Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird without having to
edit an external file?

I did find this:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Sorting_newsgroups

f you want to alphabetize the newsgroups for a particular server (or
want to sort them in any other order):

Close Thunderbird.
Go to the "News" folder in your profile folder.
Make a temporary backup copy of the "<account-name>.rc" file
Modify the "<account-name>.rc" file with Notepad or Wordpad. You
can arrange them any way you want with cut and paste.

Save the file and start Thunderbird.

Note: You should make a backup copy before manually editing any file in
your profile directory. Thunderbird should also be closed when manually
editing files in your profile directory.

But this all sounds rather... bothersome for something that should be easy.

kyonshi wrote:

> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird

Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the folders
within an account.

On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
> kyonshi wrote:
>
>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>
> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the folders
> within an account.

yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of groups
I have.
I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.

kyonshi wrote:
> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>> kyonshi wrote:
>>
>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>
>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the folders
>> within an account.
>
> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of groups
> I have.
> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
> original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.

Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.

Ed

On 3/15/24 07:31 AM, Ed Cryer wrote:
> kyonshi wrote:
>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>
>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>>
>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the folders within an account.
>>
>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of groups I have.
>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my original post, I just think I
>> should have to muck around in the profile.
>
> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10 seconds. I figure about two mins
> for a hundred.
> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>
> Ed
And full of opportunities to screw it up.
--
Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon 6.0.4
Al

On 3/15/2024 12:41 PM, Big Al wrote:
> On 3/15/24 07:31 AM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>> kyonshi wrote:
>>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>>>
>>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the
>>>> folders within an account.
>>>
>>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>>> groups I have.
>>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>>> original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.
>>
>> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
>> seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>>
>> Ed
> And full of opportunities to screw it up.

not really, I just opened it in notepad++ and sorted alphabetically.
I mean, it took me about a minute and most of it was finding the file.

On 3/15/2024 12:31 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
> kyonshi wrote:
>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>
>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>>
>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the folders
>>> within an account.
>>
>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>> groups I have.
>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>> original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.
>
> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
> seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>
> Ed

365 according to the .rc file.
I have a wide spectrum of things I am interested in.
Also a lot of them are pretty dead, and I don't want to miss if there's
actually some topic happening in them.

I do actually wonder how other people are using newsgroups, and how many
groups they follow.

On 03/15/2024 8:10 AM, kyonshi wrote:
> I do actually wonder how other people are using newsgroups, and how many
> groups they follow.
I routinely review the post in 13 newsgroups. If there are no post in a
newsgroup for several years, or if the post are all spam I drop the group.

kyonshi wrote:
> On 3/15/2024 12:31 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>> kyonshi wrote:
>>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>>>
>>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the
>>>> folders within an account.
>>>
>>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>>> groups I have.
>>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>>> original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.
>>
>> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
>> seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>>
>> Ed
>
> 365 according to the .rc file.
> I have a wide spectrum of things I am interested in.
> Also a lot of them are pretty dead, and I don't want to miss if there's
> actually some topic happening in them.
>
> I do actually wonder how other people are using newsgroups, and how many
> groups they follow.

As far as I can make out it's dwindling daily. And most remaining users
are in the higher age group, having started on Usenet when ISPs offered
them with the join-up package.
There are a few I stay with because it's a delight to interact with
knowledgeable people. But spam, trolling and outright viciousness infect
many groups. I've read that people with low self-esteem love to rampage
anonymously through the Net; and I say to myself "OK, let them do it; it
might be good therapy for them. Rather in cyberspace than on the streets".

Ed

Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>kyonshi wrote:
>>On 3/15/2024 12:31 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>>kyonshi wrote:
>>>>On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>>>kyonshi wrote:

>>>>>>Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird

>>>>>Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the
>>>>>folders within an account.

>>>>yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>>>>groups I have.
>>>>I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>>>>original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.

>>>Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>>>I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
>>>seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>>>And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.

>>365 according to the .rc file.
>>I have a wide spectrum of things I am interested in.
>>Also a lot of them are pretty dead, and I don't want to miss if there's
>>actually some topic happening in them.

>>I do actually wonder how other people are using newsgroups, and how many
>>groups they follow.

>As far as I can make out it's dwindling daily. And most remaining users
>are in the higher age group, having started on Usenet when ISPs offered
>them with the join-up package.
>There are a few I stay with because it's a delight to interact with
>knowledgeable people. But spam, trolling and outright viciousness infect
>many groups. I've read that people with low self-esteem love to rampage
>anonymously through the Net; and I say to myself "OK, let them do it; it
>might be good therapy for them. Rather in cyberspace than on the streets".

You are using eternal-september like a lot of us. Ray is extraordinarily
active at implementing spam countermeasures. Ray takes reports (which must
include the Message-ID) and may act upon them if he agrees with the user's
assessment. You should NOT be seeing any newsgroups "infected" with spam.

