Outlook Express 5 "Twit Filter"
An easy way to block offensive messages in your news and mail.
As you read a newsgroup such as alt.religion.christian.episcopal, you will almost invariably come across a few individuals whom you find offensive. Unfortunately it seems they all have plenty of time to post, at length, something inflammatory into nearly every conversation. Outlook Express has a twit filter which allows you to delete all the offender's rantings from your view of the group. The misbegotten wretch is still out there, you just don't see him. You'll still see the poor souls who reply to him, but you can serenely move to the next message with a minimum of hassle.
(From this point on you'll probably want to use the mouse on the scroll bar to the right for a smooth transistion between the text and pictures.)
Let's walk through an example by removing a serious twit... Looking at my favorite newsgroup I see, oh no! Not that insufferable idiot Bill Jones again! Well, I only have to put up with him this one last time. I select his message (highlights in blue).
Next I click on Message, then Block Sender...
A brief moment to savor high technology and I click on Yes...
...and all his present and future rants are gone from my life.
Should he repent of his sins, or my Christian charity grow greater, I can bring him back by clicking Tools, Message Rules, Blocked Senders List.
This will bring up a window (not
shown to protect the guilty I've already blocked). Click on the
ex-twit (highlights blue), then click Remove and he'll show up in
the newsgroup again.
Notes:
Use the twit filter sparingly. If you just block everyone who disagrees with you, I suspect you will soon tire of the newsgroup. You'll want to monitor a potential twit for several days before giving up on him. Maybe he's a nice guy who just had a bad day.
This feature is in Outlook Express 5. I don't know if it's available in earlier versions. Also, I was unable to find a twit filter in Netscape Navigator 3. It may be in Communicator.
Finally, let us pause to offer a brief prayer for the well being of the programmer who invented the twit filter, and a slightly longer prayer for those misguided souls we've had to block. Perhaps we should include ourselves for our unwillingness to put up with their drivel...umm...no, I think not. <g>
God's Peace...
bill+
Page created: 6/20/99