@top The Gnus Newsreader
You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
-can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of - @sc{nntp}, local
+can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
luck.
* Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
* Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
* The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
-* Appendix:: Technical stuff for technical people.
+* Appendices:: Technical stuff, Emacs intro, FAQ
* Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
* Key Index:: Key Index.
@end menu
@sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu UMEDA. When autumn crept up in '94,
Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
-The recommended pronunciation of the name this program is "ding
-guh-noose", with "ding" being half-sung in a loud, high-pitched voice,
-and "guh-noose" being grumbled and a disaffected fashion. Any
-irritation and/or damage this name may cause you is not the
-responsibility of the author, even though you might like to strangle him
-for the stupid idea.
-
If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
can point your (feh!) web browser to
@file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
In any case, after spending all that energy with coming up with a new
and spiffy name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spiffy, so we
renamamed it back again to "Gnus". But in mixed case. "Gnus" vs.
-@sc{gnus}. New vs. old.
+"@sc{gnus}". New vs. old.
Incidentally, the next Gnus generation will be called "September Gnus",
and won't be released until February. Confused? You will be.
Gnus offer no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
-reading and fetching news. Expanding on Umeda-san's wise decision to
+reading and fetching news. Expanding on Umeda-san's wise decision to
separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
-and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
-everywhere I can imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one of
+and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
+everywhere I can imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one of
you to explore and invent new ways of reading news.
May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x hail-emacs}.
@sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
please let me know (@kbd{M-x gnus-bug}).
-Problems specific to GNU XEmacs can be reported to popineau@@ese-metz.fr
-(Fabrice Popineau). I will just forward any such questions to him,
-anyway, so you might have to wait longer if you mail XEmacs questions to
-me.
-
@node Conformity
@section Conformity
No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
-to man. Except, of course, where we disagree with the standards and/or
-conventions.
+to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
+with, of course.
@table @strong
@item RFC 822
-There are no known breaches to this standard.
+There are no known breaches of this standard.
@item RFC 1036
-There are no known breaches to this standard, either.
+There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
@item Usenet Seal of Approval
Gnus hasn't been formally through the Seal process, but I have read
-through the Seal text, and I think that Gnus would pass.
+through the Seal text and I think Gnus would pass.
@item Son-of-RFC 1036
We do have some breaches to this one.
those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
@item References
-Gnus does line breaking on this header. I infer from RFC1036 that being
-conservative in what you output is not creating 5000-character lines, so
-it seems like a good idea to me. However, this standard-to-be says that
-whitespace in the @code{References} header is to be preserved, so... It
-doesn't matter one way or the other to Gnus, so if somebody tells me
-what The Way is, I'll change it. Or not.
+Gnus breaks lines if this header is long. I infer from RFC1036 that
+being conservative in what you output is not creating 5000-character
+lines, so it seems like a good idea to me. However, this standard-to-be
+says that whitespace in the @code{References} header is to be preserved,
+so... It doesn't matter one way or the other to Gnus, so if somebody
+tells me what The Way is, I'll change it. Or not.
@end table
@end table
@cindex Mule
@cindex Emacs
-Gnus should work on Emacs 19.26 and up, XEmacs 19.12 and up and Mule.
+Gnus should work on :
+
+@itemize @bullet
+
+@item
+Emacs 19.26 and up.
+
+@item
+XEmacs 19.12 and up.
+
+@item
+Mule versions based on Emacs 19.26 and up.
+
+@end itemize
+
+Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
+reliably, at least.
+
There are some vague differences in what Gnus does, though:
@itemize @bullet
XEmacs.
@item
-The same with current-article marking -- XEmacs puts an underline under
-the entire article while Emacs and Mule are nicer and kinder.
+The same with current-article marking---XEmacs puts an underline under
+the entire summary line while Emacs and Mule are nicer and kinder.
@item
-XEmacs features more graphics -- a logo and a toolbar.
+XEmacs features more graphics---a logo and a toolbar.
@item
Citation highlighting us better under Emacs and Mule than under XEmacs.
endurance, what with my "oh, that's a neat idea <type type>, yup, I'll
release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't work at all <type
type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship off> no, wait, that
-absolutely does not work" policy for releases. Microsoft - bah. I'm
-@emph{much} worse.
+absolutely does not work" policy for releases. Micro$oft---bah.
+Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that "worser"? "much worser"?
+"worsest"?)
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
wrong show.
Of course, GNUS was written by Masanobu UMEDA.
@item
Many excellent functions, especially dealing with scoring and
-highlighting (as well as the soon-to-come @sc{soup} support) was written
+highlighting (as well as the @sc{soup} support) was written
by Per Abrahamsen.
@item
Innumerable bug fixes were written by Sudish Joseph.
@item
I stole some pieces from the XGnus distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
@item
-nnfolder has been much enhanced by Scott Byer.
+@code{nnfolder} has been much enhanced by Scott Byer.
@item
The orphan scoring was written by Peter Mutsaers.
@item
GNU XEmacs support has been added by Fabrice Popineau.
@item
-Various bits and pieces, especially dealing with .newsrc files, was
+POP mail support was written by Ken Raeburn.
+@item
+Various bits and pieces, especially dealing with .newsrc files, were
suggested and added by Hallvard B Furuseth.
@item
-Brian Edmonds has written @code{gnus-bbdb}, as well as other bits and
-pieces.
+Brian Edmonds has written @code{gnus-bbdb}.
@item
Ricardo Nassif did the proof-reading.
@item
Kevin Davidson came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
@item
-Stainless Steel Rat, Ulrik Dickow, Jack Vinson, Daniel Quinlan, Frank
-D. Cringle, Geoffrey T. Dairiki and Andrew Eskilsson have all
-contributed code and suggestions.
