Kill file
Encyclopedia
A kill file is a per-user file used by some Usenet
reading programs (originally Larry Wall
's rn
) to discard summarily (without presenting for reading) articles matching some unwanted patterns of subject, author, or other header lines.
Thus to add a person (or subject) to one's kill file is to arrange for that person to be ignored by one's newsreader
in the future. By extension, it may be used for a decision to ignore the person or subject in other media. Sometimes more than one kill file will be used. Some newsreader
programs also allow the user to specify a time period to keep an author in the kill file.
Newer newsreader software like Gnus
often provides a more advanced form of filter known as a score file, which can use multiple rules to determine which articles are shown. Web-based forums usually have a similar feature called ignore list, which hides any posts sent by users on the list.
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
reading programs (originally Larry Wall
Larry Wall
Larry Wall is a programmer and author, most widely known for his creation of the Perl programming language in 1987.-Education:Wall earned his bachelor's degree from Seattle Pacific University in 1976....
's rn
Rn (newsreader)
rn is a news client written by Larry Wall and originally released in 1984. It was one of the first newsreaders to take full advantage of character-addressable CRT terminals...
) to discard summarily (without presenting for reading) articles matching some unwanted patterns of subject, author, or other header lines.
Thus to add a person (or subject) to one's kill file is to arrange for that person to be ignored by one's newsreader
News client
A newsreader is an application program that reads articles on Usenet . Newsreaders act as clients which connect to a news server, via the Network News Transfer Protocol , to download articles and post new articles...
in the future. By extension, it may be used for a decision to ignore the person or subject in other media. Sometimes more than one kill file will be used. Some newsreader
News client
A newsreader is an application program that reads articles on Usenet . Newsreaders act as clients which connect to a news server, via the Network News Transfer Protocol , to download articles and post new articles...
programs also allow the user to specify a time period to keep an author in the kill file.
Newer newsreader software like Gnus
Gnus
Gnus is a message reader running under GNU Emacs and XEmacs. It supports reading and composing both news and e-mail.Gnus blurs the distinction between news and e-mail, treating them both as "articles" that come from different sources. News articles are kept separate by group, and e-mail can be...
often provides a more advanced form of filter known as a score file, which can use multiple rules to determine which articles are shown. Web-based forums usually have a similar feature called ignore list, which hides any posts sent by users on the list.
External links
- Kill file entry in the Jargon FileJargon FileThe Jargon File is a glossary of computer programmer slang. The original Jargon File was a collection of terms from technical cultures such as the MIT AI Lab, the Stanford AI Lab and others of the old ARPANET AI/LISP/PDP-10 communities, including Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Carnegie Mellon...
- Kill file definition entry at NewsDemon.com