There is no such thing as a per newsgroup spam countermeasure. Such
countermeasures are implemented server wide.

Generally, complaints about what other people do aren't helpful. You
control what you post. If there isn't something interesting to read in
the newsgroup, then it's your job to post something on topic that would
be of interest to others to start the conversation. Who cares about the
bad actors? Ignore them.

This is called The Standard Advice and it's been now said on Usenet
2,743,982 times since the beginning of time.

kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:

> On 3/15/2024 12:31 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>> kyonshi wrote:
>>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>>>
>>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the folders
>>>> within an account.
>>>
>>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>>> groups I have.
>>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>>> original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.
>>
>> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
>> seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>>
>> Ed
>
> 365 according to the .rc file.
> I have a wide spectrum of things I am interested in.
> Also a lot of them are pretty dead, and I don't want to miss if there's
> actually some topic happening in them.
>
> I do actually wonder how other people are using newsgroups, and how many
> groups they follow.

Before I subscribed to over 50 newsgroups, but some I only lurked there.
I trimmed out the lurk-only newsgroups, and went to around 25 where I
participate. Now I'm down to 19 newsgroups, but the number can
fluctuate.

As for sorting, I drag and drop. Incremental maintenance is a lot
easier than massive maintenance. When I add a new group, that's when I
figure where I want it in the list. Now that you did the massive
maintenance, you should infrequently have to reposition a new group to
which you subscribe.

On 3/15/2024 8:08 AM, kyonshi wrote:
> On 3/15/2024 12:41 PM, Big Al wrote:
>> On 3/15/24 07:31 AM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>>>>
>>>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the folders within an account.
>>>>
>>>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of groups I have.
>>>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.
>>>
>>> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>>> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10 seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>>> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>>>
>>> Ed
>> And full of opportunities to screw it up.
>
> not really, I just opened it in notepad++ and sorted alphabetically.
> I mean, it took me about a minute and most of it was finding the file.

You can use LibreOffice Calc (Excel) and import the text file
and attempt a basic sort there.

The question is, how will it be sorted, and might a more detailed
method achieve a select flavor of sort.

https://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages.html

https://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/coreutils.htm

"sort: sort lines of text files"

https://cytranet.dl.sourceforge.net/project/gnuwin32/coreutils/5.3.0/coreutils-5.3.0-bin.zip
https://gigenet.dl.sourceforge.net/project/gnuwin32/coreutils/5.3.0/coreutils-5.3.0-dep.zip
https://phoenixnap.dl.sourceforge.net/project/gnuwin32/coreutils/5.3.0/coreutils-5.3.0-doc.zip

coreutils-5.3.0-bin.zip sort.exe
coreutils-5.3.0-dep.zip libiconv2.dll , libintl3.dll
coreutils-5.3.0-doc.zip coreutils.chm [help]

sort sample.txt # Output to Terminal window

alt.comp.os.windows-10: 1-180384
alt.comp.os.windows-11: 1-12333
alt.comp.os.windows-8: 1-31622 # 1 comes before 8, not a true numeric sort
alt.os.linux.mint: 1-42973
alt.os.linux.ubuntu: 1-209313
alt.os.linux: 1-80037 # colon comes after period

To be more strict, would be a lot of extra work.

That "sort.exe" should be similar to this. Except
that you would expect Windows line endings on the output.
If you were to do WSL and use the ELF "sort" there, the
line endings would be Linux ones. Then you can use DOS2UNIX
or UNIX2DOS or even Notepad, to fix something like that.

https://linux.die.net/man/1/sort

That's a very basic "sorta sort".

Paul

On 3/15/2024 6:02 PM, Paul wrote:
> On 3/15/2024 8:08 AM, kyonshi wrote:
>> On 3/15/2024 12:41 PM, Big Al wrote:
>>> On 3/15/24 07:31 AM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the folders within an account.
>>>>>
>>>>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of groups I have.
>>>>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.
>>>>
>>>> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>>>> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10 seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>>>> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>>>>
>>>> Ed
>>> And full of opportunities to screw it up.
>>
>> not really, I just opened it in notepad++ and sorted alphabetically.
>> I mean, it took me about a minute and most of it was finding the file.
>
> You can use LibreOffice Calc (Excel) and import the text file
> and attempt a basic sort there.
>
> The question is, how will it be sorted, and might a more detailed
> method achieve a select flavor of sort.
>
> https://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages.html
>
> https://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/coreutils.htm
>
> "sort: sort lines of text files"
>
> https://cytranet.dl.sourceforge.net/project/gnuwin32/coreutils/5.3.0/coreutils-5.3.0-bin.zip
> https://gigenet.dl.sourceforge.net/project/gnuwin32/coreutils/5.3.0/coreutils-5.3.0-dep.zip
> https://phoenixnap.dl.sourceforge.net/project/gnuwin32/coreutils/5.3.0/coreutils-5.3.0-doc.zip
>
> coreutils-5.3.0-bin.zip sort.exe
> coreutils-5.3.0-dep.zip libiconv2.dll , libintl3.dll
> coreutils-5.3.0-doc.zip coreutils.chm [help]
>
> sort sample.txt # Output to Terminal window
>
> alt.comp.os.windows-10: 1-180384
> alt.comp.os.windows-11: 1-12333
> alt.comp.os.windows-8: 1-31622 # 1 comes before 8, not a true numeric sort
> alt.os.linux.mint: 1-42973
> alt.os.linux.ubuntu: 1-209313
> alt.os.linux: 1-80037 # colon comes after period
>
> To be more strict, would be a lot of extra work.
>
> That "sort.exe" should be similar to this. Except
> that you would expect Windows line endings on the output.
> If you were to do WSL and use the ELF "sort" there, the
> line endings would be Linux ones. Then you can use DOS2UNIX
> or UNIX2DOS or even Notepad, to fix something like that.
>
> https://linux.die.net/man/1/sort
>
> That's a very basic "sorta sort".
>
> Paul
>
>