+Peter Arius, Stainless Steel Rat, Ulrik Dickow, Jack Vinson, Daniel
+Quinlan, Frank D. Cringle, Geoffrey T. Dairiki and Andrew Eskilsson have
+all contributed code and suggestions.
@end itemize
@item
You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Reading Mail}).
All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
-(@code{Expiring Old Mail Articles}).
+(@pxref{Expiring Old Mail Articles}).
@item
Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
-their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads in one thread) or it
+their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
(@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
them as well.
@item
-Gnus can do partial group updates - you do not have to retrieve the
+Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
(@pxref{The Active File}).
@item
You can score articles according to any number of criteria
-(@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to score articles for you
-(@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
+(@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
+articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
@item
Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
@item
-Gnus can fetch FAQs to and descriptions of groups (@pxref{Group
-Information}).
+Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
@item
Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
Articles}).
+@item
+URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
+Buttons}).
+
@item
All Gnus buffers can be customized in a difficult fashion
(@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
@itemize @bullet
@item
-Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done. I was hoping
-I could steal code from @code{Mew}, the @sc{mime} mail reader for Emacs,
-but I'm not quite sure what the status of that project is. Gnus might
-support @sc{mime} quite soon, and it might not.
-
+Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
@item
@code{trn}-like trees.
@item
NoCeM support.
@item
Frame configuration.
-@item
-Re-sending bounced mail and rejected articles.
@item
Floating point group levels and group bubbling.
-@item
-@file{/etc/nntpserver} usage.
@item
Automatic re-scan of incoming mail.
@item
@item
Gather thread by filling in missing Message-IDs.
@item
-Slave Gnusii to enable several Gnusii to run at once.
-@item
PGP support.
@item
Allow posting through mail-to-news gateways.
@item
-Allow renaming mail groups in a simple fashion.
-@item
Speed up massive group massacres.
@item
@code{jka-compr} isn't fully supported.
@item
Really do unbinhexing.
@item
-Fetching by Message-ID should work in mail groups.
-@item
Listing of all active groups.
@item
XEmacs toolbar.
@item
Do the X-Receipt-To thing.
@item
-Hierarchal group buffers.
-@item
Don't kill summary buffers upon exit from the groups.
@item
Allow adaption on secondary marks.
And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
-You can probably sneak a look at the actual up-to-the-second todo list
-by snooping @code{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/sgnus/todo>}.
+@code{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/sgnus/todo>} is where the actual
+up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
+could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
@node Terminology
@chapter Terminology
@table @dfn
@item news
@cindex news
-This is what you are supposed to use this thing for - reading news.
+This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
are reading.
@item backend
Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
-backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak - this
+backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
is all done by the backends.
@item native
Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
put.
@item body
@cindex body
-The rest of an article. Everything that is not in the head is in the
+The rest of an article. Everything that is not in the head is in the
body.
@item header
@cindex header
@kindex M-x gnus
If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
-and reading news is extremely easy - you just type @kbd{M-x gnus}.
+and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus}.
If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
variables.
* Slave Gnusii:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
* Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
* New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
-* Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files - @file{.newsrc}.
+* Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
* Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
* The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
* Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
@vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
@cindex NNTPSERVER
-@cindex nntp server
+@cindex @sc{nntp} server
If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
@code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file} (default
given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
for some reason or other.
-If Gnus says "nntp server on <your server> can't be opened. Continue?",
+If Gnus says "nntp server on <your server> can't be opened. Continue?",
you do not want to continue unless you have some foreign groups that you
want to read. Even if you don't, Gnus will let you continue, but you'll
find it difficult to actually do anything in the group buffer. But,
@node Slave Gnusii
-@section Slave Gnusii
+@section Slave Gnusiï
@cindex slave
-You might with to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
+You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (eg., if you
-are using the two different Gnusii to read from two different servers),
+are using the two different Gnusiï to read from two different servers),
that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
-The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusii that uses the same
-@code{.newsrc} file.
+The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusiï that use the same
+@code{.newsrc} file.
To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
-Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Master} and
+Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
@dfn{servants}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
-conjunction with each other, you have to send ¢1 per usage to me. Usage
-of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
-Applications}), that will be much more expensive, of course.)
+conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
+me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
+Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
-however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusii should be started with
+however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusiï should be started with
@kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
-files, but some slave files that contains only information on what
+files, but some slave files that contains information only on what
groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus starts,
it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
information from all of them. (The slave files will be read in the
-sequence they were created, so the latest changes will have presedence.)
+sequence they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
Information from the slave files has, of course, presedence over the
information in the normal (i. e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
@vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
you about @strong{all} new groups.
+
@item gnus-subscribe-zombies
@vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
-Make all new groups zombies. You can browse the zombies later and
-either kill them all off properly, or subscribe to them. This is the
-default.
+Make all new groups zombies. You can browse the zombies later (with
+@kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly, or subscribe to them.
+This is the default.
@end table
@vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
you could set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
@code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
-@kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
+@kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
+is @code{t} by default.
Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
@code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
-Unfortunately, not all servers support this function.
+Unfortunately, not all servers support this function.
This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
@code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
-@file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to tern version
-control on or off.
+@file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
+control on or off. Version control is off by default when saving.
@node Auto Save
@section Auto Save
this file.
If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
-read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
+read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
saved.
@vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
-maintain a dribble buffer.
+maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
@vindex gnus-dribble-directory
Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
@vindex gnus-read-active-file
The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
-reading the active file.
+reading the active file. This variable is @code{t} by default.
Gnus will try to make do by just getting information on the groups
that you actually subscribe to.
@item gnus-load-hook
@vindex gnus-load-hook
A hook that is run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
-normally be run just once in a single Emacs session, no matter how many
+normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
times you start Gnus.
@item gnus-startup-hook
* Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
* Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
* Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
-* Group Subscribing:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
+* Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
* Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
+* Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
* Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
* Foreign Groups:: How to create foreign groups.
* Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
* Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
+* Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
* Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
* Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what if has to offer.
* Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
@code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
-
-In addition to the normal "padding" specs that @code{format} supports
-(eg. @samp{%7d}), specifications like @samp{%7,12s} are allowed. A spec
-of this type means that the field will be at least 7 characters long,
-and never more that 12 characters long.
+@xref{Formatting Variables}.
The default value that produced those lines above is
@samp{"%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n"}.
There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
-the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required - not
+the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
text properties.
@cindex *
All the "number-of" specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*}) if
-no info is available - for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
+no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
group, or a bogus (or semi-bogus) native group.
@vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
@vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
-the commands that say they move to the next unread group.
+the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
+is @code{t}.
@node Selecting a Group
@section Selecting a Group
@findex gnus-group-select-group
Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
(@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
-@code{gnus-group-read-group} - the only difference is that this command
+@code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
entry.
@vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
-to be a big group. If the group has more unread articles than this,
-Gnus will query the user before entering the group. The user can then
-specify how many articles should be fetched from the server. If the
-user specifies a negative number (@samp{-n}), the @samp{n} oldest
-articles will be fetched. If it is positive, the @samp{n} articles that
-have arrived most recently will be fetched.
+to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
+unread articles than this, Gnus will query the user before entering the
+group. The user can then specify how many articles should be fetched
+from the server. If the user specifies a negative number (@samp{-n}),
+the @samp{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it is positive, the
+@samp{n} articles that have arrived most recently will be fetched.
@vindex gnus-select-group-hook
@vindex gnus-auto-select-first
-If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, the first unread
-article in the group will be displayed when you enter the group. If you
-want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a binary
-group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil} in
-@code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is selected.
+@code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
+automatically when entering a group.
+
+@table @code
+@item nil
+Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
+full summary buffer.
+
+@item t
+Select the first unread article when entering the group.
+
+@item best
+Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
+group.
+@end table
+
+If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
+binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
+in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
+selected.
@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
tickles you fancy.
-@node Group Subscribing
-@section Group Subscribing
+
+@node Subscription Commands
+@section Subscription Commands
@cindex subscribing
@table @kbd
Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
@end table
+Also @xref{Group Levels}.
+
@node Group Levels
@section Group Levels
@cindex group level
@vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
@vindex gnus-level-subscribed
Gnus considers groups on between levels 1 and
-@code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) to be subscribed,
+@code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
@code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
-@code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) to be unsubscribed,
-@code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead) and
-@code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed, completely dead. Gnus treats
-subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the same, but zombie and
-killed groups have no information on what articles you have read, etc,
-stored. This distinction between dead and living groups isn't done
-because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for reasons of
-efficiency.
+@code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
+unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
+(default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (default 9),
+completely dead. Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly
+the same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what
+articles you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and
+living groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely
+for reasons of efficiency.
It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
low levels (eg. 1 or 2).
@vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
@vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
-and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed}, which are the levels that new
-groups will be put on if they are (un)subscribed. These two variables
-should, of course, be inside the relevant legal ranges.
+(default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
+which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
+(un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
+relevant legal ranges.
@vindex gnus-keep-same-level
If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
use this level as the "work" level.
+
+@node Group Score
+@section Group Score
+@cindex group score
+
+You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
+is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
+group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
+reason?
+
+This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
+group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
+Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
+the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
+that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
+on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
+part and the score is the least significant part.)
+
+@findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
+If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
+read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
+the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
+sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
+action after each summary exit, you can add
+@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
+@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
+slow things down somewhat.
+
+
@node Marking Groups
@section Marking Groups
@cindex marking groups
-If you want to perform some action on several groups, and they appear
+If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
bidding on those groups.
However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
-perform an action on several groups. You simply mark the groups first,
-and then execute the command.
+perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
+with the process mark and then execute the command.
@table @kbd
+
@item #
@kindex # (Group)
-@item M m
+@itemx M m
@kindex M m (Group)
@findex gnus-group-mark-group
Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
+
@item M-#
@kindex M-# (Group)
-@item < u
+@itemx < u
@kindex M u (Group)
@findex gnus-group-unmark-group
Remove the mark from the current group
(@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
+
@item M w
@kindex M w (Group)
@findex gnus-group-mark-region
Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
+
+@item M r
+@kindex M r (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
+Mark all groups that match some regular expression
+(@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
@end table
+Also @xref{Process/Prefix}.
+
+
@node Foreign Groups
@section Foreign Groups
@cindex foreign groups
name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
-One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server} - so
+One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
@samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group, in
all circumstances, @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the
-nntp backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
+@code{nntp} backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
Here are some commands for making and editing general foreign groups,
and some commands to ease the creation of some special-purpose groups:
@kindex G f (Group)
@findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
Make a group based on some file or other
-(@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). You will be prompted for a file
-name and a file type. Currently supported types are @code{babyl},
-@code{mbox} and @code{digest}.
+(@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
+command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
+Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
+@code{mmfd}, and @code{forward}. If you run this command without a
+prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type.
@item G DEL
@kindex G DEL (Group)
@findex gnus-group-delete-group
This function will delete the current group
(@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
-actuallt delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
+actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
sure of what you are doing.
* nnvirtual:: Combining articles from many groups.
* nnkiboze:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
* nndir:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
-* nneething:: Dired? Who needs dired?
+* nneething:: Dired? Who needs dired?
* nndoc:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
+* SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets "offline".
* Reading Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
@end menu
If the @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
-groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. It is @code{nil} by default,
-which means that you won't be told whether there are new articles in
-these groups. How many unread articles there are will be determined
-when, or if, you decide to enter them. You can also activate any group
-with @kbd{M-g} to see how many unread articles there are.
+groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
@node nntp
@subsection nntp
@node nnspool
@subsection nnspool
-@cindex nnspool
+@cindex @code{nnspool}
@cindex news spool
Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
anything else) as the address.
