>>>Hi Ed. Um, just out of curiosity ... I pretty much know what a "twit" is. :-) But where did the word come from and what is its precise definition? :-)
>>
>>I don't have an official definition, but it's probably derived from "twink" in the Jargon file; a step beyond cluelessness, another user that you found to be dumb and offensive, and you'd rather do without. the term "twit filter" is in common usage from UseNet, first seen in various news tools, a twit filter selectively removes content based on its originator.
>>
>>For general terminology and derivative behavior, the editor of the Jargon File maintains a site, including links to the Jargon file, at
this site>
>Gotcha. Thanks. :-)
A short summary of the twit filter concept:
filter the news
There are two big problems with Usenet newsgroups these days: first, popular groups get more messages than anyone would ever want to read; second, undesirable, disruptive individuals (let's call them "twits" for short) show up whenever a large number of people congregate in a newsgroup. Outlook Express's newsgroup filters can help solve both problems.
Select Tools/Newsgroup Filters from the main menu to get started. Click Add to create a new filter. In the Where To Filter section, select the group you want to filter, and then add your own info to the "Do not show messages that meet the following criteria" section. For example, if you know that a certain twit uses the same email address for all his or her postings, enter that address in the From line. If a certain news thread has become overly long and annoying, you can avoid it by typing the subject line in the Subject box. You can also choose to avoid messages over a certain length or age.
