Re: strange message on alt.test

wolfgang rothe wrote:

On 06 Mar 2024, D <J@M> posted some
news:6ee1eb7e8637398e589013eb22ea5f1d@dizum.com:
 

On Wed, 6 Mar 2024 14:40:56 -0600, Nigel Reed
<sysop@endofthelinebbs.com> wrote:

On Wed, 6 Mar 2024 08:25:11 +0100
Ivo Gandolfo <usenet@bofh.team> wrote:

-------- Original Message --------
From: llp <contact@usenet.ovh>
Date: mar, mar 5 2024 10:26:46PM GMT+00:00
Subject: strange message on alt.test
>

Hi,
I've noticed that on the alt.test group, a user posts a message
every 5 minutes from months.
Do you have any idea what this is ?
For example:

>
It's a bot, testing reaching the system and "ping". It's used for
the Tor (or similar) network for testing reachability.
Have used my server too.

>
Personally, I'm not a big fan of running a usenet server that's
accessable via tor. While usenet can be fairly anonymous, there is
still some sort of accountability for those users who abuse it. That
said, I suppose it's like any other VPN or whatever.

>
google didn't need tor to abuse usenet with impunity, temporarily;
sites and services that reject tor users tend to become isolated,
like moderated newsgroups, moderated social media, the "in-crowd"

 google couldn't find a way to make groups / usenet pay to support
themselves, so the cost cutting knife came out.  If they were really
interested, they could have stopped the spamming easily enough.
 Encountering Tor filtering will slow a skilled networker down for
a bit to work out what is needed.  An adjustment or two and Tor access
continues unabated. Most users in this category are not abusers, but
there is the occasional exception.
 

I understand that some clients (not the one I use) can set an expiry date on a posting, this would seem to be case where that should be mandatory - and anything more than a few days would also be a form of abuse.