John Hasler wrote: > Stefan writes: > > How odd. I always assumed that it was the comic-strip style > > representation of the sound of hanging up the phone abruptly. > > No. I was there when it came into use. It definitely represents the > sound of a small object dropping into a large tank with liquid at the > bottom. A septic tank, for example. It was common to respond to a > particularly asinine article with the one-word followup "plonk". > > I've never seen any point in telling the world (or the plonked > individual) about the action, though.
Oh, no, it's not for them. If they were worth arguing with, one wouldn't bother plonking them - just quietly ignore them. Plonking is a social signal to everybody else. *This person* is in *my opinion* not worth an argument -- consider whether you want to do the same. It's never unanimous. There's a decades-long troll on rec.arts.sf.written who apparently has a worthwhile thing to say about once every two years. I find out by seeing it quoted in other people's messages. -dsr-
