How to filter a usenet group with MS Outlook Express using the connecter-maven technique

How to filter a usenet group with MS Outlook Express using the connecter-maven technique using sci.astro.amateur as an example

fisherka@csolutions.net Orig. 7/26/2006 Rev. 9/12/2006

My sci.astro.amateur technical post connector-maven list Rev. 9/12/2006 Step-by-Step setup Use notes

Summary

The overrunning of usenet news groups by net trolls, right-wing facist bloggers and persons with mental health problems has reached the point where most unmoderated usenet newsgroups have become unuseable. Such trollers have become more skilled at defeating negative software filters. Negative software filters work by identifying some unique characteristic of the poster (mail name, source domain, unique string in posts) and the blocking that message. To defeat negative filters, computer skilled trolls use morphing identities and anonymous remailers. The widely distributed Microsoft Outlook Express news reader is not very robust against these negative filter defeating techniques. For example, in Outlook Express 6.0, it is not possible to filter based on a text string within the body of a message; it is not possible to filter to exclude based on cross-posting between multiple newsgroups.

This note discusses an alternative filtering solution and provides a step-by-step guide for setting up Outlook Express to filter based on a positive filtering, coined here, as the connector-maven filtering technique.

Positive filters are based on the assumption that a small number of knowledgeable contributors can be used to identify on-point threads in a newsgroup. In Malcolm Gladwell's 2000 book, The Tipping Point, Gladwell identified socially influential gorup participants as connectors and mavens. Connectors are persons with wide social circles that are the "hubs" of human social networks. Mavens are knowledgeable person with expertise in a particular area. Positive filtering by the connector-maven technique involves identifying the connectors and mavens in group and first only reviewing their posts to identify relevant threads for further reading in depth.

In theory, the only way that trollers can defeat positive filtering is by falsing assuming the identity of a connector or maven. Since such an action would probably be amenable for referral for criminal prosecution under either federal or local state identity theft laws, in theory, positive filtering by the connector-maven method is relatively secure from breach by trollers.

Any single newsgroup can have more than one connector-maven list, depending on areas of sub-interest. This corresponds to "channels" under the old Microsoft Active Desktop initiative or feeds under the current RSS website feeder system. Some lists of connector-mavens within a newsgroup may be more social-discussion oriented; others more technically oriented.

Connector-maven filtering is a form of pull, as opposed to push, information transfer. It is similar to the "internet buddy" system used in popular internet messaging systems.

Outlook Express 6.0 Setup

Overview

Setup for connector-maven filtering involves two parts. First, the original newsgroup is subscribed once and only message headers are downloaded. This first account is used to review flagged headers by connector-mavens. In Outlook, it is possible to subscribe to the same newsgroup more than once. Subscribe to the target newsgroup a second time. This will create a second account for the news service labelled "news.myprovider.com {1}". In this second account, the unfiltered text of all messages are downloaded for offline reading.

Step-by-Step Setup

Add custom buttons to the button toolbar

Right-click on the main toolbar and then select "Customize". Use the Add button to add additional buttons to the standard toolbar. Add these custom buttons:

Sync All
Mark All
Mark Read

General settings - applies to all newsgroups

Disable "Mark all messages as read on exit"
On the menubar: Tools | Options | Read | News | uncheck the checkbox for "Mark all messages are read when exiting a newsgroup". Because you will be swapping between the first account copy of connector-maven messages and the second unfiltered account, you do not want the newsreader to mark all messages as read between swaps.
Subscribe to the first newsgroup account and define the columns to be displayed.
Subscribe to the target newsgroup as usual. In the newsgroup list, right-click on the column heading for messages and choose "Columns". Set your column order to:

Watch
Flag
Subject
From
Sent

Set the download properties of the first newsgroup account to download "new headers" only.
Right-click on the newsgroup name and from the pop-up menu select: Properties | Synchronize | New headers. This first account is used to review flagged messages created by connectors and mavens that your specify.
Subscribe to the newsgroup a second time.
This second account is used to grab all messages and message bodies for offline reading.
Set the download properties of the second newsgroup account to download "All messages (headers and bodies)".
Right-click on the newsgroup name and from the pop-up menu select: Properties | Synchronize | All messags and bodies.
Create a newsgroup storage folder.
This folder is used to permanently store high-content messages or your own posts. For example, for sci.astro.amateur, a storage folder labelled "Astronomy" might be appropriate. Right-click on "Local Folders" and then select "New Folder".
Create general views - applies to all newsgroups

Views are defined with the "Define Views" dialogue. Bring up the dialogue on the menubar using View | Current View | Define Views. Create the following views:

Show flagged messages
The view definition is "Where the message is flagged Show the message".
Show unread flagged messages
The view definition is "Where the message has not been read and Where the message is flagged Show the message".
Show watched threads
The view definition is "Where the message is watched Show the message".

