the truth ... everybody else is wronging them. See http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/6042/index.html Where we find THE AVENGER SQUADRON ---------------------------------- The terrorists on AGC have opened a Pandora's box of terrorism. We intend to neutralize that box and close it once and for all, without breaking any laws. "Fear is a powerful and dangerous thing." -A quote. We will stop them, without breaking the law. We are the defenders of justice and peace and we will fight to protect innocent people from the savage violence and hatred on AGC that exists because it was formerly overrun with terrorists. We have successfully ridden it of several hate-mongering persons and groups, and continue to do whatever we can to uphold freedom and peace. Those guilty of violations have accused us of trickery, lies, and forgery. This is not the case. We have never lied. We only make legitimate complaints that truly violate Terms of Service Agreements. Those who wrongly accuse us of these things are no doubt guilty of violations themselves and wish to rid themselves of us so that they can continue their inappropriate activities and get away with them. They will not succeed in trying to destroy us. We are here to stay. ---------------------------------- Isn't that just the CUTEST thing :-) ... The rest of this AST FAQ is here for historical purposes only. Below we find the sad description of the AST crew and a copy of their invasion FAQ. Everything below this down to my .sig has not been updated (and will not be updated) since the troll FAQ was created in early 1996. Jonathan tells me that the *original* AST FAQ was written in 1994. Victor wrote a description about the alt.syntactical wrecking crew. Below is his post. The section "The alt.syntax.tactical FAQ - Know your opponents" contains the tactics used by the AST crew to disrupt any USENET group. Date: Tue, 8 Nov 1994 11:52:38 MST Welcome to the All About alt.syntax.tactical FAQ (or, Know Your Jerk) Irregular Posting *Sigh*. A fresh batch of shitheads have arrived. I do applaud everyone for ignoring them. However newbies are advised to read the following. -- What is this FAQ about? -- This FAQ is for new users who enter the wonderful world of Internet only to be disappointed by stumbling upon gigabytes of stupidity and old timers who know that idiots tend to hang around in groups. The subject here are a bunch of infantile losers known as - Alt.syntax.tactical A.s.t can claim the dubious honor of being the only group that even alt.flame can look down upon. -- Why do they do this? -- Beats me. Seems like an awful lot of boring, repetitive rote work with the only reward being regarded as an electronic cockroach plague by the rest of the net community. -- How do I recognize an alt.syntax.tactical post in general? -- - Cross posting to a large number of groups. Attention seeking exercise. - The "flogging a dead horse" syndrome. Takinng topics that have been done to death and rehashing them. In this case, trying to start another alt.tasteless/rec.pets.cats flame-war (ho-hum). This is likely due to the article detailing the original flame-war appearing in WiReD magazine, so probably seeking attention again. - General lack of interest, humor and a lame attempt to be offensive, like crossposting to rec.pets.cats, the two K12 groups and alt.gathering.rainbow. Other general characteristics - - a.s.t posters are in the habit of followingg up there own articles if the original was (wisely) ignored. - reposting complete articles or flame/counteer flames with one line comments, thus maximizing bulk. - endless flame/counter-flames between the vaarious a.s.t invasion wave members when the real newsgroup members(wisely) ignore them. As a rule of thumb, if it is boring, pointless and inane, you can bank on it being from a.s.t. -- What can I do about stupid a.s.t posts? --- The golden rule is ignore. If someone farts in a room, the smell will eventually go away. Likewise, if a.s.t is largely ignored, they too will go away. Resist all urges to reply. You'll be bashing your head against a brick wall and only giving them satisfaction. Learn to use your kill-file, ask someone you know how if you don't know. The more hi-tech among you may want to track them down and extract whatever electronic revenge you can. -- Where do a.s.t reside, usually? -- There originally was an a.s.t group, and it still gets used occasionally. Mostly, they hang out in alt.bigfoot, which was probably originally a Sasquatch interest group which they invaded and decided to keep, and in alt.flame. -- Who are the members of a.s.t? -- (Note : These people haven't posted in a long time, so this is an old list) OK, here is the listing. If any body has any other addresses, e-mail, and we'll add them. Name and/or handle Address _____________________________________________ Robert Trent trent@vertigo.helix Supreme commander harmoni@vertigo.helix Shafik Harmoni trent@mprgate.mpr.ca Antebi antebi@scf.usc.edu Rev. Antebi antebi@ucla.edu Ron Shmet antebi@phakt.usc.edu antebi@chaph.usc.edu shmet@ucla.edu Wilf wilf@doe.carlton.ca Bulldog bulldog@achilles.net wilf@sce.carlton.ca Dewme sdew@charlie.usd.edu Charlie Dew sdew.nyx.du.edu sdew@tulip.usd.edu Wild Bill traveller@teleport.com Bill Travis bill@suntan.vid.ilstu.edu