The Official ASVS FAQ

G. The Good, The Bad, And The Killfile

So, who are all these people?
Alright, so who are "The Good?"
Okay, now who are "The Bad?"
What is a killfile?
Is there any etiquette to killfiling?
What is the Final Solution?
Who is under the Final Solution?
What is a "timsult?"

1. So, who are all these people?

A complete list of all denizens, past and present, would occupy pages and pages of information, and maintaining a current roster is an exercise in futility. As such, I've listed below two categories: The Good and The Bad. The Good is not an endorsement, but rather, the names of people you're likely to see mentioned. If you're an authority, an official, or provide significant resources for this discussion, you'll be listed here. The Bad is for universally recognized dipsticks who will only be mentioned with a laugh at their stupidity.

2. Alright, so who are "The Good?"

Curtis Saxton
Author and maintainer of the Star Wars Technical Commentaries, tapped by Lucasfilm to write the AOTC: Incredible Cross Sections. Saxton has a PhD in Physics, and while he has no interest in the debates, his opinions and findings obviously carry serious weight.
Graham Kennedy
Author and maintainer of the Daystrom Intitute Technical Library (DITL), a primarily Star Trek oriented website. Supporters claim he provides a much needed Trek counterpart to Curtis Saxton; critics claim his methods are improper, his assumptions flawed, and his conclusions questionable.
Mike Wong
Author and maintainer of I Want You For The Galactic Empire (also known as Stardestroyer.net), and owner of the SD.NET BBS that has blossomed over the past few years. Supporters claim he provides a very scientific proof for his many conclusions on specific versus issues; critics claim that he is intolerant of those who disagree with him.
Wayne Poe
Author and maintainer of The Ultimate Star Trek vs. Star Wars FAQ, one of the oldest sites on the subject, and possibly the oldest still being maintained. Supporters and critics agree that Wayne is "too sexy for his hat."
Cronan Thomas, aka Plain & Simple Cronan
USENET celebrity. Left an indellible mark on many science fiction newsgroups, ASVS included. Died of cancer at the age of 19.
Rob Dalton
Author and maintainer of the FUQ, maintainer of the Fanfiction Archive, and ASVS Whip. Handles the Golden Star Destroyer Awards (GSDA) for best crossover fiction. Smashes those who disagree. Critics say, "Not enough me."
C. S. Strowbridge
ASVS Master. Critics claim he has a big ego. Supporters claim critics don't know the half of it.
Kynes, aka Ian Samuel
ASVS Maintainer. Critics claim he's evil. Supporters agree.
Chuck Sonnenburg
Former ASVS Whip, author and maintainer of the group's FAQ. Ruled not as sexy as Wayne.
Aron Kerkhof
Aron's major role is the donation of time and resources for things such as hosting the R&R. Unsung hero of ASVS and owner of Galactec Solutions.

3. Okay, now who are "The Bad?"

Darkstar, aka Guardian2000, aka RSA, aka Scoot, aka Scooter
What can be said of RSA that has not been said again and again? Very little. RSA is arguably the most unwelcome denizen is ASVS history. His willingness to defend every single point, no matter how minute, no matter how wrong he might be, until the end of time, is a combination of the flamewarrior fillibuster and stone deaf tactics. Combo this with his hypocrisy (he will accuse anyone who quotes him, even entire paragraphs, of willful misrepresentation, but he will strip out individual words from his opponents and literally claim he is doing them a favor) and his farcical claims about enemies wanting to kill him, and you are left with three possible choices:
1. RSA is colossally stupid. He actually thinks people will buy the BS that he's shovelling, that his posturing is convincing, and that his position is correct. Many people think this is the true choice.
2. RSA is mind-bogglingly arrogant. He knows what he's doing is beyond belief, but believes that his spin is capable of fooling people.
3. RSA is mentally ill. He truly believes facts that are contrary to reality. He believes wholly that he is the last bastion of Trek. He believes Mike Wong, Wayne Poe, and the conspiracy really are hoping to have him killed, not to mention the rich romantic adversary of his. A small but growing number of people think this theory might be correct. (As an aside, it's common to have your opponent question your intelligence, but you've truly broken new ground when they literally question your sanity.)
Timothy Jones, aka TJ, aka TOWNMNBS
The standard by which all others are measured. His antics have made him something of a legend, at least as far as jokes go. He employed many very similar tactics to RSA, except that he tended to run away from arguments he was losing rather than concoct ridiculous defenses. Notable for such stellar claims as "Watts and Joules are interchangeable," Star Wars is a pre-warp civilization, and anyone can make a lightsaber at home.
Transcend, aka Trannie, aka Wally
Transcend stands as proof that this list is not reserved for the Star Trek supporters. Most notable for trying to win a debate by announcing that he lost a fight with a trash can, there were few things too bizarre for Transcend to claim. His maths skills don't extend as far as 2x=10, yet he claims to possess advanced spatial awareness. He claims he's descended from royalty. He claims he watches over a cat society like Jane Goodman and the apes. Claims that he has papers that proves he's sane. His final remark to the group stands out as the most poorly-thought out catchphrase abuse in history: "You are all the weakest link." Think about it.
Deimos Anomaly, aka Deimos
His inclusion on this list has less to do with debate than his continued screamings against the democratically-established ASVS government. If there is a paranoid rant, a call for revolution, or just a baseless criticism, Deimos is nearby. You will not find Deimos' picture next to the definition for "half-cocked" as he is overqualified.
Weyoun, aka Weyoun the Dancing Borg, aka Matt aka Pixie
Such a foul and unwelcome presence, I am loathe to include him in this FAQ. However, as this would fall under the realm of a frequently asked question, here he is. Universally despised for acting like a self-absorbed spoiled child, underhanded tactics, and Terms of Service violations, many denizens refuse to even acknowledge his existence, past or present. Indeed, as far as most are concerned, this section contains only four entries.

