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-@settitle Gnus 5.4 Manual
+@settitle Quassia Gnus 0.20 Manual
@synindex fn cp
@synindex vr cp
@synindex pg cp
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\gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
\thispagestyle{empty}
-Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
@tex
@titlepage
-@title Gnus 5.4 Manual
+@title Quassia Gnus 0.20 Manual
@author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
@page
@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
-Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
luck.
-This manual corresponds to Gnus 5.4.
+This manual corresponds to Quassia Gnus 0.20.
@end ifinfo
@kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
-variables.
+variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
+@file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
+
+If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
+terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
@menu
* Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
@dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
-native method. All groups that are not fetched with this method are
+native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
foreign groups.
For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
@code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
(@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
-that fails as well, Gnus will will try to use the machine that is
-running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
+that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
@vindex gnus-nntp-server
If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
something useful.
Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
-picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is here
-defined as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
+picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
+here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
help you with most common problems.
@cindex fetching a group
@findex gnus-fetch-group
-It it sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
+It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
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}). This variable
-is @code{t} by default. If you set this variable to @code{always}, then
-Gnus will query the backends for new groups even when you do the @kbd{g}
-command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
+is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
+@code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
+when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
@menu
* Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
-This variable should contain a function. Some handy pre-fab values
-are:
+This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
+with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
+
+Some handy pre-fab functions are:
@table @code
@item gnus-subscribe-randomly
@vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
-Subscribe all new groups randomly.
+Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
+new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the grop buffer.
@item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
@vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
-Subscribe all new groups alphabetically.
+Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
@item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
@vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
@item gnus-subscribe-interactively
@vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
-you about @strong{all} new groups.
+you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
+to will be subscribed hierarchically.
@item gnus-subscribe-killed
@vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
hierarchy or not.
-One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above to
+One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
+(@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
@code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
@code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
-and if the the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
+and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
@vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
@file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
@file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
-recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file.
+recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
+never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
+not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
@vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
@vindex gnus-startup-file
The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
-file being whatever that one is with a @samp{.eld} appended.
+file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
@vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
@vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
@vindex gnus-init-file
When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
-(@file{.../site-lisp/gnus.el} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
-(@file{~/.gnus.el} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
-and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{.emacs} and
-@file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff.
+(@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
+(@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
+and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
+@file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
+with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
+suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
+@file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
+and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
+
@node Auto Save
@c @head
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. This variable is @code{t} by default.
+reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
Gnus will try to make do by getting information just 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
+A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
times you start Gnus.
+@item gnus-before-startup-hook
+@vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
+A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
+
@item gnus-startup-hook
@vindex gnus-startup-hook
-A hook that is run after starting up Gnus successfully.
+A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
+
+@item gnus-started-hook
+@vindex gnus-started-hook
+A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
+successfully.
+
+@item gnus-started-hook
+@vindex gnus-started-hook
+A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
+generating the group buffer.
@item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
@vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
long as Gnus is active.
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
+\put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
+\put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
+\put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
+\put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
+\put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
+\put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
+\put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
+}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
@menu
* Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
* Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
@samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
-asterisk at the beginning of the line?)
+asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
@vindex gnus-group-line-format
You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
@item u
User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
-be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
+be a letter. Gnus will call the function
@code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
-paratere as argument. The function should return a string, which will
+parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
specifier.
@end table
background is dark:
@lisp
+(face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
+(face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
+(face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
+(face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
+(face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
+
+(setq gnus-group-highlight
+ '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
+ ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
+ ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
+ ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
(setq gnus-group-highlight
`(((> unread 200) .
,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
(t .
,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))))
+ (t . my-group-face-5)))
@end lisp
+Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
+
Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
include:
The number of ticked articles in the group.
@item total
The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
-MIN-NUMBER.
+MIN-NUMBER plus one.
@item topic
When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
topic being inserted.
scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
-(i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer.
-This might be useful if you want to toggle threading before entering the
-group.
+(i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
+which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
+summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
@item M-SPACE
@kindex M-SPACE (Group)
@kindex S t (Group)
@kindex u (Group)
@findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
+@c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
Toggle subscription to the current group
(@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
@kindex S k (Group)
@kindex C-k (Group)
@findex gnus-group-kill-group
+@c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
@item S y
@kindex c (Group)
@findex gnus-group-catchup-current
@vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
+@c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
(@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
@code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
@vindex gnus-level-zombie
@vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
@vindex gnus-level-subscribed
-Gnus considers groups on between levels 1 and
+Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
@code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
@code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
@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.
