Problem Solved!

[raven@dream.demos.su]

Perhaps explained.

I do not know the situation, I do not  care about it. I do though
have reason to believe that "J*rn" is or may be part of a group 
whose purpose is to disrupt newsgroups. They call themselves
alt.syntax.tactical (there is no alt newsgroup involved)
and I for one believe that this is what is happening to
rec.music.gaffa, and the mailing list love-hounds.

I do not know Ch*is -&- Vic*ie and I don't want to get involved, but
I do feel sorry for them, and for the group. If this helps anyone
understand the situation any better, then I will have done some good.

This is the psuedo-faq for the group.  Perhaps it will come in handy
for knowledge in the future. 

            ===============================

               The Invasion FAQ of A.S.T.
  
  
     Although not exactly a FAQ, this file is more of an explanation
 of why alt.syntax.tactical and the Tactical-List were created. It also
 lays down the foundation for the structure, strategy and protocol of 
 usenet invasions.
  
  
                * Invasion *
  
     Each of us brings our own reasons, backgrounds and motivations 
 into this scheme. What is important is that each individual brings into
 this their own brand of inspired mischief. In someways it is completely
 innocent. In someways it is completely destructive.
  
     Anyone can walk into alt.sex and post that pornography should be
  banned. Anyone can walk into rec.sport.baseball and say "baseball 
  sucks". It takes unbelievable skill and discipline to cause a PROLONGED
  flame war. That is what we do. But it can only be done with talent, and
  numbers to match that talent. We only bring into the fold people who 
  have the knack to use smarts to incite chaos, not stupidity to incite 
  being ignored when people see a post and know what you're up to.
  
     To keep things running smoothly, Jeff (antebi@usc.edu) is our
 'moderator'. Dave (jpdavid@netcom.com) was responsible for creating the
 mailing-list and setting up the initial newsgroup. Everyone is equal 
 in suggesting and voting on invasion sites and other basic day-to-day
 workings of the group. Everyone here gains or loses merit only in the
 invasion arena.
  
               * Waves of Invasion *
  
     Flames and wars between groups are as old as Usenet. What we do is
 in many ways fundamentally different from what is or has been done in
 this area. 
  
     After picking a site, we call for an invasion on that site. There 
 are a number of phases to an invasion. Each person can volunteer for 
 which wave they want to be in, but more times than not, it is a first
 come-first served policy. It is always important that no one jump the 
 gun and go in before we have time to prepare and bounce ideas off 
 eachother. It's also important that people don't switch waves without
 letting everyone know. Flexibility is the key, as is communication.
  
     Typically, we use between two and five Waves of attack. Waves will
 generally break down into this kind of structure:
  
 a: Reconnaissance (RECON):  These people will go in early and usually 
            set up camp as "friends of the newsgroup". They will
            become trusted and participate by joining previous
            discussions or starting non-controversial ones
            themselves. They will also act as "double-agents"
            to counter-flame the other waves as the invasion
            progresses. They key is building a bit of credibility.
 
 b: Wave One:  Wave one will usually be what starts the flame war.
            Those involved in this wave can go on and each have
            a different flame, or go on and flame in unison.
            They can bring in a subject of their own or flame a
            previous discussion. What matters is that this 
            initial wave will be the one that the invaded newsgroup
            will have their attention on. This wave calls for 
            extreme subtlety. The quality of the flame MUST be at
            its highest point here.
 
 c: Wave Two:  Wave Two will consist of tactics to attack the people
            who were sent in as recon and attempt to start totally
            new flame threads. The key here is that even if we
            attack a group of people restrained enough to resist
            our flame-bait, wave two will stir things up and get
            others to join in.
 
 d: Wave Three:  Wave three will generally change depending on the 
            campaign, but will generally be added to push the
            confusion and chaos over the top. Flame the recon,
            flame the first wave, flame the second wave. These
            guys are our balls out, rude SOB's. Mop up and clean
            out. 
            
            Sometimes (usually with bigger groups) Wave three
            will simply be along the lines of a wave two. We will
            call for a wave four (or five) to be the balls out
            routine. We will sometimes add a wave or two because
            depending on the size and intelligence of a newsgroup.
 
 
 Miscellaneous Tactics:

   There are three other things that we typically use, depending on 
 the sophistication of the invasion.

 LOOSE CANNONS are people who come in and act so strange and obtuse that 
 it makes the rest of the flames look genuine. 

 THE ANON SERVICE can be used to send posts anonymously. This is a good 
 way to post and pretend to be scared of retribution. Only problem is 
 that this is usually the first sign that a post is a flame, so it should
 only be used with a TREMENDOUS amount of DISCRETION.

 CROSS POSTING is also a popular method of choice by other flame groups, 
 so it is important to Cross Post with discretion. If we can cross post 
 to bring in other newsgroups to unwittingly assist us, perfect. If we 
 cross post to suspicious newsgroups, our intentions will be obvious.

            * Victory *

     Ideally, signs of victory are the following:

o Our names appear in killfiles
o Majority or ALL threads in invaded newsgroup were started by us 
o Regulars/legit people abandon invaded newsgroup
o Receiver much hate mail - as does our SysAdmin
o Recruit the untrained to become talented flame 'artists'

            * Notes *

Most important is the need to be SUBTLE when it is required. One misplaced
post can ruin it for the rest of us. Those of you who have participated in
widespread flame wars know the feeling of having a newsgroup going for a
long time, then someone posts an obvious flame or something so far out
of context, that everyone says to just ignore the flames, which eventually
includes all of us. Blowing a flame war will occasionally happen, but if it 
could have been avoided with a little thinking, then it's not as excusable.

We've got to share duties. Everyone should get practice playing different
roles and different waves.

It has been assumed that if you don't want to participate, fine. No one
will hold it against you. What is expected is that if you don't want to 
participate you don't have to, but that also means that you wont go
warning that newsgroup when an invasion happens. You will close your eyes
and turn a blind eye. NO NEWSGROUP IS OFF LIMITS!!!!!!

Another thing many people seem to be talking about are SIGS AND NAMES.
Try to take on appropriate names. If you are on alt.rap, D.J. Trouble 
is not going to stir things up...if you show up on soc.culture.physics
with that name, you're caught before your first word of text. 
If a Sig is going to blow your cover, lose it.

Official Kudos:

We officially acknowledge Robert Trent's brilliance with the Lefty Award for
his inspired genius in the invasion of Rec.Pets.Cats.

Also receiving kudos: Wild Bill and Dewme.
                     ====================

Another lurker who is sick and tired of J*rn,

Nick