Alt.usenet.kooks

alt.usenet.kooks is a newsgroup established on 1993-12-20 as part of the alt hierarchy. Its main focus is on discussing Usenet contributors who fit the definition of a "net.kook" as mentioned in its FAQ:

:Anyone who posts uniquely strange, preferably incomprehensible articles, or who manifests a persistent, extreme, and somewhat bizarre obsession, might be a net.kook.

The subscribers to the group regularly hold votes to label people as "recipients" of various mock awards. Past "winners" include people of Usenet notoriety such as
Archimedes Plutonium, Sollog, Kenneth Robert Pangborn, and Jack Sarfatti, as well as people (or organizations) of greater fame such as Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Gary Glitter, and the Kansas Board of Education. Awards of special distinction have been given to Edmond Wollmann (Kook of the Millennium), Earl Curley (Kook of the Century), John Grubor (Kook of the Century and Decade), Brad Jesness (Kook of the Decade), Gordon Roy Parker a.k.a. "Ray Gordon" (The Most Shameless Newsloon of All Time), and Richard Bullis (Clueless Eternal Newbie).

Especially in the late 1990s and early 2000s, alt.usenet.kooks has been criticized by some as a soapbox for personal or political grudges. Critics claimed that regular users of the newsgroup displayed a "pack mentality" and were engaging in cyberbullying.

Regulars in alt.usenet.kooks also followed those labeled "kooks" into other newsgroups and posted messages attacking them.

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