Talk:Plonk
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Well, I ballsed that up, this is supposed to go in the internet slang bit.
Plonk is a Usenet slang term for adding a particular poster to one's kill file 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 a somewhat fanciful example of onomatopoeia, intended to humorously represent the supposed sound of the user hitting the killfile (most often like fecal matter hitting the water in a toilet).
The meaning of plonking was later expanded to include the usage of email filters that delete incoming email that meets certain filter criteria set by the receiving user.
It is commonly used as a verb: "I plonked that idiot". As a public repudiation of the plonked poster, it can be appended to the end of one's reply to demonstrate that you have added that person to your kill file.
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[edit] First known use
The first known use was in 1989 by Richard Sexton in the alt.flame group.
>>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*
[edit] Recent example use
Jean-Paul Turcaud 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 added Jean-Paul Turcaud to their killfile and has decided to emphasize the point with the word "plonk".
[edit] Other uses
"Plonk" is also used in British English as slang for cheap, low-quality wine (from the French word "blanc" for white wine). This usage dates back to WWI and is originally Australian. It therefore predates the Internet usage described above by many decades.
