If you have ever spent considerable time and effort wading though long lists of subject
headers looking for the one thing you were attempting to find, fear not, because there is
a way to get the computer to do some (or all) of the work. You may already be familiar
with filters from email programs, since nearly every email client has basic filtering
capability. The concept applies equally to Usenet as it does to email: when an item is
downloaded, the computer checks the item’s contents against a checklist, and when a match
occurs a specific action is triggered, such as a special system beep. Even if you have
never used email-based filters, you may recall that I have mentioned filters in previous
columns. In any case, this week I’m going to begin a close look at the how-to of
configuring filters.
There is much more to filtering than making a bell ring. There are as many useful reasons
for creating a filter as there are daily messages posted to
alt.binaries.multimedia. For example, if you post a message, you almost certainly want to insure not want to miss any
replies. Perhaps you are seeking binary files and do not want to see files that will not
run on your computer. Or maybe there is a particular subject that interests you, and you
want to find any message on that topic. In each of these cases, and countless others,
filters can make the process easier.
Essentially filters capitalize on an ability that computers excel at: strictly defined,
boring, repetitive tasks. Any task that can be defined, such as, show me only files which
include my address, are much easier for a filter to accomplish compared to human.
Here is how to get started with filters using Thoth. Go to the Windows menu and select
Show Filters List. A dialog will appear (usually blank, unless you’ve already defined a
filter) that lists all the filters. Given that over time you may create dozens of
different filters, the Filters List window, like many of the other list windows in
Thoth, contain controls at the top of the window to filter the list so that only a subset of the
items appear. Although this is a form of filtering, it should not be confused with
content-based filtering, which is filtering criteria applied to downloaded items.
Although filters can become very complex, I’m going to focus on a simple task to start
with. (In future columns, I’ll tackle more advanced filtering techniques.) Lets begin with
identifying replies to your messages. In the Filters List window, click on the Create New
Filter button. The topmost box in the Edit Filter window is labeled For, and it defines
the scope of the filter. A period means that it will apply to any group. It is possible to
enter either a group name, such as comp.sys.mac.digest, or a group of groups, such as
comp.sys.mac. When defining a group of groups, its necessary to add a period to the end of
the name, so that it will match any news group that begins with text. Because we
are interested in finding any reply regardless of the group, leave the For box with just a
period. Below the scope is the filter’s trigger. We are interested in finding replies, so
change the popup that contains the word Subject to Reply-To, and type your email address
in the text box below the Contains the Sting popup menu. That’s it. Assuming you’ve left
the other default settings alone, after you click the OK button, you have created a simple
filter that will color red any message that is a reply directly to you. In my next column,
I’ll take this simple example several steps further, including why it does not always
work.
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"Making The Computer Do The Hard Work: Filters"