Doug Weber grossy@netcom.com Lisa Park Yzer-GOD brotman@netcom.com John Kordic jpdavid@netcom.com Plus an ever changing variety of others. As has come to pass, it isn't even necessary to know the above idiots, though they are the most predominant and have popped up in a.t several times this year. A.s.t has matured with time to be just another generic term for bandwidth wasting shit-heads. The alt.syntax.tactical FAQ - Know your opponents ================================================= Here's some relevant source material, obtained from one of the members, the "real" FAQ of AST, a somewhat less serious one, and one distributed -about- AST. The Invasion FAQ of A.S.T. Although not exactly a FAQ, this file is more of an explanation of why alt.syntax.tactical and the tactical-list were created. It also lays down the foundation for the structure, strategy, and protocol of USENET invasions. * Invasion * Each of us brings our own reasons, backgrounds and motivations into this scheme. What is important is that each individual brings into this their own brand of inspired mischief. In some ways it is completely innocent. In some ways it is completely destructive. Anyone can walk into alt.sex and post that pornography should be banned. Anyone can walk into rec.sport.baseball and say "baseball sucks". It takes unbelievable skill and discipline to cause a PROLONGED flame war. That is what we do. But it can only be done with talent, and numbers to match that talent. We only bring into the fold people who have the knack to use smarts to incite chaos, not stupidity to incite being ignored when people see a post and know what you're up to. To keep things running smoothly, Antebi is our 'moderator'. Jpdavid was responsible for creating the mailing-list and setting up the initial newsgroup. Everyone is equal in suggesting and voting on invasion sites and other basic day-to-day workings of the group. Everyone here gains or loses merit only in the invasion arena. * Waves of Invasion * Flames and wars between groups are as old as Usenet. What we try to do is in many ways fundamentally different from what is or has been done in this area. After picking a site, we call for an invasion on that site. There are a number of phases to an invasion. Each person can volunteer for which wave they want to be in, but more times than not, it is a first come-first served policy. It is always important that no one jump the gun and go in before we have time to prepare and bounce ideas off each other. It's also important that people don't switch waves without letting everyone know. Flexibility is the key, as is communication. Typically, we use between two and five Waves of attack. Waves will generally break down into this kind of structure: a: Reconnaissance (RECON): These people will go in early and usually set up camp as "friends of the newsgroup". They will become trusted and participate by joining previous discussions or starting non-controversial ones themselves. They will also act as "double-agents" to counter-flame the other waves as the invasion progresses. They key is building a bit of credibility. b: Wave One: Wave one will usually be what starts the flame war. Those involved in this wave can go on and each have a different flame, or go on and flame in unison. They can bring in a subject of their own or flame a previous discussion. What matters is that this initial wave will be the one that the invaded newsgroup will have their attention on. This wave calls for extreme subtlety. The quality of the flame MUST be at its highest point here. c: Wave Two: Wave Two will consist of tactics to attack the people who were sent in as recon and attempt to start totally new flame threads. The key here is that even if we attack a group of people restrained enough to resist our flame-bait, wave two will stir things up and get others to join in. d: Wave Three: Wave three will generally change depending on the campaign, but will generally be added to push the confusion and chaos over the top. Flame the recon, flame the first wave, flame the second wave. These guys are our balls out, rude SOB's. Mop up and clean out. Sometimes (usually with bigger groups) Wave three will simply be along the lines of a wave two. We will call for a wave four (or five) to be the balls out routine. We will sometimes add a wave or two because depending on the size and intelligence of a newsgroup. Miscellaneous Tactics: There are three other things that we typically use, depending on the sophistication of the invasion. LOOSE CANNONS are people who come in and act so strange and obtuse that it makes the rest of the flames look genuine. THE ANON SERVICE can be used to send posts anonymously. This is a good way to post and pretend to be scared of retribution. Only problem is that this is usually the first sign that a post is a flame, so it should only be used with a TREMENDOUS amount of DISCRETION. CROSS POSTING is also a popular method of choice by other flame groups, so it is important to Cross Post with discretion. If we can cross post to bring in other newsgroups to unwittingly assist us, perfect. If we cross post to suspicious newsgroups, our intentions will be obvious. * Victory * Ideally, signs of victory are the following: o Our names appear in killfiles o Majority