Individual newsgroup settings

Associate the views with the first and second newsgroup

Click on the first newsgroup. Apply the view "Show flagged unread messages"

Click on the second newsgroup copy. Set the view to "Show all messages"

Create positive connector-maven filtering rules for the first account

Begin by opening the Messages Rules dialogue. On the menubar choose Tools | Message Rules | News. Create the following rules. The newsgroup sci.astro.amateur is used as the working example:

sci.astro.amateur allowed list

The rule definition is:

Apply this rule after the message arrives Where the message is on sci.astro.amateur newsgroup and Where the From line contains

'MagnificentUniverse@yyyyy.com'
or 'Pete Lawrence'
or 'Canopus56'
or 'Willie R. Meghar'
or 'Ioannis'
or 'Brian Tung'
or 'Sam Wormley'
or 'Dennis Woos'
or 'SJG'
or 'Chris L Peterson'
or 'CNJ999'
or 'Stephen Paul'
or 'nytecam'
or 'RMOLLISE'
or 'ayiomamitis'
or 'tony_flanders@yahoo.com'
or 'SkySea'
or 'Martin R. Howell' or 'Greg Crinklaw' or 'Chris Steyaert'

Flag it

Remember to add your own posting name to your connector-maven list. That way, your posts will show in the filtered threads.

As of this writing, the limits of MS Outlook Express to hold a list of names in one rule is not known. If the limits are reached, simply start a second filter rule.

There can be subcollections of mavens and connectors within a single group. Typically, a newsgroup will be visited by a subgroup of technical mavens and connectors and a subgroup of persons interested in social benefits of the net. They want to "shoot-the-breeze" with persons with similar hobby interests and not talk about the narrower points of the practice of their hobby. No value judgment is implied here as to the relative merits of each motivation for participating in a newsgroup. However, it may be useful to establish positive filtering rules for social connector posters in order to better develop that subgroup of posters within a newsgroup.

Here is an example of creating message rule for social postings using the connector-maven filter technique and the newsgroup sci.astro.amateur as a working example:

sci.astro.amateur social post allowed list
The rule definition is:

Apply this rule after the message arrives Where the message is on sci.astro.amateur newsgroup and Where the From line contains

Where the message is on sci.astro.amateur newsgroup and Where the From line contains 'Starlord' or 'lal truckee'

Highlight it with Green

Create negative based blocking rules for the first account

Negative based rules are used to block non-morphing posters. There are two methods for blocking a specific user. First, use the Outlook Express "Blocked Senders" utility. Open the "Blocked Senders" dialogue on the menubar with Tools | Message Rules | Blocked sender list.

A more generic exclusion rule can be made using the standard "Message Rules" dialogue and based on a string in the "From" line. On the menubar click Tools | Message Rules | News. Create the following rule:

sci.astro.amateur blocked list
The rule definition is:

Apply this rule after the message arrives Where the message is on sci.astro.amateur newsgroup and Where the From line contains 'nameofthetroll' Delete it

Session use notes

A typical session involves a morning download of the new newsgroup activity. This is achieved by connecting to your dial up provider, opening Outlook Express and then hitting the "Synchronize" custom button the toolbar. This will update flagged headers to the first newsgroup and the entire message body to the second copy newsgroup.

While still online, view the new unread messages created by connector-mavens. Alternatively, you can work offline to identify interesting threads using the connector-maven message headers only.

If a thread looks promising, click on the second copy of the newsgroup that contains the full message headers and add a watch to the thread by clicking on the watch column.

It is also helpful while you are clicking your "Add Watch" threads to also click the "Watch" column to "Ignore this thread,". This would apply to obvious troll threads that have titles like "The Moon Landings Never Happened!" or "The ACLU is an agent of Satan".

Once your threads are marked in the account newsgroup copy that contains full message bodies, you are ready to go for the day.

Later in the day, when you are ready to read your marked threads and to reply to posts, filter the second newsgroup copy (that has the entire message body stored offline) on the "Show watched threads" view. Now you only see the full message text for threads and posts of interest.

When you are finished with a batch, right-click on a newsgroup and use the Mark Read and/or Mark All custom buttons on the toolbar to clear current message batch.

To permanently store high-content messages, drag a message from the second copy of the newsgroup (that has the full message bodies) to your storage folder.

Typically, a second internet connection session is run at the end of the day to post your reply messages to the newsgroup.

Content-Child Safe Ratings

Prepared by K. Fisher fisherka@csolutions.net 7/2006