simple filters for newsreaders

    
using 40tude dialog to automatically "move" all unwanted/unimportant    
article headers to the newsreader's "junk"/"troll" folders, that may    
be reviewed before routine purging, to ensure filters are working as    
expected, also to add new "move" or "watch" filters, if desired, and    
to provide a daily "troll-count", which if you're subscribed to more    
than a dozen active newsgroups, is always dozens or hundreds per day,    
or if sampling newsgroup headers, can easily number in the thousands    
    
the first rule demotes all new articles in all subscribed newsgroups    
to "-1", and sets the ignore flag on them, then "moves" all x-posted    
articles to the "junk" folder (the hash sign "#" for blank lines and    
comments), and "moves" any articles with trollish text in headers to    
the "troll" folder, leaving only articles that were not cross-posted,    
now with the red "ignore" flag and red "-1" score set on all of them:    
    
>[*]    
>-1 From *    
>!ignore From *    
>!move(junk) Xpost %>1    
>#    
>!move(troll) From "troll001" "troll002" "troll..."    
>!move(troll) From "troll101" "troll102" "troll..."    
>#    
>!move(troll) Subject "cull001" "cull002" "cull..."    
>!move(troll) Message-ID "rogue001" "rogue002" ...    
    
because the usenet chatbots obsessively cross-post, this one simple    
rule "!move(junk) xpost %>1" automatically eliminates probably half    
of all troll farm chatter, depending on the newsgroup and hierarchy,    
but not all cross-posts are trolls, especially when browsing usenet    
archives, so the "junk" folder accommodates all x-posts and generic    
from headers that have not been otherwise whitelisted, watched, etc.    
    
the "troll" folder is for your newsreader's blacklist, any overview    
headers that contain unique strings of text (using wildcards */" to    
minimize length of entries without oversimplifying), that are known    
to be chronic offenders (the troll farm "hall of fame" sockpuppets),    
so your newsreader's killfile list can quickly expand into hundreds    
of entries, but the result is worth the effort, for every kill-file    
entry added, newsgroups become less cluttered by troll farm minions,    
allowing ephemeral, uncommon troll aliases to be ignored, junkfiled,    
and for troll aliases that become chronic, simply killfile them too    
    
the second rule promotes "self" to the maximum "+9999", then unsets    
the ignore flag, and highlights header colors to stand out from the    
rest, then any whitelisted contributors, topics, servers, etc., are    
also unignored, and promoted to "+1", or any number from 0 to +9998:    
    
>[*]    
>=+9999 From "self <name@server01>" "self <name@server02>" ...    
>=!unsetwatchignore,setcolor(red;yellow) From "self <name@server01>" ...    
>#    
>=!unsetwatchignore From "user001" "user002" "user003" "user..."    
>=+1 From "user001" "user002" "user003" "user004" "user..."    
>#    
>=!unsetwatchignore Subject "topic001" "topic002" "topic..."    
>=+1 Subject "topic001" "topic002" "topic003" "topic..."    
>#    
>=!unsetwatchignore Message-ID "@server001" "@server002" ...    
>=+1 Message-ID "@server001" "@server002" "@server003"...    
    
lastly, the third rule "moves" remaining articles with the score of    
"-1" directly to the "junk" folder, then, after cursory review, the    
"troll" and "junk" folders are purged (recommend purges once daily):    
    
>#    
>!move(junk) Score "-1"    
    
because the default score of "-1" was first applied to all articles,    
any articles moved to the "junk" or "troll" folders retain the "-1",    
so any remaining articles that weren't promoted are moved to "junk",    
leaving only promoted article headers (if any) in your newsreader's    
viewing window, encouraging users to whitelist helpful contributors,    
and purge the unhelpful ... depending on the newsgroup, some groups    
attract non-troll articles and discussions, but most newsgroups are    
predominantly if not 100% trollfarm "chatterbots", so caveat emptor    
    
the complete example filter looks like this, but of course requires    
actual header strings in order to demonstrate how this really works:    
    
>[*]    
>-1 From *    
>!ignore From *    
>!move(junk) Xpost %>1    
>#    
>!move(troll) From "troll001" "troll002" "troll..."    
>!move(troll) From "troll101" "troll102" "troll..."    
>#    
>!move(troll) Subject "cull001" "cull002" "cull..."    
>!move(troll) Message-ID "rogue001" "rogue002" ...    
>#    
>=+9999 From "self <name@server01>" "self <name@server02>" ...    
>=!unsetwatchignore,setcolor(red;yellow) From "self <name@server01>" ...    
>#    
>=!unsetwatchignore From "user001" "user002" "user003" "user..."    
>=+1 From "user001" "user002" "user003" "user004" "user..."    
>#    
>=!unsetwatchignore Subject "topic001" "topic002" "topic..."    
>=+1 Subject "topic001" "topic002" "topic003" "topic..."    
>#    
>=!unsetwatchignore Message-ID "@server001" "@server002" ...    
>=+1 Message-ID "@server001" "@server002" "@server003"...    
>#    
>!move(junk) Score "-1"    
    
this uses simple syntax which should be modified to suit your needs,    
and as your own newsreader filter becomes larger, more personalized,    
recommend saving an occasional "progress" copy of your last working    
filter, in case errors appear that may not be easily corrected, and    
with practice, your usenet newsgroups will become a troll-free zone,    
where uninterrupted productivity will always be your first priority