+(default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
+(default 9). 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 (e.g. 1 or 2).
(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.
+relevant valid ranges.
@vindex gnus-keep-same-level
If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
-will only move to groups that are of the same level (or lower). In
+will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
use this level as the ``work'' level.
@vindex gnus-activate-level
-Gnus will normally just activate groups that are on level
-@code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to activate
-unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable to
-5. The default is 6.
+Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
+on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
+activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
+to 5. The default is 6.
@node Group Score
@section Group Score
@cindex group score
+@cindex group rank
+@cindex rank
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
@findex gnus-group-rename-group
@cindex renaming groups
Rename the current group to something else
-(@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some
+(@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
on some backends.
@kindex G D (Group)
@findex gnus-group-enter-directory
@cindex nneething
-Read an arbitrary directory as if with were a newsgroup with the
+Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
@code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
@xref{Anything Groups}.
command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
@code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
-@code{rfc934} and @code{forward}. If you run this command without a
-prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type. @xref{Document Groups}.
+@code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
+this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type.
+@xref{Document Groups}.
@item G w
@kindex G w (Group)
Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
(@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
-search engine type and the search string. Legal search engine types
+search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
@xref{Web Searches}.
(@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
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
-absolutely sure of what you are doing.
+absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
+read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
@item G V
@kindex G V (Group)
@cindex to-list
If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
@code{(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
+doing a @kbd{a} in that 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}.
+If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
+@code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
+sending the message.
+
+@item visible
+@cindex visible
+If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
+that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
+of whether it has any unread articles.
+
@item broken-reply-to
@cindex broken-reply-to
Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
@item gcc-self
@cindex gcc-self
If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
-@code{t}, new composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
+@code{t}, newly composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
-inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence over
-any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later).
+inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence
+over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later). @xref{Archived
+Messages}
@item auto-expire
@cindex auto-expire
If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
-. t)}, , all articles that are read will be marked as expirable. For an
+. t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
@item total-expire
If the group parameter has an element that looks like
@code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
-caution.
+caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
+expiry.
@item expiry-wait
@cindex expiry-wait
@item score-file
@cindex score file group parameter
Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
-@file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
-means that all score commands you issue will end up in that file.
+@file{file} into the current adaptive score file for the group in
+question. All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
@item adapt-file
@cindex adapt file group parameter
All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
@item admin-address
-When unsubscribing to a mailing list you should never send the
+When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
put the admin address somewhere convenient.
@item display
-Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} says which articles to
-display on entering the group. Legal values are:
+Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
+display on entering the group. Valid values are:
@table @code
@item all
Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
-Also @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
+@pxref{Topic Parameters}.
+
+Here's an example group parameter list:
+
+@example
+((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
+ (auto-expiry . t))
+@end example
@node Listing Groups
@section Listing Groups
@cindex group listing
-These commands all list various slices of the groups that are available.
+These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
@table @kbd
@item A A
@kindex A A (Group)
@findex gnus-group-list-active
-List absolutely all groups that are in the active file(s) of the
+List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
-thing to match on. Also note that this command may list group that
-don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they are killed groups.
+thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
+don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
Take the output with some grains of salt.
@item A a
@item gnus-group-sort-by-score
@findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
-Sort by group score.
+Sort by group score. @xref{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}.
+are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
@item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
@findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
@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}).
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
@item G S r
@kindex G S r (Group)
@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
Sort the group buffer by group rank
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
@item G S m
@kindex G S m (Group)
@kindex G P v (Group)
@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}).
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
@item G P r
@kindex G P r (Group)
@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}).
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
@item G P m
@kindex G P m (Group)
@item F
@kindex F (Group)
-@findex gnus-find-new-newsgroups
-Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-find-new-newsgroups}). If
-given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server for
-new groups.
+@findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
+Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
+If given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
+for new groups.
@item C-c C-x
@kindex C-c C-x (Group)
@findex gnus-browse-mode
A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
-will be use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
+will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
a lot) like a normal group buffer.
Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
@item q
@kindex q (Group)
@findex gnus-group-exit
+@c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
@item Q
even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
+\put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
+}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
Here's an example:
@example
@subsection Topic Variables
@cindex topic variables
-Now, if you select a topic, if will fold/unfold that topic, which is
+Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
really neat, I think.
@vindex gnus-topic-line-format
The topic lines themselves are created according to the
@code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
-Legal elements are:
+Valid elements are:
@table @samp
@item i
Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
(@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
+@item T h
+@kindex T h (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
+Toggle hiding empty topics
+(@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
+
@item T #
@kindex T # (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
@kindex T S v (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
Sort the current topic by group score
-(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}).
+(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
@item T S r
@kindex T S r (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
Sort the current topic by group rank
-(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}).
+(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
@item T S m
@kindex T S m (Topic)
@cindex topic parameters
All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
-ancestor) topic parameters. All legal group parameters are legal topic
+ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
@item a
@kindex a (Group)
@findex 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.
+Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
+prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
@item m
@kindex m (Group)
@item gnus-group-mode-hook
@vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
-@code{gnus-group-mode-hook} is called after the group buffer has been
+is called after the group buffer has been
created.
@item gnus-group-prepare-hook
@vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
-@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} is called after the group buffer is
+is called after the group buffer is
generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
unnatural way.
@item g
@kindex g (Group)
@findex gnus-group-get-new-news
+@c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
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
+command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
backend(s).
@item M-g
@kindex M-g (Group)
@findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
@vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
+@c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
(@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
@code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
@item H d
@itemx C-c C-d
+@c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
@kindex H d (Group)
@kindex C-c C-d (Group)
@cindex describing groups
Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
-@item V
+@item H v
+@itemx V
@kindex V (Group)
+@kindex H v (Group)
@cindex version
@findex gnus-version
Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
@section Summary Buffer Format
@cindex summary buffer format
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
+\put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
+\put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
+}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
@menu
* Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
* Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
@vindex gnus-extract-address-components
Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
-@code{From} header. Two pre-defined function exist:
+@code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
@code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
fast, and too simplistic solution; and
@code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
@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. The default is @samp{}.
+with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
@node Summary Buffer Lines
@vindex gnus-summary-line-format
You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
-lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
+lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
(@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
@item S
Subject string.
@item s
-Subject if the article is the root or the previous article had a
-different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
-(@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @samp{}.)
+Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
+had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
+(@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
@item F
Full @code{From} header.
@item n
@item R
Replied.
@item i
-Score as a number.
+Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
@item z
@vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
@item d
The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
@item o
-The @code{Date} in @code{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS} format.
+The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
@item M
@code{Message-ID}.
@item r
article has any children.
@item P
The line number.
+@item O
+Download mark.
@item u
User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
-be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
+be a letter. Gnus will call the function
@code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
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''
-that. This means that it is illegal to have these specs after a
+that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
@item U
Number of unread articles in this group.
@item e
-Number of unselected articles in this group.
+Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
+summary buffer.
@item Z
A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
@item S
Subject of the current article.
@item u
-User-defined spec.
+User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
@item s
-Name of the current score file.
+Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
@item d
-Number of dormant articles.
+Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
@item t
-Number of ticked articles.
+Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
@item r
Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
@item E
@item gnus-summary-selected-face
@vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
-This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) that is used to
+This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
@item gnus-summary-highlight
@vindex gnus-summary-highlight
Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
-list where the elements are on the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
+list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
@lisp
@kindex j (Summary)
@kindex G j (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-goto-article
-Ask for an article number and then go to that article
-(@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
+Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
+article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
@item G g
@kindex G g (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
-Ask for an article number and then go the summary line of that article
+Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
@end table
@kindex n (Summary)
@kindex G n (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
@item G p
@itemx p
@kindex p (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
@item G N
@findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
-@item G p
-@kindex G p (Summary)
+@item G o
+@kindex G o (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-pop-article
+@cindex history
+@cindex article history
Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
(@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
-history as you like.
+history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
+For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
+@pxref{Article Backlog}.
@end table
@node Choosing Variables
@subsection Choosing Variables
-Some variables that are relevant for moving and selecting articles:
+Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
@table @code
@item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
@kindex s (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
Perform an isearch in the article buffer
-(@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
+(@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
+
+@item h
+@kindex h (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
+Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
@end table
@kindex S r (Summary)
@kindex r (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-reply
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
Mail a reply to the author of the current article
(@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
@kindex R (Summary)
@kindex S R (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
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.