I mean. I am very happy you took the time to write this out for me, but
as I wrote, I opened the file in notepad++ which can sort lines in a
file alphabetically, ran that, and saved it.

My point about this is though that this seems like a very basic function
that a program like Thunderbird should offer inside the program, and not
require people to muck about in the profile.
I don't quite get why newsgroups are added in the order you add them
instead of any more logical way.

On 3/15/2024 3:32 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
> kyonshi wrote:
>> On 3/15/2024 12:31 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>>>>
>>>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the
>>>>> folders within an account.
>>>>
>>>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>>>> groups I have.
>>>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>>>> original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the
>>>> profile.
>>>
>>> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>>> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
>>> seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>>> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>>>
>>> Ed
>>
>> 365 according to the .rc file.
>> I have a wide spectrum of things I am interested in.
>> Also a lot of them are pretty dead, and I don't want to miss if
>> there's actually some topic happening in them.
>>
>> I do actually wonder how other people are using newsgroups, and how
>> many groups they follow.
>
> As far as I can make out it's dwindling daily. And most remaining users
> are in the higher age group, having started on Usenet when ISPs offered
> them with the join-up package.
> There are a few I stay with because it's a delight to interact with
> knowledgeable people. But spam, trolling and outright viciousness infect
> many groups. I've read that people with low self-esteem love to rampage
> anonymously through the Net; and I say to myself "OK, let them do it; it
> might be good therapy for them. Rather in cyberspace than on the streets".
>
> Ed
>

I see myself as one of the younger ones here, and I am 40.
Sigh.

Anyway, I am really fascinated by the way usenet works, so I am trying
to follow a lot of groups.

kyonshi wrote:
> On 3/15/2024 6:02 PM, Paul wrote:
>> On 3/15/2024 8:08 AM, kyonshi wrote:
>>> On 3/15/2024 12:41 PM, Big Al wrote:
>>>> On 3/15/24 07:31 AM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the
>>>>>>> folders within an account.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>>>>>> groups I have.
>>>>>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>>>>>> original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the
>>>>>> profile.
>>>>>
>>>>> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>>>>> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
>>>>> seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>>>>> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>>>>>
>>>>> Ed
>>>> And full of opportunities to screw it up.
>>>
>>> not really, I just opened it in notepad++ and sorted alphabetically.
>>> I mean, it took me about a minute and most of it was finding the file.
>>
>> You can use LibreOffice Calc (Excel) and import the text file
>> and attempt a basic sort there.
>>
>> The question is, how will it be sorted, and might a more detailed
>> method achieve a select flavor of sort.
>>
>> https://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages.html
>>
>>      https://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/coreutils.htm
>>
>>      "sort: sort lines of text files"
>>
>>
>> https://cytranet.dl.sourceforge.net/project/gnuwin32/coreutils/5.3.0/coreutils-5.3.0-bin.zip
>>
>> https://gigenet.dl.sourceforge.net/project/gnuwin32/coreutils/5.3.0/coreutils-5.3.0-dep.zip
>>
>> https://phoenixnap.dl.sourceforge.net/project/gnuwin32/coreutils/5.3.0/coreutils-5.3.0-doc.zip
>>
>> coreutils-5.3.0-bin.zip  sort.exe
>> coreutils-5.3.0-dep.zip  libiconv2.dll , libintl3.dll
>> coreutils-5.3.0-doc.zip  coreutils.chm [help]
>>
>>       sort sample.txt    # Output to Terminal window
>>
>> alt.comp.os.windows-10: 1-180384
>> alt.comp.os.windows-11: 1-12333
>> alt.comp.os.windows-8: 1-31622      # 1 comes before 8, not a true
>> numeric sort
>> alt.os.linux.mint: 1-42973
>> alt.os.linux.ubuntu: 1-209313
>> alt.os.linux: 1-80037               # colon comes after period
>>
>> To be more strict, would be a lot of extra work.
>>
>> That "sort.exe" should be similar to this. Except
>> that you would expect Windows line endings on the output.
>> If you were to do WSL and use the ELF "sort" there, the
>> line endings would be Linux ones. Then you can use DOS2UNIX
>> or UNIX2DOS or even Notepad, to fix something like that.
>>
>> https://linux.die.net/man/1/sort
>>
>> That's a very basic "sorta sort".
>>
>>     Paul
>>
>>
>
> I mean. I am very happy you took the time to write this out for me, but
> as I wrote, I opened the file in notepad++ which can sort lines in a
> file alphabetically, ran that, and saved it.
>
> My point about this is though that this seems like a very basic function
> that a program like Thunderbird should offer inside the program, and not
> require people to muck about in the profile.
> I don't quite get why newsgroups are added in the order you add them
> instead of any more logical way.
The order you add them has its logic, as does alphabetical order, or
favourite order, or most frequently used order, or several other
ordering methods.
Different people prefer different orders.
Have you ever looked into all the options in Settings? They'd confound
an astronaut on a Space Shuttle (or even a Tesla driver (:- ). Adding
your additional option would compound the clutter.
Ed

Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>> kyonshi wrote:
>>> On 3/15/2024 12:31 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>
>>>>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>
>>>>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the
>>>>>> folders within an account.
>
>>>>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>>>>> groups I have.
>>>>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>>>>> original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.
>
>>>> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>>>> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
>>>> seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>>>> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>
>>> 365 according to the .rc file.
>>> I have a wide spectrum of things I am interested in.
>>> Also a lot of them are pretty dead, and I don't want to miss if there's
>>> actually some topic happening in them.
>
>>> I do actually wonder how other people are using newsgroups, and how many
>>> groups they follow.
>
>> As far as I can make out it's dwindling daily. And most remaining users
>> are in the higher age group, having started on Usenet when ISPs offered
>> them with the join-up package.
>> There are a few I stay with because it's a delight to interact with
>> knowledgeable people. But spam, trolling and outright viciousness infect
>> many groups. I've read that people with low self-esteem love to rampage
>> anonymously through the Net; and I say to myself "OK, let them do it; it
>> might be good therapy for them. Rather in cyberspace than on the streets".
>
> You are using eternal-september like a lot of us. Ray is extraordinarily
> active at implementing spam countermeasures. Ray takes reports (which must
> include the Message-ID) and may act upon them if he agrees with the user's
> assessment. You should NOT be seeing any newsgroups "infected" with spam.
>
> There is no such thing as a per newsgroup spam countermeasure. Such
> countermeasures are implemented server wide.
>
> Generally, complaints about what other people do aren't helpful. You
> control what you post. If there isn't something interesting to read in
> the newsgroup, then it's your job to post something on topic that would
> be of interest to others to start the conversation. Who cares about the
> bad actors? Ignore them.
>
> This is called The Standard Advice and it's been now said on Usenet
> 2,743,982 times since the beginning of time.

There are more "bad actors" than lovers of knowledge and understanding,
Adam. More people ready to stick two fingers in the air than pursue
understanding and empathy; to protect their self-identity against the
inroads of higher culture, by which they feel threatened.

Ed

VanguardLH wrote:
> kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On 3/15/2024 12:31 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>>>>
>>>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the folders
>>>>> within an account.
>>>>
>>>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>>>> groups I have.
>>>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>>>> original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.
>>>
>>> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>>> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
>>> seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>>> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>>>
>>> Ed
>>
>> 365 according to the .rc file.
>> I have a wide spectrum of things I am interested in.
>> Also a lot of them are pretty dead, and I don't want to miss if there's
>> actually some topic happening in them.
>>
>> I do actually wonder how other people are using newsgroups, and how many
>> groups they follow.
>
> Before I subscribed to over 50 newsgroups, but some I only lurked there.
> I trimmed out the lurk-only newsgroups, and went to around 25 where I
> participate. Now I'm down to 19 newsgroups, but the number can
> fluctuate.
>
> As for sorting, I drag and drop. Incremental maintenance is a lot
> easier than massive maintenance. When I add a new group, that's when I
> figure where I want it in the list. Now that you did the massive
> maintenance, you should infrequently have to reposition a new group to
> which you subscribe.

I use "means more to me" as my guiding light.
A few highly specialised groups up front.
After those Windows, i-groups, android-groups; usually in order of OS
releases.

Ed

Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>>kyonshi wrote:
>>>>On 3/15/2024 12:31 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>>>>kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>>On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>>>>>kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>>>>Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird

>>>>>>>Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the
>>>>>>>folders within an account.

>>>>>>yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>>>>>>groups I have.
>>>>>>I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>>>>>>original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.

>>>>>Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>>>>>I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
>>>>>seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>>>>>And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.

>>>>365 according to the .rc file.
>>>>I have a wide spectrum of things I am interested in.
>>>>Also a lot of them are pretty dead, and I don't want to miss if there's
>>>>actually some topic happening in them.

