I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
favourite newsgroups.

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet <blah@blah.blah>
wrote:

>I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
>wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>favourite newsgroups.
Kill Filter
@googlegroups.com

KenW

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet wrote:

> I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
> wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
> favourite newsgroups.

> User-Agent: ForteAgent/7.20.32.1218

For how to filter Google Groups in your version of Agent:
1. Go to the Usenet Improvement Project website at
<http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/>.
2. Click on "[Free]Agent" in the left column.
3. Scroll down to, "Agent Beginning With Release 5.00/32.1170".

--
Kind regards
Ralph

🚦: 🔥 vs. 🗟

On Wed, 01 Feb 2023 06:41:46 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid> wrote:

>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet wrote:
>
>> I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
>> wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>> favourite newsgroups.
>
>> User-Agent: ForteAgent/7.20.32.1218
>
>
>For how to filter Google Groups in your version of Agent:
> 1. Go to the Usenet Improvement Project website at
> <http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/>.
> 2. Click on "[Free]Agent" in the left column.
> 3. Scroll down to, "Agent Beginning With Release 5.00/32.1170".

Thank you. I set up the filter but it didn't get rid of the nonsense.
Another thing I've noticed about these nuisance posters is that they
cross post to 6 or more newsgroups to reach a bigger readership. Is
there a way that I can get Agent to filter messages that have been
cross posted to, say, 2 or more groups?

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 10:35:19 -0700, KenW <ken1943@invalid.net> wrote:

>@googlegroups.com

Great. Thank you. I didn't realise it was that simple. I've made a filter
with that and another from the instruction Ralph pointed me towards.

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet <blah@blah.blah>
wrote:

>I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was

Yes.

>wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>favourite newsgroups.

Others have already told you how, but let me point out that doing that
is a bad mistake in almost every newsgroup. Yes, doing so will filter
out a lot of the nonsense posts, but it will also filter out a lot of
the useful, good posts. I strongly recommend against it.

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 11:30:47 -0700, Ken Blake <Ken@invalid.news.com> wrote:

>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet <blah@blah.blah>
>wrote:
>
>>I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
>
>
>Yes.
>
>
>>wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>>favourite newsgroups.
>
>
>Others have already told you how, but let me point out that doing that
>is a bad mistake in almost every newsgroup. Yes, doing so will filter
>out a lot of the nonsense posts, but it will also filter out a lot of
>the useful, good posts. I strongly recommend against it.

Right. That's a good point you're making there. And because adding
those filter suggestions by Ralph and KenW (above) hasn't removed
the posters' I want I'm going to allow Google Groups back. Thanks.
Now, on to my next query, if you'll allow, I've noticed that the posters
I want to filter out cross post to a lot of groups to aggravate as many
Usenetters as they can. Is there a filter you know of that can filter out
posts that have been cross posted to more than 2 or more groups?
That would be another way of getting where I want.

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 18:43:10 +0000, flibbertigibbet <blah@blah.blah>
wrote:

>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 11:30:47 -0700, Ken Blake <Ken@invalid.news.com> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet <blah@blah.blah>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
>>
>>
>>Yes.
>>
>>
>>>wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>>>favourite newsgroups.
>>
>>
>>Others have already told you how, but let me point out that doing that
>>is a bad mistake in almost every newsgroup. Yes, doing so will filter
>>out a lot of the nonsense posts, but it will also filter out a lot of
>>the useful, good posts. I strongly recommend against it.
>
>Right. That's a good point you're making there. And because adding
>those filter suggestions by Ralph and KenW (above) hasn't removed
>the posters' I want I'm going to allow Google Groups back. Thanks.

You're welcome. Glad to help.

>Now, on to my next query, if you'll allow, I've noticed that the posters
>I want to filter out cross post to a lot of groups to aggravate as many
>Usenetters as they can. Is there a filter you know of that can filter out
>posts that have been cross posted to more than 2 or more groups?

