Kill file
A kill file is a news reader control file . The kill file contains filter rules, according to which the user can hide uninteresting postings ( e.g. rated by topic or author). You could call it "automated ignoring". This functionality was first implemented in Larry Wall's rn newsreader .
The threat of a kill file entry is occasionally used as a means in the discussion (“I'll stick you in the kill file”), which is also expressed by “ ” in net culture . This statement does not necessarily mean that the relevant discourse participant has really adapted his kill file - and vice versa, not every entry in the kill file is documented in the discussion.
*plonk*
Most common newsreaders support kill files; they are often integrated into the functionality of the so-called score file .
Origin of the term
The term “kill” in this context supposedly comes from the early Tektronix computers from the 1970s, which were the first to have a BASIC permanently stored in ROM . Magnetic tape cassettes in a proprietary format were used as the storage medium for these computers ; the KILL command deleted a single file ; with KILL ALL the entire magnetic tape was erased. In the documentation of these computers the command was described as "KILL [FILE]", and a very common mistake was to enter "KILL 0", which had the same consequence as "KILL ALL", namely a complete loss of data on the magnetic tape.
This must not be confused with the Unix command, killwhich can be used to control specific processes .
Web links
- plonk.de
- Killfiles FAQ for newsgroups. November 3, 2002, accessed January 21, 2017 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Seth T. Ross: Netdictionary: file Kill. 2004, accessed on January 21, 2017 .
- ↑ Eric S. Raymond (Ed.): The Jargon File (version 4.4.7) . (English, catb.org [accessed on January 21, 2017]).
- ^ GNU Project: The Gnus Newsreader Manual. 2016, accessed January 21, 2017 .
- ^ Jon Bell: Introduction to Usenet News and the slrn Newsreader. January 20, 1995, accessed January 21, 2017 .