If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
-native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}).
+native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
+than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
+You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
@table @code
@item nnspool-inews-program
@item nnspool-spool-directory
@vindex nnspool-spool-directory
-Where nnspool looks for the articles. This is normally
+Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
@file{/usr/spool/news/}.
@item nnspool-nov-directory
@vindex nnspool-nov-directory
-Where nnspool will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
+Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
@file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
@item nnspool-lib-dir
@item nnspool-newsgroups-file
@vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
-The path of the group description file.
+The path of the group descriptions file.
@item nnspool-history-file
@vindex nnspool-history-file
@node nnvirtual
@subsection nnvirtual
-@cindex nnvirtual
+@cindex @code{nnvirtual}
@cindex virtual groups
An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
-(And vice versa - marks from the component groups will also be shown in
+(And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
the virtual group.)
-Here's an example nnvirtual method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
+Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
@lisp
"^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
@end example
-This should work kinda smoothly - all articles from both groups should
+This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
(@pxref{Selecting a Group}.
-One limitation, however - all groups that are included in a virtual
+One limitation, however---all groups that are included in a virtual
group has to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
-zombie groups can't be component groups for nnvirtual groups.
+zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
+
@node nnkiboze
@subsection nnkiboze
-@cindex nnkiboze
+@cindex @code{nnkiboze}
@cindex kibozing
-@dfn{Kibozing} is defined by OED as "grepping through (parts of) the
-news feed". nnkiboze is a backend that will do this for you. Oh joy!
-Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt with useless
+@dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as "grepping through (parts of)
+the news feed". @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for you. Oh
+joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt with useless
requests! Oh happiness!
-The address field of the nnkiboze method is, as with nnvirtual, a regexp
-to match groups to be "included" in the nnkiboze group. There most
-similarities between nnkiboze and nnvirtual ends.
+The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
+@code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be "included" in the
+@code{nnkiboze} group. There most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
+and @code{nnvirtual} ends.
-In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an nnkiboze group
+In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
must have a score file to say what articles that are to be included in
the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
@kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
@findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
-nnkiboze groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
+@code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
all the articles in all the components groups and run them through the
scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
-that are to be part of the nnkiboze groups.
+that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
@sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
Stranger things have happened.
-nnkiboze component groups do not have to be alive - they can be dead,
+@code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
@vindex nnkiboze-directory
-The generation of an nnkiboze group means writing two files in
+The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
@code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
on what groups that have been searched through to find component
articles.
-Articles that are marked as read in the nnkiboze group will have their
+Articles that are marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have their
@sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
@node nndir
@subsection nndir
-@cindex nndir
+@cindex @code{nndir}
@cindex directory groups
If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp}, that most
wonderful of all wonderful Emacs packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I
-didn't think much about it - a backend to read directories. Big deal.
+didn't think much about it---a backend to read directories. Big deal.
@code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
enter @file{"/ftp@@sina.tcamc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/"} as the the
@code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
-@code{nndir} is a "read-only" backend - you can't delete or expire
+@code{nndir} is a "read-only" backend---you can't delete or expire
articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
@node nneething
@subsection nneething
-@cindex nneething
+@cindex @code{nneething}
From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
-pretends that any random directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but true.
+pretends that any random directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but true.
When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
-directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such a
-group, @code{nneething} must create "headers" that Gnus can use. After
+directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such a
+group, @code{nneething} must create "headers" that Gnus can use. After
all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting. @code{nneething}
-does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each file in question.
+does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each file in question.
If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first few lines look like
-headers), it will use this as the head. If this is just some random file
+headers), it will use this as the head. If this is just some random file
without a head (eg. a C source file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a
-header out of thin air. It will use file ownership, name and date and do
+header out of thin air. It will use file ownership, name and date and do
whatever it can with these elements.
All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
-with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
-newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
+with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
+newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
in the article buffer, just as usual.
If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
-a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
+a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
-There are two overall modes to this action - ephemeral or solid. When
+There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
-are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
+are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
-other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
+other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
Some variables:
@item nneething-exclude-files
@vindex nneething-exclude-files
-All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
+All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
@item nneething-map-file
@node nndoc
@subsection nndoc
-@cindex nndoc
+@cindex @code{nndoc}
@cindex documentation group
@cindex help group
-nndoc is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file as a
-newsgroup. Currently supported file types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}
-and @code{digest}.
+@code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
+as a newsgroup. Currently supported file types are @code{babyl} (the
+RMAIL file type), @code{mbox} (standard Unix mbox files), @code{digest}
+(various digests, MIME and otherwise), @code{mmfd} (the MMFD mail box
+format), and @code{forward} (a single forwarded mail). You can also use
+the special "file type" @code{guess}, which means that @code{nndoc} will
+try to guess what file type it is looking at.
-nndoc will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
-it - it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
+@code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
+it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
group. And that's it.
+If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
+new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
+that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
+to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
+@code{nndoc}, set the process mark on all the articles in the buffer
+(@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then respool (@kbd{B r}) using
+@code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL} file is
+now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can delete
+that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
+
Virtual server variables:
@table @code
@item nndoc-article-type
@vindex nndoc-article-type
-This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl} or @code{digest}.
+This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
+@code{mmfd}, @code{forward}, or @code{guess}.
@end table
+
+@node SOUP
+@subsection @sc{soup}
+@cindex @sc{SOUP}
+@cindex offline
+
+In the PC world people often talk about "offline" newsreaders. These
+are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
+With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
+
+Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
+@code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
+transport things like Ghod inteded. And then we just use normal
+newsreaders.
+
+However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
+easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
+that interested in doing things properly.
+
+A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
+and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
+fiddly.
+
+@enumerate
+
+@item
+You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
+use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie, or you can use Gnus to create the
+packet with the @kbd{O s} command.