Unless I'm thinking of Thunderbird, which I used to use, I think so.
But I can't remember how to do it, and a quick search didn't find it.
Wait for someone else to tell you how.

>That would be another way of getting where I want.

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 18:11:08 +0000, flibbertigibbet <blah@blah.blah>
wrote:

>On Wed, 01 Feb 2023 06:41:46 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet wrote:
>>
>>> I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
>>> wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>>> favourite newsgroups.
>>
>>> User-Agent: ForteAgent/7.20.32.1218
>>
>>
>>For how to filter Google Groups in your version of Agent:
>> 1. Go to the Usenet Improvement Project website at
>> <http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/>.
>> 2. Click on "[Free]Agent" in the left column.
>> 3. Scroll down to, "Agent Beginning With Release 5.00/32.1170".
>
>Thank you. I set up the filter but it didn't get rid of the nonsense.
>Another thing I've noticed about these nuisance posters is that they
>cross post to 6 or more newsgroups to reach a bigger readership. Is
>there a way that I can get Agent to filter messages that have been
>cross posted to, say, 2 or more groups?

In the kill filter there is a line >Scope Global or a group folder.

I filter Google because I have NEVER seen any good posts always S**T

KenW

Ken Blake wrote:

> Others have already told you how, but let me point out that doing that
> is a bad mistake in almost every newsgroup. Yes, doing so will filter
> out a lot of the nonsense posts, but it will also filter out a lot of
> the useful, good posts. I strongly recommend against it.

Just set up another filter with a higher priority to handle the
exceptions, i.e. the GG posters whose posts you want to see. A little
extra trouble, but well worth it, in my opinion.

I've used this approach for many years and would strongly recommend it
for lowering the signal-to-noise ratio.

Yes, it works in a.u.e. ;-)

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 18:11:08 +0000, flibbertigibbet <blah@blah.blah>
wrote:

>On Wed, 01 Feb 2023 06:41:46 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet wrote:
>>
>>> I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
>>> wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>>> favourite newsgroups.
>>
>>> User-Agent: ForteAgent/7.20.32.1218
>>
>>
>>For how to filter Google Groups in your version of Agent:
>> 1. Go to the Usenet Improvement Project website at
>> <http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/>.
>> 2. Click on "[Free]Agent" in the left column.
>> 3. Scroll down to, "Agent Beginning With Release 5.00/32.1170".
>
>Thank you. I set up the filter but it didn't get rid of the nonsense.
>Another thing I've noticed about these nuisance posters is that they
>cross post to 6 or more newsgroups to reach a bigger readership. Is
>there a way that I can get Agent to filter messages that have been
>cross posted to, say, 2 or more groups?

What am I not understanding? I'm using Agent 1.93 and have no problem
filtering Google authors with -
Author: Google

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:39:57 -0600, sam@invalid.com wrote:

>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 18:11:08 +0000, flibbertigibbet <blah@blah.blah>
>wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 01 Feb 2023 06:41:46 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet wrote:
>>>
>>>> I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
>>>> wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>>>> favourite newsgroups.
>>>
>>>> User-Agent: ForteAgent/7.20.32.1218
>>>
>>>
>>>For how to filter Google Groups in your version of Agent:
>>> 1. Go to the Usenet Improvement Project website at
>>> <http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/>.
>>> 2. Click on "[Free]Agent" in the left column.
>>> 3. Scroll down to, "Agent Beginning With Release 5.00/32.1170".
>>
>>Thank you. I set up the filter but it didn't get rid of the nonsense.
>>Another thing I've noticed about these nuisance posters is that they
>>cross post to 6 or more newsgroups to reach a bigger readership. Is
>>there a way that I can get Agent to filter messages that have been
>>cross posted to, say, 2 or more groups?
>
>What am I not understanding? I'm using Agent 1.93 and have no problem
>filtering Google authors with -
>Author: Google

Forgot to mention to also click on the Lower Case menu choice. This
will filter on upper or lower case.