>>>>I do actually wonder how other people are using newsgroups, and how many
>>>>groups they follow.

>>>As far as I can make out it's dwindling daily. And most remaining users
>>>are in the higher age group, having started on Usenet when ISPs offered
>>>them with the join-up package.
>>>There are a few I stay with because it's a delight to interact with
>>>knowledgeable people. But spam, trolling and outright viciousness infect
>>>many groups. I've read that people with low self-esteem love to rampage
>>>anonymously through the Net; and I say to myself "OK, let them do it; it
>>>might be good therapy for them. Rather in cyberspace than on the streets".

>>You are using eternal-september like a lot of us. Ray is extraordinarily
>>active at implementing spam countermeasures. Ray takes reports (which must
>>include the Message-ID) and may act upon them if he agrees with the user's
>>assessment. You should NOT be seeing any newsgroups "infected" with spam.

>>There is no such thing as a per newsgroup spam countermeasure. Such
>>countermeasures are implemented server wide.

>>Generally, complaints about what other people do aren't helpful. You
>>control what you post. If there isn't something interesting to read in
>>the newsgroup, then it's your job to post something on topic that would
>>be of interest to others to start the conversation. Who cares about the
>>bad actors? Ignore them.

>>This is called The Standard Advice and it's been now said on Usenet
>>2,743,982 times since the beginning of time.

>There are more "bad actors" than lovers of knowledge and understanding,
>Adam. More people ready to stick two fingers in the air than pursue
>understanding and empathy; to protect their self-identity against the
>inroads of higher culture, by which they feel threatened.

Generally. those who left Usenet who were worth reading didn't do so
because of the people you complain about. Newsgroups died because,
collectively, all the regulars stopped posting interesting things on
topic. The way to save a newsgroup is to post something interesting on
topic. That's the nice thing about Usenet: All the control of what
matters is in your hands. You have the power to post interesting
contect. If other people exercise that power, the newsgroup lives.

Don't complain. Act. Set the example.

And, dear gawd, NEVER complain about seeing newsgroups infected with
spam on eternal-september as its News administrator takes effective
countermeasures. If a user brings spam to his attention with Message-ID,
he may be willing to adjust his countermeasures.

On 3/15/2024 1:20 PM, kyonshi wrote:

> I mean. I am very happy you took the time to write this out for me, but as I wrote, I opened the file in notepad++ which can sort lines in a file alphabetically, ran that, and saved it.
>
> My point about this is though that this seems like a very basic function that a program like Thunderbird should offer inside the program, and not require people to muck about in the profile.
> I don't quite get why newsgroups are added in the order you add them instead of any more logical way.

It's not tradition to sort them.

There are similar groupnames, in various
places in the Big-8. They're not all
in alt.* for example. If you were
sorting them logically (groups which have similar
discussion content), then that would
not be achieved via Notepad++.

As an example today, a couple people were talking about
"using a WinXP group" as the proper place to discuss something.
It's my suspicion, since neither individual referred to the
group by name, they were not actually talking about the same
group.

If you were a "collector", then you would put the two items
next to one another, as "logically close". Some servers have
*neither* of these.

alt.os.windows-xp
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general

The hostinfo.dat is not necessarily in alphabetical order either.
But the "Manage Newsgroup Subscriptions" in Thunderbird, may present
items in some sort of order (more ordered than the hostinfo.dat
file happens to be). But the list only begins to render on the
screen, when you start typing a name.

If you have 300+ entries, those won't all fit on the screen
at the same time in Nptepad++, so you'll be scrolling-scrolling-scrolling
looking for stuff. Like say you're trying to find those two WinXP
groups for example. They're not even spelled consistently, when
entered in multiple places.

It's just not an environment that responds to whips and chairs.
It is what it is.

Paul

On 2024-03-15 18:20, kyonshi wrote:
> My point about this is though that this seems like a very basic function
> that a program like Thunderbird should offer inside the program, and not
> require people to muck about in the profile.
> I don't quite get why newsgroups are added in the order you add them
> instead of any more logical way.