+
+@item
+You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
+
+@item
+You put the packet in your home directory.
+
+@item
+You fire up Gnus using the @code{nnsoup} backend as the native server.
+
+@item
+You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
+want.
+
+@item
+You do the @kbd{G S r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
+packet.
+
+@item
+You transfer this packet to the server.
+
+@item
+You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G S s} command.
+
+@item
+You then repeat until you die.
+
+@end enumerate
+
+So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
+reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
+
+@menu
+* SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
+* nnsoup:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
+* SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
+@end menu
+
+
+@node SOUP Commands
+@subsubsection @sc{soup} Commands
+
+@table @kbd
+@item G s b
+@kindex G s b (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-brew-soup
+Pack all unread articles in the current group
+(@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
+process/prefix convention.
+
+@item G s w
+@kindex G s w (Group)
+@findex gnus-soup-save-areas
+Save all data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
+
+@item G s s
+@kindex G s s (Group)
+@findex gnus-soup-send-replies
+Send all replies from the replies packet
+(@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
+
+@item G s p
+@kindex G s p (Group)
+@findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
+Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
+
+@item G s r
+@kindex G s r (Group)
+@findex nnsoup-pack-replies
+Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
+
+@item O s
+@kindex O s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-soup-add-article
+This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
+(@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
+convention.
+
+@end table
+
+
+There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
+thingies:
+
+@table @code
+
+@item gnus-soup-directory
+@vindex gnus-soup-directory
+Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
+@sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
+
+@item gnus-soup-replies-directory
+@vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
+This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
+reply packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/}.
+
+@item gnus-soup-prefix-file
+@vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
+Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
+@samp{"gnus-prefix"}.
+
+@item gnus-soup-packer
+@vindex gnus-soup-packer
+A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
+@samp{ "tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz"}.
+
+@item gnus-soup-unpacker
+@vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
+Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
+@samp{"gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -"}.
+
+@item gnus-soup-packet-directory
+@vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
+Wehre Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
+
+@item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
+@vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
+Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
+@code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
+
+@end table
+
+
+@node nnsoup
+@subsubsection nnsoup
+@cindex @code{nnsoup}
+
+@code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
+read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
+you can read them at leisure.
+
+These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
+
+@table @code
+
+@item nnsoup-directory
+@vindex nnsoup-directory
+@code{nnsoup} will move all incoming @sc{soup} packets to this directory
+and unpack them there. The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
+
+@item nnsoup-replies-directory
+@vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
+All replies will stored in this directory before being packed into a
+reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
+
+@item nnsoup-replies-format-type
+@vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
+The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
+(rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probaly
+shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
+
+@item nnsoup-replies-index-type
+@vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
+The index type of the replies packet. The is @samp{?n}, which means
+"none". Don't fiddle with this one either!
+
+@item nnsoup-active-file
+@vindex nnsoup-active-file
+Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an "active
+file" in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
+this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
+@file{~/SOUP/active}.
+
+@item nnsoup-packer
+@vindex nnsoup-packer
+Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
+is @samp{"tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz"}.
+
+@item nnsoup-unpacker
+@vindex nnsoup-unpacker
+Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
+default is @samp{"gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -"}.
+
+@item nnsoup-packet-directory
+@vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
+Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
+@file{~/}.
+
+@item nnsoup-packet-regexp
+@vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
+Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
+@samp{Soupout}.
+
+@end table
+
+
+@node SOUP Replies
+@subsubsection SOUP Replies
+
+Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
+up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
+more for that to happen.
+
+@findex nnsoup-set-variables
+The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
+variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
+@sc{soup} system.
+
+In specific, this is what it does:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-inews-article-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
+(setq send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
+@end lisp
+
+And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
+system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
+@sc{soup}ed you use the second.
+
+
@node Reading Mail
@subsection Reading Mail
@cindex reading mail
@cindex mail
-Reading mail with a newsreader - isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
+Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
course.
Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
programs, if you want to.
@vindex nnmail-spool-file
+@cindex POP mail
@code{nnmail-spool-file} says where to look for new mail. If this
variable is @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch
-mail by themselves. It is quite likely that Gnus supports POP-mail.
-Set this variable to begin with the string @samp{po:}, and everything
-should go smoothly, even though I have never tested this.
+mail by themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
+@samp{"larsi"}, you should set this variable to @samp{"po:larsi"}. If
+your name is not @samp{"larsi"}, you should probably modify that
+slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
+devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
+to figure out the POP mail string by itself.
+
+When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
+inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
+mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
+invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
+pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
+shouldn't be too suprised when Gnus moves your mail.
@vindex nnmail-use-procmail
If @code{nnmail-use-procmail} is non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will
@vindex nnmail-movemail-program
@code{nnmail-movemail-program} is executed to move mail from the user's
-inbox to her home directory. The default is @samp{"movemail"}.
+inbox to her home directory. The default is @samp{"movemail"}.
@vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
If @code{nnmail-delete-incoming} is non-@code{nil}, the mail backends
will delete the temporary incoming file after splitting mail into the
proper groups. This is @code{nil} by default for reasons of security.
+@vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
+If @code{nnmail-use-long-file-names} is non-@code{nil} the mail backends
+will use long file and directory names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc}
+will end up in directories like @file{mail.misc/}. If it is @code{nil},
+the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc/}.
+
@vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
@vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
@vindex nnmail-delete-duplicates
@cindex duplicate mails
If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
-receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
-@code{nnmail} checks for and discards any duplicates it might find. To
+receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
+@code{nnmail} checks for and discards any duplicates it might find. To
do this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s -
@code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
-default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
+default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-delete-duplicates} set to
@code{t}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by using a
@code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already received.
-Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
+Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
mails that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps.
If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
-function of your choice. This function will be called without any
+function of your choice. This function will be called without any
arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
-message. The function should return a list of groups names that it
+message. The function should return a list of groups names that it
thinks should carry this mail message.
+Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent
+incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
+some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
+@code{From<SPC>} line to something else.
+
@vindex nnmail-crosspost
The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
the mail will be "cross-posted" to all those groups.
@code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
+
+
@node Fancy Mail Splitting
@subsubsection Fancy Mail Splitting
@cindex mail splitting
@code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
@vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
-If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an nnmh
+If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an @code{nnmh}
directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
@code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
-ever expiring the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is quite,
+ever expiring the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is quite,
quite important.
@node nnmbox
@subsubsection nnmbox
-@cindex nnmbox
+@cindex @code{nnmbox}
@cindex unix mail box
@vindex nnmbox-active-file
@node nnbabyl
@subsubsection nnbabyl
-@cindex nnbabyl
+@cindex @code{nnbabyl}
@cindex rmail mbox
@vindex nnbabyl-active-file
@node nnml
@subsubsection nnml
-@cindex nnml
+@cindex @code{nnml}
@cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
@item nnml-newsgroups-file
@vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
-The @code{nnml} group description file.
+The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
+Format}.
@item nnml-get-new-mail
@vindex nnml-get-new-mail
@node nnmh
@subsubsection nnmh
-@cindex nnmh
+@cindex @code{nnmh}
@cindex mh-e mail spool
@code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
sure that the articles in the folder is actually what Gnus think they
are. It will check date stamps, and stat everything in sight, so
setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
-use anything by Gnus to read the nnmh articles, you do not have to set
+use anything by Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have to set
this variable to @code{t}.
@end table
@node nnfolder
@subsubsection nnfolder
-@cindex nnfolder
+@cindex @code{nnfolder}
@cindex mbox folders
@code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
@item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
@vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
-The name of the group description file.
+The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
@item nnfolder-get-new-mail
@vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
@end table
+
@node Group Parameters
@section Group Parameters
@cindex group parameters
In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
-The group parameters stores information local to a particular group:
+The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
@table @code
@item to-address
If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
@samp{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
-mail groups that represent mailing lists. You just set this address to
-whatever the list address is.
+mail groups that represent close mailing lists. You just set this
+address to whatever the list address is.
This trick will actually work whether the group is foreign or not.
Let's say there's a group on the server that is called @samp{fa.4ad-l}.
This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten the articles from a
mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this group is therefore
-impossible - you have to send mail to the mailing list address instead.
+impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing list address instead.
+Also @xref{Mail & Post}.
+
+@item to-list
+@cindex to-list
+If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
+@samp{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
+doing a @kbd{a} in any group. It is totally ignored when doing a
+followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
+group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
@item to-group
@cindex to-group
-IF the group parameter list contains an element like @code{(to-group
-. "some.group.name")}, all posts will be sent to that groups.
+If the group parameter list contains an element like @code{(to-group
+. "some.group.name")}, all posts will be sent to that group.
+
+@item topic
+@cindex topic
+If the group parameter list contains an element like @code{(topic
+. "some-topic")}, the group will become a member of the topic in
+question (@pxref{Group Topics}).
@item auto-expire
@cindex auto-expire
@item A k
@kindex A k (Group)
@findex gnus-group-list-killed
-List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}).
+List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
+prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
+currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
+from the server.
@item A z
@kindex A z (Group)
@end table
+@vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
+@cindex visible group paramenter
+Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
+always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
+add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
+get the same effect.
+
+@node Sorting Groups
+@section Sorting Groups
+@cindex sorting groups
+
+@kindex C-c C-s (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-groups
+@vindex gnus-group-sort-function
+The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-srot-groups}) command sorts the
+group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
+@code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
+include:
+
+@table @code
+
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
+Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
+
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-level
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
+Sort by group level.
+
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-score
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
+Sort by group score.
+
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
+Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
+are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
+
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
+Sort by number of unread articles.
+
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-method
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
+Sort by alphabetically on the select method.
+
+
+@end table
+
+@code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
+functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
+the last one.
+
+
+There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
+some sorting criteria:
+
+@table @kbd
+@item G S a
+@kindex G S a (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
+Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
+
+@item G S u
+@kindex G S u (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
+Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
+
+@item G S l
+@kindex G S l (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
+Sort the group buffer by group level
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
+
+@item G S v
+@kindex G S v (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
+Sort the group buffer by group score
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
+
+@item G S r
+@kindex G S r (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
+Sort the group buffer by group level
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
+
+@item G S m
+@kindex G S m (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
+Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
+
+@end table
+
+When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
+
+
+
@node Group Maintenance
@section Group Maintenance
@cindex bogus groups
@findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
Find bogus groups and delete them
(@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
+
@item F
@kindex F (Group)
@findex gnus-find-new-newsgroups
Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-find-new-newsgroups}).
+
@item C-c C-x
@kindex C-c C-x (Group)
@findex gnus-group-expire-articles
Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
(@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
-@item C-c C-s
-@kindex C-c C-s (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-sort-groups
-@vindex gnus-group-sort-function
-Sort the groups according to the function given by the
-@code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}). Available sorting functions include:
-
-@table
-
-@item gnus-group-sort-by-level
-@findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
-Sort by group level.
-
-@item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
-@findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
-Sort by number of unread articles.
-
-@item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
-@findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
-Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
-
-@item gnus-group-sort-by-method
-@findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
-Sort by alphabetically on the select method.
-
@end table
-@code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
-functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
-the last one.
-@end table
@node Browse Foreign Server
@section Browse Foreign Server
@cindex topics
If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
-them according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over here, your sex
-groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?) you put in
-some misc section that you never bother with anyway.
+them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
+here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
+you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
+even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
+groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
+
+@findex gnus-topic-mode
+@kindex t (Group)
+To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
+@code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
+is a toggling command.)