@kindex S w (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
-(@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}).
+(@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
+goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
+@code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
@item S W
@kindex S W (Summary)
@item S o m
@kindex S o m (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
Forward the current article to some other person
(@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
headers of the forwarded article.
@kindex m (Summary)
@kindex S m (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
Send a mail to some other person
(@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
@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}).
+Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
+result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
+uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
@item S M-c
@kindex S M-c (Summary)
@kindex a (Summary)
@kindex S p (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-post-news
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
Post an article to the current group
(@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
@kindex f (Summary)
@kindex S f (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-followup
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
@item S F
@itemx F
@kindex S F (Summary)
@kindex F (Summary)
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
@findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
(@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
@item S O p
@kindex S O p (Summary)
@findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
+@cindex digests
+@cindex making digests
Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
-(@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
+(@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
+process/prefix convention.
@item S u
@kindex S u (Summary)
@findex gnus-uu-post-news
+@c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
(@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
@end table
@findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
@kindex C (Summary)
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
-canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
+canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
+This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
question.
+Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when cancelling. If you
+want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
+prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
+
If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
your original article.
Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
@dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
-are followups to it.
+are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
+followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
@item SPACE
@vindex gnus-unread-mark
@item Y
@vindex gnus-low-score-mark
-Marked as read by having a too low score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
+Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
@item C
@vindex gnus-catchup-mark
Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
-control the expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
-articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
+control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
+articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
any time.
@end table
@item
@vindex gnus-cached-mark
-Articles that are stored in the article cache will be marked with an
-@samp{*} in the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}).
+Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
+the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}
@item
@vindex gnus-saved-mark
-Articles that are ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
+Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
-(@code{gnus-saved-mark}.
+(@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
@item
@vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
@vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
-It the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
+If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
@code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
@item
@vindex gnus-process-mark
-Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}. A
+Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
@table @kbd
+@item M c
+@itemx M-u
+@kindex M c (Summary)
+@kindex M-u (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
+@cindex mark as unread
+Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
+(@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
+article as unread.
+
@item M t
@itemx !
@kindex ! (Summary)
@kindex M t (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
+@xref{Article Caching}
@item M ?
@itemx ?
@kindex M ? (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
Mark the current article as dormant
-(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}).
+(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}
@item M d
@itemx d
@item M C
@kindex M C (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-catchup
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
@item M C-c
Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
-@item M c
-@itemx M-u
-@kindex M c (Summary)
-@kindex M-u (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
-Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
-(@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}).
-
@item M e
@itemx E
@kindex M e (Summary)
commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
buffer.
+All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
+from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
+additional articles.
+
@table @kbd
@item / /
@kindex / u (Summary)
@kindex x (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
-Limit the summary buffer to articles that are not marked as read
+Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
(@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
-buffer to articles that are strictly unread. This means that ticked and
+buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
dormant articles will also be excluded.
@item / m
@item / t
@kindex / t (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
-Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles that are
-older than (or equal to) that number of days
+Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
(@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
-articles that are younger than that number of days.
+articles younger than that number of days.
@item / n
@kindex / n (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
+@item / T
+@kindex / T (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
+Include all the articles in the current thread.
+
@item / c
@kindex / c (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
hierarchical fashion.
+Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
+articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
+trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
+or simply missing. Weird news propagration excarcerbates the problem,
+so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
+plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
+@pxref{Customizing Threading}.
+
+First, a quick overview of the concepts:
+
+@table @dfn
+@item root
+The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
+
+@item thread
+A tree-like article structure.
+
+@item sub-thread
+A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
+
+@item loose threads
+Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
+already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
+summary buffer. We then typicall have many sub-threads that really
+belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
+called loose threads.
+
+@item thread gathering
+An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
+
+@item sparse threads
+A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
+displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
+
+@end table
+
+
@menu
* Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
* Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
@node Customizing Threading
@subsection Customizing Threading
@cindex customizing threading
+
+@menu
+* Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
+* Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
+* More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
+* Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
+@end menu
+
+
+@node Loose Threads
+@subsubsection Loose Threads
@cindex <
@cindex >
+@cindex loose threads
@table @code
+@item gnus-summary-make-false-root
+@vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
+If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
+and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
+Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
+read or killed the root in a previous session.
