Plonk
Encyclopedia
Plonk is a Usenet
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...

 jargon term for adding a particular poster to one's kill file
Kill file
A kill file is a per-user file used by some Usenet reading programs to discard summarily articles matching some unwanted patterns of subject, author, or other header lines.Thus to add a person to one's kill file is to arrange for that person to be ignored...

 such that the poster's future postings are completely ignored. It was first used in 1989, and by 1994 was a commonly used term on Usenet regarding kill file additions.

The word is an example of onomatopoeia, intended to humorously represent the supposed sound of the user hitting the bottom of the kill file (imagining perhaps the kill file as a bucket). It is also sometimes given as an acronym standing for Please Log Off, Net Kook, though this is likely a backronym
Backronym
A backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed purposely, such that an acronym can be formed to a specific desired word. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology....

. Other used expressions are "put lamer on killfile" and Please Leave Our Newsgroup: Killfile!

It is also used as a verb: "I plonked that idiot Tom". As a public repudiation of the plonked poster, it is appended to the end of one's reply (or may constitute the entire reply). A user might also simply reply to the impugned post with the word "Plonk".

The term's usage later expanded to include the use of e-mail filters
E-mail filtering
Email filtering is the processing of email to organize it according to specified criteria. Most often this refers to the automatic processing of incoming messages, but the term also applies to the intervention of human intelligence in addition to anti-spam techniques, and to outgoing emails as well...

 that delete incoming messages that meet certain filter criteria set by the receiving user, so block messages from annoying senders. It has also often been figuratively used on BBSes
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...

, webboards, blogs, and wikis (which usually do not actually have filters), and is occasionally used in reference to blocking a user on an IM protocol.

First known use

The first known use was in 1989 by a Richard Sexton in the alt.flame newsgroup
Newsgroup
A usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users in different locations. The term may be confusing to some, because it is usually a discussion group. Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on...

.

>>Please refrain from posting to talk.bizarre until such time as you
>>cease to be an asshole and become at least one of: bizarre, creative,
>>or entertaining. You are welcome to dump your rotting ordure in rec.humor
>>or some similar group where your fellow mental defectives congregate.

>Make me.
  • plonk*


Recent example use


[John Q. Public] wrote:
> No ramps were used to build the GP [Great Pyramid], and well as the 2 main
> others... another technique far more developed that the one even used now.
  • plonk* and yet another killfile entry!



In this case the respondent has plonked John Q. Public and emphasized the point.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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