Shortly after its creation, in 1995, the newsgroup was targeted by warez traders, who tried to use it for the distribution of pirated commercial software. The users of the newsgroup responded by forming their own internal "police force" for the newsgroup, known as the SubGenius Police, Usenet Tactical Unit - Mobile (SPUTUM). This group of Internet-savvy people embarked on a successful campaign to drive the warez traders out of the newsgroup. They then turned their resources and skills towards the ongoing problem of spam on the Internet. As a result, the users of alt.binaries.slack pride themselves on having one of the most spam-free binaries newsgroups on Usenet.
Shortly after its creation, in 1995, the newsgroup was targeted by warez traders, who tried to use it for the distribution of pirated commercial software. The users of the newsgroup responded by forming their own internal "police force" for the newsgroup, known as the SubGenius Police Usenet Tactical Unit - Mobile (SPUTUM). This group of Internet-savvy people embarked on a successful campaign to drive the warez traders out of the newsgroup. They then turned their resources and skills towards the ongoing problem of spam on the Internet. As a result, the users of alt.binaries.slack pride themselves on having one of the most spam-free binaries newsgroups on Usenet.