4. What is a killfile?

A killfile refers to any means to block the messages of certain people. Their messages are blocked only from you, everyone else reads them just fine. Killfiles are normally reserved for trolls, jerks, and half-wits.

5. Is there any etiquette to killfiling?

Killfiling is when someone does not want to deal with someone else for whatever reason. Killfiling is an individual choice (with certain exceptions of those in official positions) and should be respected. Deliberately reposting the messages of people who have been killfiled solely to make them seen by others will have two effects: it will annoy those who have killfiled that person, because they set up the killfile for a reason; and it will annoy those who have NOT killfiled them because the message becomes double posted and wastes bandwidth. Repeatedly performing this will probably get you yourself killfiled.
Being killfiled isn't the nicest thing to happen, but it's important to understand why it happens. By killfiling a person is saying "I don't want to talk to you." It doesn't matter who's in the right when killfiling is involved, the point is that at least one of the two people doesn't want to talk to the other. If you evade a killfilter deliberately, you're basically forcing a person to listen to you, like following them around and shouting at them when they clearly don't want anything to do with you. That's just plain rude behavior, and don't be surprised if it's treated as such.

6. What is the Final Solution?

In short, the Final Solution is having the majority of the newsgroup ignore the posts of an individual, usual in response to chronic misbehavior. The inventor of the final solution, Ian Samuel, sums it up as follows:
While there is a law on the ASVS books that says a person can be banished -- i.e. no registered voter may respond to his posts -- this isn't the same as a Final Solution. First of all, that law is extremely unlikely to ever be implemented. It's just there in case we need it.

But the FS, more importantly, is not just a mass-killfiling. It doesn't even require use of a killfile. When someone goes under FS, the idea is to stop acknowledging they even *exist.* This was the idea I had when I wrote the original Final Solution for [Timothy Jones]. What they crave is attention, so you don't give it to them. That's it.

"No attention," though, really means it. You don't just not talk to them. You don't talk about them. You don't reference them. Nothing. If they read the group and find 100 "[Declaration] SB1FM and Anti-Troll Jihad Unite to Destroy Tim Jones! (TGOD Style)" threads, then they're still getting what they crave.

The Final Solution is not a toy. It's not something to be used against every troll who crosses the path; just killfile them and they'll go away. The Final Solution is to be used against legitimate menaces to debate. If you can't tell the difference between Tim Jones and Cock Rocket, then you can't ever really understand why Tim Jones was a menace in the first place.

The Final Solution, further, is permanent. You can't "lift" it. That's like trying to lift a tea kettle from a black hole. Once someone has had the Final Solution applied, it's over. That's why the word "Final" is in there.

The Final Solution is for when everyone agrees, "OK, this sucks." When you can't debate anymore because the person in question is totally dominating discussion with things which simply go nowhere. When they either have to leave or the group fundamentally has to change.

7. Who is under the Final Solution?

Timothy Jones is under an official Final Solution, meaning that it was agreed upon by the group and has been maintained.
An unoffical Final Solution has been placed again Cockrocket and Weyoun the Dancing Borg. This Final Solution was agreed upon at the time, but has since been broken by some members of ASVS. The reason is the nature of the declaration of the Final Solution, and the issue is a complicated one. If a Final Solution is declared on anyone else, you will more than likely be informed through private e-mail rather than on the newsgroup.

8. What is a "timsult?"

Named after Timothy Jones, a timsult is a veiled insult included to bait the opposition. It's purpose is to get the other side to respond with a true insult so that the original poster can take the moral high ground.