newgroup wars

newgroup wars

/n[y]oo'groop worz/ [Usenet] The salvos of dueling"newgroup" and "rmgroup" messages sometimes exchanged bypersons on opposite sides of a dispute over whether anewsgroup should be created net-wide, or (even morefrequently) whether an obsolete one should be removed. Theseusually settle out within a week or two as it becomes clearwhether the group has a natural constituency (usually, itdoesn't). At times, especially in the completely anarchic althierarchy, the names of newsgroups themselves become a form ofcomment or humour; e.g. the spinoff ofalt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork from alt.tv.muppets in early1990, or any number of specialised abuse groups named afterparticularly notorious flamers, e.g. alt.weemba.