or ALL threads in invaded newsgroup were started by us o Regulars/legit people abandon invaded newsgroup o Receive much hate mail - as does our SysAdmin o To be reprimanded by the glorious SysAdmin * Notes * Most important is the need to be SUBTLE when it is required. One misplaced post can ruin it for the rest of us. Those of you who have participated in widespread flame wars know the feeling of having a newsgroup going for a long time, then someone posts an obvious flame or something so far out of context, that everyone says to just ignore the flames, which eventually includes all of us. Blowing a flame war will occasionally happen, but if it could have been avoided with a little thinking, then it's not as excusable. We've got to share duties. Everyone should get practice playing different roles and different waves. It has been assumed that if you don't want to participate, fine. No one will hold it against you. What is expected is that if you don't want to participate you don't have to, but that also means that you wont go warning that newsgroup when an invasion happens. You will close your eyes and turn a blind eye. NO NEWSGROUP IS OFF LIMITS!!!!!! Another thing many people seem to be talking about are SIGS AND NAMES. Try to take on appropriate names. If you are on alt.rap, D.J. Trouble is not going to stir things up...if you show up on soc.culture.physics with that name, you're caught before your first word of text. If a Sig is going to blow your cover, lose it. Official Kudos: - under construction - ------------------------------------------- ALT.SYNTAX.TACTICAL: The FAQ v. 0.98 ------------------------------------------- Table of Contents: A Introduction to alt.syntax.tactical B Questions Frequently Asked 00 What is tactical syntax? 01 What do those long words mean? 02 What do you get when you put those words into an alt newsgroup? 03 Why is tactical syntax important to us? 04 What kinds of topics will be discussed on a.s.t? 05 Have certain ethnic groups or women as a gender been biased by syntactical tactics? 06 What languages make the best and worst use of syntax? 07 What are some of the hidden secrets of syntax? 08 How and why has syntax changed over the years? 09 Can studing[sic] other types of languages (sign, Braille, etc.) help us understand our own tactical syntax? 10 In case of emergency, who should we contact? 11 What other newsgroups might I find interesting? 12 Who is out to get us? 13 Who is an a.s.t approved author? 14 What is the Tertiary Syntactical Cycle? 15 Is there any Television syntax? 16 Who is the current caretaker of the newsgroup? C Summary ------------------------------------------- A Introduction to alt.syntax.tactical Welcome to the FAQ for alt.syntax.tactical. It was founded for the purpose of offering an oasis to those seeking intensive and concrete forum to discuss issues surrounding the mystique of "tactical syntax" or "strategic sentencing". We also like to play with 'magick' and the intrinsic tactical-syntax needed to sucker the post-D&D crowd. ------------------------------------------- B Frequently asked questions 0 What is tactical syntax? It is structure, and structure is meaning. That is the point of this newsgroup. Part of the tactics is to steal language back from the academics who would have us believe that the real meaning of language can only be found in areas which can be understood only by them, not by "the rest of us". 1 What do those long words mean? tactical = An expedient for achieving an end. The science of using strategy to gain military objectives. Skillful maneuvering to achieve a goal. syntax = The way in which words are put together to form sentences, clauses and phrases. 2 What do you get when you put those words into an alt newsgroup? Alt.syntax.tactical is dedicated to serving those who are both attracted to and repulsed by the myriad of options regarding the structure, logistics, ethics and morality of sentences/clauses/phrases. This group will NOT debate grammar in it's intrinsic form, nor debate the correct and incorrect forms of spelling. Words, isolated. mean nothing to us. Words, tactfully arranged, mean everything. alt.syntax.tactical will attempt to present itself as a forum for those searching for better ways to communicate through utilizing the ultimate good deeds of others through both debate and causal/friendly suggestion. Alt.syntax.tactical should function as a freeform information branch to get a better grasp of how and why syntax makes an impact on not just our own lives, but the lives of our nuclear families and human civilization as well. 3 Why is tactical syntax important to us? The great debate of our century has been how the great personalities of our time have worked their communicative "magic". One might ask if the British would have survived without the brilliant syntax of Winston Churchill. Or one might ask is the Nazi's would have even been given a blinking chance to create the Third Reich without the brilliant, albeit malevolent, syntax of Adolf Hitler. What makes good syntax? We find that the more tactical the syntax is the better that syntax is. To understand the importance of syntax in the Modern, flame Postmodern and Macromoderno age, it is essential to acknowledge the contribution of semantics and language mechanics. We must understand the contrived and manipulative effects of social/political/interpersonal propaganda. Can syntax help you get a discount when purchasing items in a retail store? Can syntax make or break an international peace treaty? What is the subjective bias of syntax relative to the teeming population of mass humanity and objective reality. 