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 11:30:47 -0700, Ken Blake <Ken@invalid.news.com>
wrote:

>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet <blah@blah.blah>
>wrote:
>
>>I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
>
>
>Yes.
>
>
>>wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>>favourite newsgroups.
>
>
>Others have already told you how, but let me point out that doing that
>is a bad mistake in almost every newsgroup. Yes, doing so will filter
>out a lot of the nonsense posts, but it will also filter out a lot of
>the useful, good posts. I strongly recommend against it.

"good posts" from ignorant google users? Really? NOT!

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 18:43:10 +0000, flibbertigibbet <blah@blah.blah>
wrote:

>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 11:30:47 -0700, Ken Blake <Ken@invalid.news.com> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet <blah@blah.blah>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
>>
>>
>>Yes.
>>
>>
>>>wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>>>favourite newsgroups.
>>
>>
>>Others have already told you how, but let me point out that doing that
>>is a bad mistake in almost every newsgroup. Yes, doing so will filter
>>out a lot of the nonsense posts, but it will also filter out a lot of
>>the useful, good posts. I strongly recommend against it.
>
>Right. That's a good point you're making there. And because adding
>those filter suggestions by Ralph and KenW (above) hasn't removed
>the posters' I want I'm going to allow Google Groups back. Thanks.
>Now, on to my next query, if you'll allow, I've noticed that the posters
>I want to filter out cross post to a lot of groups to aggravate as many
>Usenetters as they can. Is there a filter you know of that can filter out
>posts that have been cross posted to more than 2 or more groups?
>That would be another way of getting where I want.

The Agent I have, 1.93 will only filter out a crossposted message if
you have already read the message in another group to which it was
crossposted.

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 12:40:07 -0700, KenW
<ken1943@invalid.net> wrote:

>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 18:11:08 +0000, flibbertigibbet <blah@blah.blah>
>wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 01 Feb 2023 06:41:46 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet wrote:
>>>
>>>> I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
>>>> wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>>>> favourite newsgroups.
>>>
>>>> User-Agent: ForteAgent/7.20.32.1218
>>>
>>>
>>>For how to filter Google Groups in your version of Agent:
>>> 1. Go to the Usenet Improvement Project website at
>>> <http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/>.
>>> 2. Click on "[Free]Agent" in the left column.
>>> 3. Scroll down to, "Agent Beginning With Release 5.00/32.1170".
>>
>>Thank you. I set up the filter but it didn't get rid of the nonsense.
>>Another thing I've noticed about these nuisance posters is that they
>>cross post to 6 or more newsgroups to reach a bigger readership. Is
>>there a way that I can get Agent to filter messages that have been
>>cross posted to, say, 2 or more groups?
>
>In the kill filter there is a line >Scope Global or a group folder.
>
>I filter Google because I have NEVER seen any good posts always S**T

+10

>KenW

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 18:11:08 +0000, flibbertigibbet wrote:

> On Wed, 01 Feb 2023 06:41:46 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet wrote:
>>
>>> I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
>>> wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>>> favourite newsgroups.
>>
>>> User-Agent: ForteAgent/7.20.32.1218
>>
>>
>> For how to filter Google Groups in your version of Agent:
>> 1. Go to the Usenet Improvement Project website at
>> <http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/>.
>> 2. Click on "[Free]Agent" in the left column.
>> 3. Scroll down to, "Agent Beginning With Release 5.00/32.1170".
>
> Thank you. I set up the filter but it didn't get rid of the nonsense.

It seems that Google Groups message-IDs have changed since the Usenet
Improvement Project website was last updated. Use this instead:

message-id: {@googlegroups\.com}

The Usenet Improvement Project used to be maintained by the late
Blinky the Shark. With his passing, the site is now an archive of
what used to be.