That order is the easier to program.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>> Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>> On 3/15/2024 12:31 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>
>>>>>>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>
>>>>>>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the
>>>>>>>> folders within an account.
>
>>>>>>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>>>>>>> groups I have.
>>>>>>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>>>>>>> original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.
>
>>>>>> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>>>>>> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
>>>>>> seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>>>>>> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>
>>>>> 365 according to the .rc file.
>>>>> I have a wide spectrum of things I am interested in.
>>>>> Also a lot of them are pretty dead, and I don't want to miss if there's
>>>>> actually some topic happening in them.
>
>>>>> I do actually wonder how other people are using newsgroups, and how many
>>>>> groups they follow.
>
>>>> As far as I can make out it's dwindling daily. And most remaining users
>>>> are in the higher age group, having started on Usenet when ISPs offered
>>>> them with the join-up package.
>>>> There are a few I stay with because it's a delight to interact with
>>>> knowledgeable people. But spam, trolling and outright viciousness infect
>>>> many groups. I've read that people with low self-esteem love to rampage
>>>> anonymously through the Net; and I say to myself "OK, let them do it; it
>>>> might be good therapy for them. Rather in cyberspace than on the streets".
>
>>> You are using eternal-september like a lot of us. Ray is extraordinarily
>>> active at implementing spam countermeasures. Ray takes reports (which must
>>> include the Message-ID) and may act upon them if he agrees with the user's
>>> assessment. You should NOT be seeing any newsgroups "infected" with spam.
>
>>> There is no such thing as a per newsgroup spam countermeasure. Such
>>> countermeasures are implemented server wide.
>
>>> Generally, complaints about what other people do aren't helpful. You
>>> control what you post. If there isn't something interesting to read in
>>> the newsgroup, then it's your job to post something on topic that would
>>> be of interest to others to start the conversation. Who cares about the
>>> bad actors? Ignore them.
>
>>> This is called The Standard Advice and it's been now said on Usenet
>>> 2,743,982 times since the beginning of time.
>
>> There are more "bad actors" than lovers of knowledge and understanding,
>> Adam. More people ready to stick two fingers in the air than pursue
>> understanding and empathy; to protect their self-identity against the
>> inroads of higher culture, by which they feel threatened.
>
> Generally. those who left Usenet who were worth reading didn't do so
> because of the people you complain about. Newsgroups died because,
> collectively, all the regulars stopped posting interesting things on
> topic. The way to save a newsgroup is to post something interesting on
> topic. That's the nice thing about Usenet: All the control of what
> matters is in your hands. You have the power to post interesting
> contect. If other people exercise that power, the newsgroup lives.
>
> Don't complain. Act. Set the example.
>
> And, dear gawd, NEVER complain about seeing newsgroups infected with
> spam on eternal-september as its News administrator takes effective
> countermeasures. If a user brings spam to his attention with Message-ID,
> he may be willing to adjust his countermeasures.

Your political schema, Adam, would build a society where low-life would
call the shots, and trammel anything above their ability to comprehend
or allow. They'd storm the Capitol, overthrow democracy and establish a
dictatorship of low-life.

Ed

On Fri, 15 Mar 2024 22:58:18 +0000, Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk>
wrote:

>Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>> Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>> On 3/15/2024 12:31 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>>>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>>>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>
>>>>>>>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>
>>>>>>>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the
>>>>>>>>> folders within an account.
>>
>>>>>>>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>>>>>>>> groups I have.
>>>>>>>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>>>>>>>> original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.
>>
>>>>>>> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>>>>>>> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
>>>>>>> seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>>>>>>> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>>
>>>>>> 365 according to the .rc file.
>>>>>> I have a wide spectrum of things I am interested in.
>>>>>> Also a lot of them are pretty dead, and I don't want to miss if there's
>>>>>> actually some topic happening in them.
>>
>>>>>> I do actually wonder how other people are using newsgroups, and how many
>>>>>> groups they follow.
>>
>>>>> As far as I can make out it's dwindling daily. And most remaining users
>>>>> are in the higher age group, having started on Usenet when ISPs offered
>>>>> them with the join-up package.
>>>>> There are a few I stay with because it's a delight to interact with
>>>>> knowledgeable people. But spam, trolling and outright viciousness infect
>>>>> many groups. I've read that people with low self-esteem love to rampage
>>>>> anonymously through the Net; and I say to myself "OK, let them do it; it
>>>>> might be good therapy for them. Rather in cyberspace than on the streets".
>>
>>>> You are using eternal-september like a lot of us. Ray is extraordinarily
>>>> active at implementing spam countermeasures. Ray takes reports (which must
>>>> include the Message-ID) and may act upon them if he agrees with the user's
>>>> assessment. You should NOT be seeing any newsgroups "infected" with spam.
>>
>>>> There is no such thing as a per newsgroup spam countermeasure. Such
>>>> countermeasures are implemented server wide.
>>
>>>> Generally, complaints about what other people do aren't helpful. You
>>>> control what you post. If there isn't something interesting to read in
>>>> the newsgroup, then it's your job to post something on topic that would
>>>> be of interest to others to start the conversation. Who cares about the
>>>> bad actors? Ignore them.
>>
>>>> This is called The Standard Advice and it's been now said on Usenet
>>>> 2,743,982 times since the beginning of time.
>>
>>> There are more "bad actors" than lovers of knowledge and understanding,
>>> Adam. More people ready to stick two fingers in the air than pursue
>>> understanding and empathy; to protect their self-identity against the
>>> inroads of higher culture, by which they feel threatened.
>>
>> Generally. those who left Usenet who were worth reading didn't do so
>> because of the people you complain about. Newsgroups died because,
>> collectively, all the regulars stopped posting interesting things on
>> topic. The way to save a newsgroup is to post something interesting on
>> topic. That's the nice thing about Usenet: All the control of what
>> matters is in your hands. You have the power to post interesting
>> contect. If other people exercise that power, the newsgroup lives.
>>
>> Don't complain. Act. Set the example.
>>
>> And, dear gawd, NEVER complain about seeing newsgroups infected with
>> spam on eternal-september as its News administrator takes effective
>> countermeasures. If a user brings spam to his attention with Message-ID,
>> he may be willing to adjust his countermeasures.
>
>Your political schema, Adam, would build a society where low-life would
>call the shots, and trammel anything above their ability to comprehend
>or allow. They'd storm the Capitol, overthrow democracy and establish a
>dictatorship of low-life.
>
>Ed