4 What kinds of topics will be discussed on a.s.t? * The Psychology of Syntax. * Verbal and Non-Verbal gestures and their effect on Syntax. * Syntax under the manipulative effect of hypnosis. * Dyslexia/Schizophrenia and Syntax * Syntax under the effects of drugs and alcohol * The Syntax of Slang * Situational Syntax * The History and Development of North American Syntax * Sex, Syntax and the 90's * Violence and the Syntax dialectic * Syntax and propaganda in Cold War Russia 5 Have certain ethnic groups or women as a gender been biased by syntactical tactics? Yes. Within the Specific and General domains of syntax, language and diction have been used by various factions of meta-institutions to support the downsizing and exploitation of women and members of ethnic groups. 6 What languages make the best and worst use of syntax? Typically, languages with larger vocabularies (Romance) lend themselves to more tactical approaches to diction than languages with smaller vocabularies (i.e. Serubian). 7 What are some of the hidden secrets of syntax? Join the Newsgroup and find out. We will tell you. Hint: It has nothing to do with dolphin squeaks. 8 How and why has syntax changed over the years? As fluid as a river in the desert, syntax has flowed with change. Change is a natural evolution from the sea to the trees, the question is not so much how and why, but when and how. 9 Can studing other types of languages (sign, Braille, etc.) help us understand our own tactical syntax? Of course it can. But for the most part, we only care about English. Although, we would like to learn to swear in other languages. Look out for the alt.syntax.tactical 'Insulting Foreigners' FAQ coming to a.s.t soon! 10 In case of emergency, who should we contact? Please post your problem first, but in case of emergency, you can e-mail to VICE-PRESIDENT@WHITEHOUSE.GOV 11 What other newsgroups might I find interesting? Other a.s.t recommended newsgroups include: alt.nuke.the.usa alt.forgery comp.sys.amiga.advocacy alt.fan.warlord alt.spelling alt.sex.bestiality 12 Who is out to get us? The professionals who want to reduce language to: (1) semantics (that is, little tiny bits which can only be studied with an electron microscope), or (2) "deep" structures which can only be studied by psycho-bio-physio-neurochemists 13 Who is an a.s.t approved author? Thomas Hardy - In the examination of the uses of Syntactical Fiction as a means to brainwash an unyielding public, one of the nineteenth century authors who best personifies this effort is Thomas Hardy, specifically in his novel, "The Mayor of Casterbridge" in which he presents moral dilemmas at an astounding rate and everything runs in intense cycles of threes. There is not a single aspect of the book that does not contain this Tertiary Syntactical CycleTSC. 14 What is the Tertiary Syntactical Cycle? TSC is probably the most powerful and oft used tactic in the attack on unsuspecting minds. Take comedians: All comics tell a joke a maximum of three times. The will get a bigger and better laugh the second and third telling. No competent comic will say a joke a fourth time. This is a violation of TSC and is not to be tolerated. TSC is also the reason that Hollywood produces Trilogies. The Lord of the Rings is perfect in its trimetry. There is a purpose behind TSC and we must all see and use this tactic as a matter of common rule and not as an optional choice. We have no Optional Choices! 15 Is there any television syntax? That to which you refer actually has its basis in the code written circa 1938 by Dr. Y. Cournoyer of McGill University. In the preface to the Canadian Royal Syntactical Performance Methodology Code, Dr. Cournoyer states, "Subversion through the syntactical methodology of oratological mind control must be closely supervised and regulated. Patterns of words transmitted non-personally can have a tremendous impact on a man's [sic] panic centers" The good doctor had studied this effect of radio broadcasts among small populations in northern New Brunswick, and, luckily for us, had anticipated the mass visual medium of television. The code, first adopted by the CRTC and followed by the American FCC, prohibits the broadcast of certain syllabic and phonemic patterns, and sets a syntax standard adopted all over God's Green Earth. 16 Who is the current caretaker? We let Teagi keep the group alive, and promote distribution. If your site doesn't carry it, let them know you want it! C Again, welcome to alt.syntax.tactical. We hope you join us in our discussions and learn. please use the knowledge acquired for good, not evil. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards for they are subtle and quick to anger. Ken Hollis - Gandalf The White - gandalf@digital.net - O- TINLC WWW Page - http://ddi.digital.net/~gandalf/ Trace E-Mail forgery - http://ddi.digital.net/~gandalf/spamfaq.html Trolls crossposts - http://ddi.digital.net/~gandalf/trollfaq.html