Jargon File (4.3.0, 30 APR 2001) wrote:kook [Usenet; originally and more formally, `net.kook'] Term used to
describe a regular poster who continually posts messages with no
apparent grounding in reality. Different from a troll, which implies a
sort of sly wink on the part of a poster who knows better, kooks really
believe what they write, to the extent that they believe anything.
The kook trademark is paranoia and grandiosity. Kooks will often build
up elaborate imaginary support structures, fake corporations and the
like, and continue to act as if those things are real even after their
falsity has been documented in public.
While they may appear harmless, and are usually filtered out by the
other regular participants in a newsgroup of mailing list, they can
still cause problems because the necessity for these measures is not
immediately apparent to newcomers; there are several instances on
record, for example, of journalists writing stories with quotes from
kooks who caught them unaware.
An entertaining web page chronicaling the activities of many notable
kooks can be found at `
http://www.crank.net/usenet.html'.