> Another thing I've noticed about these nuisance posters is that they
> cross post to 6 or more newsgroups to reach a bigger readership. Is
> there a way that I can get Agent to filter messages that have been
> cross posted to, say, 2 or more groups?

Yes, you can. Take a look at the Agent 7.2 options at
Folder >> Default Properties >> Receiving Messages >> Usenet Crossposting

--
Regards
Ralph

𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 (𝘯) 𝖠 𝗍𝖺𝗑 𝗈𝗇 𝗉𝖾𝗈𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝗐𝗁𝗈 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝖻𝖺𝖽 𝖺𝗍 𝗆𝖺𝗍𝗁𝗌.

On Wed, 01 Feb 2023 18:16:59 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid> wrote:

>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 18:11:08 +0000, flibbertigibbet wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 01 Feb 2023 06:41:46 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet wrote:
>>>
>>>> I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
>>>> wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>>>> favourite newsgroups.
>>>
>>>> User-Agent: ForteAgent/7.20.32.1218
>>>
>>>
>>> For how to filter Google Groups in your version of Agent:
>>> 1. Go to the Usenet Improvement Project website at
>>> <http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/>.
>>> 2. Click on "[Free]Agent" in the left column.
>>> 3. Scroll down to, "Agent Beginning With Release 5.00/32.1170".
>>
>> Thank you. I set up the filter but it didn't get rid of the nonsense.
>
>
>It seems that Google Groups message-IDs have changed since the Usenet
>Improvement Project website was last updated. Use this instead:
>
> message-id: {@googlegroups\.com}

Thank you very much. Done.

>The Usenet Improvement Project used to be maintained by the late
>Blinky the Shark. With his passing, the site is now an archive of
>what used to be.

I didn't know the person. I'm glad his efforts are still being of good
use.

>> Another thing I've noticed about these nuisance posters is that they
>> cross post to 6 or more newsgroups to reach a bigger readership. Is
>> there a way that I can get Agent to filter messages that have been
>> cross posted to, say, 2 or more groups?
>
>
>Yes, you can. Take a look at the Agent 7.2 options at
>Folder >> Default Properties >> Receiving Messages >> Usenet Crossposting

Excellent. Thanks for this. I've done both: created a filter and toggled
a few options there to hopefully get rid of some of the aggravating
posters messing up newsgroups.

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 12:40:07 -0700, KenW <ken1943@invalid.net> wrote:

>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 18:11:08 +0000, flibbertigibbet <blah@blah.blah>
>wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 01 Feb 2023 06:41:46 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>>On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000, flibbertigibbet wrote:
>>>
>>>> I've noticed that a lot of the nonsense posts are from Google groups and was
>>>> wondering how to go about making a filter to avoid them cluttering up my
>>>> favourite newsgroups.
>>>
>>>> User-Agent: ForteAgent/7.20.32.1218
>>>
>>>
>>>For how to filter Google Groups in your version of Agent:
>>> 1. Go to the Usenet Improvement Project website at
>>> <http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/>.
>>> 2. Click on "[Free]Agent" in the left column.
>>> 3. Scroll down to, "Agent Beginning With Release 5.00/32.1170".
>>
>>Thank you. I set up the filter but it didn't get rid of the nonsense.
>>Another thing I've noticed about these nuisance posters is that they
>>cross post to 6 or more newsgroups to reach a bigger readership. Is
>>there a way that I can get Agent to filter messages that have been
>>cross posted to, say, 2 or more groups?
>
>In the kill filter there is a line >Scope Global or a group folder.
>
>I filter Google because I have NEVER seen any good posts always S**T

I wish that I could agree with you and also filter GG, but I can't.
I've seen many good posters who inexplicably insist on using GG.