-To get this @emph{fab} functionality, you set
-@code{gnus-group-prepare-function} to @code{gnus-group-prepare-topics}.
Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
-dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
+dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
@samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
bothered?
+If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
+the hook for the group mode:
+
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
+@end lisp
+
+There are, in general, two methods for dividing the groups into topics.
+You can either sniff around some variables, or you can use some handy
+commands.
+
+@menu
+* Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
+* Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
+* Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
+@end menu
+
+
+@node Topic Variables
+@subsection Topic Variables
+@cindex topic variables
+
@vindex gnus-group-topics
-To get an even more exciting division, you have to fiddle with
-@code{gnus-group-topics}. That is an alist where each entry looks like
-this:
+
+@code{gnus-group-topics} is the main variable that specifies what topics
+each group belong to. That is an alist where each entry looks like
+this:
@lisp
(TOPIC REGEXP SHOW)
@end lisp
-As you've already guessed (only geniouses read manuals anyway), all
+As you've already guessed (only geniï read manuals anyway), all
groups that match @var{regexp} gets put into a section called
@var{topic}. If @var{show} is non-@code{nil}, it overrides
@code{gnus-group-topic-topics-only}. In specific, if @var{show} is
Whoo, this is complicated. If @code{gnus-group-topic-topics-only} is
@code{nil}, all groups and topics will be listed, as you would expect.
If this variable is non-@code{nil}, only the topics will be listed, and
-the groups will not be listed. This makes the group buffer much shorter,
+the groups will not be listed. This makes the group buffer much shorter,
I'm sure you'll agree. This is all modified on a topic-by-topic basis
by the @var{show} parameter. It makes perfect sense, really.
-@vindex gnus-group-topic-face
-Topics are shown with @code{gnus-group-topic-face}.
+@vindex gnus-topic-unique
+If @code{gnus-topic-unique} is non-@code{nil}, each group will be member
+of (tops) one topic each. If this is @code{nil}, each group might end
+up being a member of several topics.
+
+You can also put a @code{topic} in the group parameters (@pxref{Group
+Parameters}).
Now, if you select a topic, if will fold/unfold that topic, which is
really neat, I think.
("The Rest" "." nil))
@end lisp
+@vindex gnus-topic-line-format
+The topic lines themselves are created according to the
+@code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
+Elements allowed are:
+
+@table @samp
+@item i
+Indentation.
+@item n
+Topic name.
+@item v
+Visibility.
+@item l
+Level.
+@item g
+Number of groups in the topic.
+@item a
+Number of unread articles in the topic.
+@end table
+
+
+@node Topic Commands
+@subsection Topic Commands
+@cindex topic commands
+
+When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
+available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
+definitions slightly.
+
+@table @kbd
+
+@item T n
+@kindex T n (Group)
+@findex gnus-topic-create-topic
+Create a new topic (@code{gnus-topic-create-subtopic}). You will be
+prompted for a topic name and the name of the parent topic.
+
+@item T m
+@kindex T m (Group)
+@findex gnus-topic-move-group
+Move the current group to some other topic
+(@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command understands the
+process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+
+@item T c
+@kindex T c (Group)
+@findex gnus-topic-copy-group
+Copy the current group to some other topic
+(@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command understands the
+process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+
+@item T M
+@kindex T M (Group)
+@findex gnus-topic-move-matching
+Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
+(@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
+
+@item T C
+@kindex T C (Group)
+@findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
+Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
+(@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
+
+@item RET
+@kindex RET (Group)
+@findex gnus-topic-select-group
+@itemx SPACE
+Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
+When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
+usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
+visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
+toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
+prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
+
+@item C-k
+@kindex C-k (Group)
+@findex gnus-topic-kill-group
+Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}).
+
+@item C-y
+@kindex C-y (Group)
+@findex gnus-topic-yank-group
+Yank the previosuly killed group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}).
+Note that all topics will be yanked before all groups.
+
+@item T r
+@kindex T r (Group)
+@findex gnus-topic-rename
+Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
+
+@item T DEL
+@kindex T DEL (Group)
+@findex gnus-topic-delete
+Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
+
+@end table
+
+
+@node Topic Topology
+@subsection Topic Topology
+@cindex topic topology
+@cindex topology
+
+So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
+
+@example
+Gnus
+ Emacs -- I wuw it!
+ 3: comp.emacs
+ 2: alt.religion.emacs
+ Naughty Emacs
+ 452: alt.sex.emacs
+ 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
+ Misc
+ 8: comp.binaries.fractals
+ 13: comp.sources.unix
+@end example
+
+So, here we have one top-level topic, two topics under that, and one
+sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always just one (1)
+top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as follows:
+
+@lisp
+(("Gnus" visible)
+ (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
+ (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
+ (("Misc" visible)))
+@end lisp
+
+This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
+for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
+file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
+to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
+setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
+
+This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
+and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
+allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
+
+@vindex gnus-topic-hide-subtopics
+If @code{gnus-topic-hide-subtopics} is non-@code{nil} (which it is by
+default), sub-topics will be folded along with any groups that belong to
+the topic. If this variable is @code{nil}, all topics will always be
+visible, even though the parent topics are folded.
+
@node Misc Group Stuff
@section Misc Group Stuff
@item g
@kindex g (Group)
@findex gnus-group-get-new-news
-Check server for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used, this
-command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
+Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
+this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
(@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
command will force a total rereading of the active file(s) from the
-backend(s).
+backend(s).
@item M-g
@kindex M-g (Group)
@kindex s (Group)
@findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
-(@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}).
+(@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
+file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
@item Z
@kindex Z (Group)
@findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
@item a
@kindex a (Group)
@findex gnus-group-post-news
-Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}).
+Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). The current
+group name will be used as the default.
@item m
@kindex m (Group)
@findex gnus-group-mail
* Threading:: How threads are made.
* Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
* Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
+* Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
* Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
* Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
* Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
@code{From} header. Two pre-defined function exist:
@code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
-fast, and too simplistic solution, and
+fast, and too simplistic solution; and
@code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
slower.
@vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
-with those specs that require it.
+with those specs that require it. The default is @samp{""}.
@node Summary Buffer Lines
@subsection Summary Buffer Lines
@item n
The name (from the @code{From} header).
@item a
-The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
+The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
spec in that it uses @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is
slower, but may be more thorough.
@item A
-The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
+The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
the @code{a} spec.
@item L
Number of lines in the article.
@item D
@code{Date}.
@item M
-@code{Message-Id}.
+@code{Message-ID}.
@item r
@code{References}.
@item t
into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
@end table
-Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
-@code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
-There can only be one such area.
-
The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
compute what column these characters will end up in, and "hard-code"
articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
and no unselected ones.
@item g
-Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
+Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
@item S
Subject of the current article.
@menu
* Mail:: Mailing & replying.
* Post:: Posting and following up.
+* Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
* Mail & Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
+* Posting Styles:: An easier way to configure some key elements.
* Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
* Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
@end menu
Commands for composing a mail message:
@table @kbd
+
@item S r
@itemx r
@kindex S r (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-reply
Mail a reply to the author of the current article
(@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
+
@item S R
@itemx R
@kindex R (Summary)
Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
command uses the process/prefix convention.
+
@item S o m
@kindex S o m (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
Forward the current article to some other person
(@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}).
+
@item S o p
@kindex S o p (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-post-forward
Forward the current article to a newsgroup
(@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
+
@item S m
@itemx m
@kindex m (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
Send a mail to some other person
(@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
+
@item S D b
@kindex S D b (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
very well fail, though.
+
+@item S D r
+@kindex S D r (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-resend-message
+Not to be confused with the previous command,
+@code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
+send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
+headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
+@samp{Resent-To}, @samp{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
+means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @samp{To}
+header that (proabbly) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
+So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
+
+This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
+ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
+@samp{root} and @samp{postmaster} and get a mail for @samp{postmaster}
+to the @samp{root} account, you may want to resend it to
+@samp{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
+
@item S O m
@kindex S O m (Summary)
@findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
Digest the current series and forward the result using mail
(@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+
@item S O p
@kindex S O p (Summary)
@findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
The @code{Newsgroups} header is illegal in this list, while @code{To} is
required, and @code{X-Mailer} can be added if you so should want.
+@findex gnus-forward-start-separator
+@item gnus-forward-start-separator
+Delimiter inserted before forwarded messages.
+
+@findex gnus-forward-end-separator
+@item gnus-forward-end-separator
+Delimiter inserted after forwarded messages.
+
+@findex gnus-signature-before-forwarded-message
+@item gnus-signature-before-forwarded-message
+If this variable is @code{t}, which it is by default, your personal
+signature will be inserted before the forwarded message. If not, the
+forwarded message will be inserted first in the new mail.
+
@end table
@kindex C-c C-c (Mail)
@end table
In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
-should be a symbol who's name is the name of the header, and the cdr can
-either a string to be entered verbatim as the value of this header, or
-it can be a function to be called. This function should return a string
-to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert @samp{Mime-Version:
-1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")} into the list. If
-you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter something like
-@code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function @code{yow} will then
-be called without any arguments.
+should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
+the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
+this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
+return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
+@samp{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
+into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
+something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
+@code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
+
+The list contains a cons where the car of the cons is @code{optional},
+the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is non-@code{nil}.
Other variables for customizing outgoing articles:
@table @code
-@item gnus-post-method
-@vindex gnus-post-method
-If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will use this method instead of the default
-select method when posting.
-
@item nntp-news-default-headers
@vindex nntp-news-default-headers
If non-@code{nil}, this variable will override
post buffer has been initialized, and can be used for inserting a
signature. Nice if you use different signatures in different groups.
-@item gnus-post-prepapare-hook
-@vindex gnus-post-prepapare-hook
-This hook is called after a post buffer has been prepared. If you want
+@item gnus-post-prepare-hook
+@vindex gnus-post-prepare-hook
+This hook is called after a post buffer has been prepared. If you want
to insert a signature at this point, you could put
@code{gnus-inews-insert-signature} into this hook.
In article <zngay8jrql@@eyesore.no> Lars Mars <lars@@eyesore.no> writes:
@end example
-Having the @code{Message-Id} in this line is probably overkill, so I
+Having the @code{Message-ID} in this line is probably overkill, so I
would suggest this hook instead:
@lisp
@item gnus-prepare-article-hook
@vindex gnus-prepare-article-hook
-This hook is called before the headers have been prepared. By default
-it inserts the signature specified by @code{gnus-signature-file}.
+This hook is called before the headers have been prepared.
@item gnus-inews-article-function
@vindex gnus-inews-article-function
@item new-text
Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
@item signature
-Check the length of the signature
+Check the length of the signature.
@item approved
Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
something only moderators should include.
@end table
+@node Posting Server
+@subsection Posting Server
+
+When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
+(extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
+
+Thank you for asking. I hate you.
+
+@vindex gnus-post-method
+
+It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
+server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
+reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
+(extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
+then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
+@end lisp
+
+Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
+this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
+can use a prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using the
+"current" server for posting.
+
+
@node Mail & Post
@subsection Mail & Post
signature will be appended to all outgoing post. Most people find it
more convenient to use @code{mail-signature}, which (sort of) does the
same, but inserts the signature into the buffer before you start editing
-the post (or mail). So - if you have both of these variables set, you
+the post (or mail). So---if you have both of these variables set, you
will get two signatures. Note that @code{mail-signature} does not work
the same way as @code{gnus-signature-file}, which is a bit confusing.
If @code{mail-signature} is @code{t}, it will insert
projects / gnus / blobdiff