OT, but:

The date is already set (according to my spies in the Excited
States)... 5 Nov 2024.

Strangely, the date corresponds with Guy Fawkes Day in Mother
(England/UK) where a certain miscreant (Mr Fox) wuz discovered to have
planted gunpowder in the Mother of Parliaments on that date in 1605.

And we thought TV had a monopoly on Big Bang Theory.

Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>> Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>> On 3/15/2024 12:31 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>>>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>>>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>
>>>>>>>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>
>>>>>>>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the
>>>>>>>>> folders within an account.
>>
>>>>>>>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>>>>>>>> groups I have.
>>>>>>>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>>>>>>>> original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.
>>
>>>>>>> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>>>>>>> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
>>>>>>> seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>>>>>>> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>>
>>>>>> 365 according to the .rc file.
>>>>>> I have a wide spectrum of things I am interested in.
>>>>>> Also a lot of them are pretty dead, and I don't want to miss if there's
>>>>>> actually some topic happening in them.
>>
>>>>>> I do actually wonder how other people are using newsgroups, and how many
>>>>>> groups they follow.
>>
>>>>> As far as I can make out it's dwindling daily. And most remaining users
>>>>> are in the higher age group, having started on Usenet when ISPs offered
>>>>> them with the join-up package.
>>>>> There are a few I stay with because it's a delight to interact with
>>>>> knowledgeable people. But spam, trolling and outright viciousness infect
>>>>> many groups. I've read that people with low self-esteem love to rampage
>>>>> anonymously through the Net; and I say to myself "OK, let them do it; it
>>>>> might be good therapy for them. Rather in cyberspace than on the streets".
>>
>>>> You are using eternal-september like a lot of us. Ray is extraordinarily
>>>> active at implementing spam countermeasures. Ray takes reports (which must
>>>> include the Message-ID) and may act upon them if he agrees with the user's
>>>> assessment. You should NOT be seeing any newsgroups "infected" with spam.
>>
>>>> There is no such thing as a per newsgroup spam countermeasure. Such
>>>> countermeasures are implemented server wide.
>>
>>>> Generally, complaints about what other people do aren't helpful. You
>>>> control what you post. If there isn't something interesting to read in
>>>> the newsgroup, then it's your job to post something on topic that would
>>>> be of interest to others to start the conversation. Who cares about the
>>>> bad actors? Ignore them.
>>
>>>> This is called The Standard Advice and it's been now said on Usenet
>>>> 2,743,982 times since the beginning of time.
>>
>>> There are more "bad actors" than lovers of knowledge and understanding,
>>> Adam. More people ready to stick two fingers in the air than pursue
>>> understanding and empathy; to protect their self-identity against the
>>> inroads of higher culture, by which they feel threatened.
>>
>> Generally. those who left Usenet who were worth reading didn't do so
>> because of the people you complain about. Newsgroups died because,
>> collectively, all the regulars stopped posting interesting things on
>> topic. The way to save a newsgroup is to post something interesting on
>> topic. That's the nice thing about Usenet: All the control of what
>> matters is in your hands. You have the power to post interesting
>> contect. If other people exercise that power, the newsgroup lives.
>>
>> Don't complain. Act. Set the example.
>>
>> And, dear gawd, NEVER complain about seeing newsgroups infected with
>> spam on eternal-september as its News administrator takes effective
>> countermeasures. If a user brings spam to his attention with Message-ID,
>> he may be willing to adjust his countermeasures.
>
>Your political schema, Adam, would build a society where low-life would
>call the shots, and trammel anything above their ability to comprehend
>or allow. They'd storm the Capitol, overthrow democracy and establish a
>dictatorship of low-life.

I had figured out years ago that you were someone who wasn't serious and
wasn't worth reading. Clearly I was wrong to stop ignoring you.

You get no enjoyment out of Usenet, so when you decide to take your
unpleasant act elsewhere, it will be no great loss.