On Tue, 31 Jan 2023 15:49:33 -0500, Lane <invalid@invalid.invalid>
wrote:

>Ken Blake wrote:
>
>> Others have already told you how, but let me point out that doing that
>> is a bad mistake in almost every newsgroup. Yes, doing so will filter
>> out a lot of the nonsense posts, but it will also filter out a lot of
>> the useful, good posts. I strongly recommend against it.
>
>Just set up another filter with a higher priority to handle the
>exceptions, i.e. the GG posters whose posts you want to see. A little
>extra trouble, but well worth it, in my opinion.

I started to do that a month or two ago. I gave up and decided against
it for three reasons:

1. I found a *lot* of GG posters whose posts I want to see.

2. Even though I found a lot, I probably missed a few.

3.The most important reason: I would miss valuable post from new GG
posters.

>I've used this approach for many years and would strongly recommend it
>for lowering the signal-to-noise ratio.
>
>Yes, it works in a.u.e. ;-)

On Wed, 01 Feb 2023 18:16:59 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid>
wrote:

> It seems that Google Groups message-IDs have changed since the Usenet
> Improvement Project website was last updated. Use this instead:
> message-id: {@googlegroups\.com}
Thanks for that heads-up and tip Ralph. Could you explain the syntax
of {@googlegroups\.com} please?

--
Bob
The people your parents warned you about

On Thu, 02 Feb 2023 08:07:17 +0300, Opinicus
<gezgin@spamcop.net.which.is.not.quite.invalid> wrote:

>On Wed, 01 Feb 2023 18:16:59 +1300, Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid>
>wrote:
>
>> It seems that Google Groups message-IDs have changed since the Usenet
>> Improvement Project website was last updated. Use this instead:
>> message-id: {@googlegroups\.com}
>Thanks for that heads-up and tip Ralph. Could you explain the syntax
>of {@googlegroups\.com} please?

The { and } indicate that this is a regular expression.

The \ specifies that the following character is a literal and not one
the expression processor should evaluate. The period that follows the
\ will be treated as a period. Without the backslash, the period
would be treated as a wildcard which could be satisfied by any
character.

All the other characters are literals and represent themselves.

--
Remove del for email

On Wed, 01 Feb 2023 21:30:51 -0800, Barry Schwarz <schwarzb@delq.com>
wrote:

> >Thanks for that heads-up and tip Ralph. Could you explain the syntax
> >of {@googlegroups\.com} please?

> The { and } indicate that this is a regular expression.
> The \ specifies that the following character is a literal and not one
> the expression processor should evaluate. The period that follows the
> \ will be treated as a period. Without the backslash, the period
> would be treated as a wildcard which could be satisfied by any
> character.
> All the other characters are literals and represent themselves.

Thanks for that. I keep having to remind myself what "\" does.

--
Bob
The people your parents warned you about

Ralph Fox <-rf-nz-@-.invalid> on Wed, 01 Feb 2023 18:16:59 +1300 typed
in alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent the following:
>
>>>> User-Agent: ForteAgent/7.20.32.1218

I'm using 3.3. I suspect that the following is not applicable.
If so, considering recent posts, how would I upgrade to a more
recent version?
>>>
>>>
>>> For how to filter Google Groups in your version of Agent:
>>> 1. Go to the Usenet Improvement Project website at
>>> <http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/>.
>>> 2. Click on "[Free]Agent" in the left column.
>>> 3. Scroll down to, "Agent Beginning With Release 5.00/32.1170".
>>
>> Thank you. I set up the filter but it didn't get rid of the nonsense.
>
>
>It seems that Google Groups message-IDs have changed since the Usenet
>Improvement Project website was last updated. Use this instead:
>
> message-id: {@googlegroups\.com}
>
>The Usenet Improvement Project used to be maintained by the late
>Blinky the Shark. With his passing, the site is now an archive of
>what used to be.
--
pyotr filipivich
This Week's Panel: Us & Them - Eliminating Them.
Next Month's Panel: Having eliminated the old Them(tm)
Selecting who insufficiently Woke(tm) as to serve as the new Them(tm)