Nobody wrote:
> On Fri, 15 Mar 2024 22:58:18 +0000, Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk>
> wrote:
>
>> Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>>> Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>>>>> Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:
>>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>>> On 3/15/2024 12:31 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>>>>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>>>>>>> On 3/15/2024 11:43 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> kyonshi wrote:
>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Is there a way to sort the newsgroups in Thunderbird
>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Not to automatically sort, but you can manually drag/drop the
>>>>>>>>>> folders within an account.
>>>
>>>>>>>>> yeah, but that takes way longer than it should with the amount of
>>>>>>>>> groups I have.
>>>>>>>>> I mean, it isn't a problem to sort it with the method I gave in my
>>>>>>>>> original post, I just think I should have to muck around in the profile.
>>>
>>>>>>>> Good Lord! How many groups do you have?
>>>>>>>> I have 10 and I just sorted them with drag & drop, and it took 10
>>>>>>>> seconds. I figure about two mins for a hundred.
>>>>>>>> And it's so easy and regular. Your method is rather messy.
>>>
>>>>>>> 365 according to the .rc file.
>>>>>>> I have a wide spectrum of things I am interested in.
>>>>>>> Also a lot of them are pretty dead, and I don't want to miss if there's
>>>>>>> actually some topic happening in them.
>>>
>>>>>>> I do actually wonder how other people are using newsgroups, and how many
>>>>>>> groups they follow.
>>>
>>>>>> As far as I can make out it's dwindling daily. And most remaining users
>>>>>> are in the higher age group, having started on Usenet when ISPs offered
>>>>>> them with the join-up package.
>>>>>> There are a few I stay with because it's a delight to interact with
>>>>>> knowledgeable people. But spam, trolling and outright viciousness infect
>>>>>> many groups. I've read that people with low self-esteem love to rampage
>>>>>> anonymously through the Net; and I say to myself "OK, let them do it; it
>>>>>> might be good therapy for them. Rather in cyberspace than on the streets".
>>>
>>>>> You are using eternal-september like a lot of us. Ray is extraordinarily
>>>>> active at implementing spam countermeasures. Ray takes reports (which must
>>>>> include the Message-ID) and may act upon them if he agrees with the user's
>>>>> assessment. You should NOT be seeing any newsgroups "infected" with spam.
>>>
>>>>> There is no such thing as a per newsgroup spam countermeasure. Such
>>>>> countermeasures are implemented server wide.
>>>
>>>>> Generally, complaints about what other people do aren't helpful. You
>>>>> control what you post. If there isn't something interesting to read in
>>>>> the newsgroup, then it's your job to post something on topic that would
>>>>> be of interest to others to start the conversation. Who cares about the
>>>>> bad actors? Ignore them.
>>>
>>>>> This is called The Standard Advice and it's been now said on Usenet
>>>>> 2,743,982 times since the beginning of time.
>>>
>>>> There are more "bad actors" than lovers of knowledge and understanding,
>>>> Adam. More people ready to stick two fingers in the air than pursue
>>>> understanding and empathy; to protect their self-identity against the
>>>> inroads of higher culture, by which they feel threatened.
>>>
>>> Generally. those who left Usenet who were worth reading didn't do so
>>> because of the people you complain about. Newsgroups died because,
>>> collectively, all the regulars stopped posting interesting things on
>>> topic. The way to save a newsgroup is to post something interesting on
>>> topic. That's the nice thing about Usenet: All the control of what
>>> matters is in your hands. You have the power to post interesting
>>> contect. If other people exercise that power, the newsgroup lives.
>>>
>>> Don't complain. Act. Set the example.
>>>
>>> And, dear gawd, NEVER complain about seeing newsgroups infected with
>>> spam on eternal-september as its News administrator takes effective
>>> countermeasures. If a user brings spam to his attention with Message-ID,
>>> he may be willing to adjust his countermeasures.
>>
>> Your political schema, Adam, would build a society where low-life would
>> call the shots, and trammel anything above their ability to comprehend
>> or allow. They'd storm the Capitol, overthrow democracy and establish a
>> dictatorship of low-life.
>>
>> Ed
>
>
> OT, but:
>
> The date is already set (according to my spies in the Excited
> States)... 5 Nov 2024.
>
> Strangely, the date corresponds with Guy Fawkes Day in Mother
> (England/UK) where a certain miscreant (Mr Fox) wuz discovered to have
> planted gunpowder in the Mother of Parliaments on that date in 1605.
>
> And we thought TV had a monopoly on Big Bang Theory.

Apt comparison, man. I hope it doesn't come to that; I've always had the
deepest respect for USA and its constitution.

Ed

Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:

> Your political schema, Adam, would build a society where low-life would
> call the shots, and trammel anything above their ability to comprehend
> or allow. They'd storm the Capitol, overthrow democracy and establish a
> dictatorship of low-life.

If you want a controlled newsgroup, find those that are moderated.
Else, non-moderated newsgroups remain an anarchy: no one is in control.
Up to each individual to define filters in their NNTP client to reflect
the view of Usenet they want to see. Spam can be filtered out. Now
that Google left Usenet, there is a LOT less to filter out.