-@item gnus-show-threads
-@vindex gnus-show-threads
-If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
-the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
-off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
-slower and more awkward.
+When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
+something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
+There are four possible values:
-@item gnus-fetch-old-headers
-@vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
-If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
-more old headers---headers to articles that are marked as read. If you
-would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
-connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
-to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
-that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
-fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
-overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
-@code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
-expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
+\put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
+\put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
+\put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
+\put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
+}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
-@item gnus-build-sparse-threads
-@vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
-Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
-gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
-the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
-articles that belong in the same thread together. This will leave
-@dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
-is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
-lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
-question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
-``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
-thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
-off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
-@code{nil} by default.
+@cindex adopting articles
+
+@table @code
+
+@item adopt
+Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
+parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
+marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
+square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
+
+@item dummy
+@vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
+Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
+parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
+selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
+article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
+format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
+which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
+
+@item empty
+Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
+subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
+use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
+Buffer Format}).)
+
+@item none
+Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
+display them after one another.
+
+@item nil
+Don't gather loose threads.
+@end table
@item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
@vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
-presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subjects lines. If
+presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
@cindex fuzzy article gathering
If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
-use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects.
+use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
+Matching}).
@item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
@vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
subjects.
+@item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
+@vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
+If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
+@code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
+list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
+arrive at the simplified version of the string.
+
+Useful functions to put in this list include:
+
+@table @code
+@item gnus-simplify-subject-re
+@findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
+Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
+
+@item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
+@findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
+Simplify fuzzily.
+
+@item gnus-simplify-whitespace
+@findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
+Remove excessive whitespace.
+@end table
+
+You may also write your own functions, of course.
+
+
@item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
@vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
@samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
-what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process. The
-default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
+what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
+The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
@item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
@vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
@code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
-This will ensure that no gathered threads ever includes unrelated
-articles, but it's also means that people who have posted with broken
+This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
+articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
cholera:
'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
@end lisp
-@item gnus-summary-make-false-root
-@vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
-If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
-and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
-Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
-read or killed the root in a previous session.
+@end table
-When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
-something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
-There are four possible values:
-@cindex adopting articles
+@node Filling In Threads
+@subsubsection Filling In Threads
@table @code
+@item gnus-fetch-old-headers
+@vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
+If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
+more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
+would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
+connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
+to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
+that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
+fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
+overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
+@code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
+expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
-@item adopt
-Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
-parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
-marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
-square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
+This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
+visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
+(@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
-@item dummy
-@vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
-Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
-parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
-selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
-article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
-format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
-which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
+@item gnus-build-sparse-threads
+@vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
+Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
+gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
+the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
+together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
+@dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
+is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
+lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
+question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
+``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
+thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
+off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
+@code{nil} by default.
-@item empty
-Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
-subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
-use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
-Buffer Format}).)
+@end table
-@item none
-Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
-display them after one another.
-@item nil
-Don't gather loose threads.
-@end table
+@node More Threading
+@subsubsection More Threading
+
+@table @code
+@item gnus-show-threads
+@vindex gnus-show-threads
+If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
+the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
+off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
+slower and more awkward.
@item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
@vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
The default is 4.
+@end table
+
+
+@node Low-Level Threading
+@subsubsection Low-Level Threading
+
+@table @code
+
@item gnus-parse-headers-hook
@vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
slightly decoded in a hackish way. This is likely to change in the
future when Gnus becomes @sc{MIME}ified.
+@item gnus-alter-header-function
+@vindex gnus-alter-header-function
+If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
+article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
+the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
+if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
+in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
+variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
+meaningful. Here's one example:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
+
+(defun my-alter-message-id (header)
+ (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
+ (when (string-match
+ "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
+ (mail-header-set-id
+ (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
+ header))))
+@end lisp
+
@end table
@item T t
@kindex T t (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
-Re-thread the thread the current article is part of
+Re-thread the current article's thread
(@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
@kindex T ^ (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
-(@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}.
+(@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
@end table
a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
-you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If is
+you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
-that have subjects that are fuzzily equal will be included.
+that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
+Matching}).
@node Sorting
@code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
@code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
-Each function takes two threads and return non-@code{nil} if the first
+Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
(setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
'(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
- gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
+ gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
@end lisp
The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
@lisp
(setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
'((lambda (t1 t2)
- (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
+ (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t2 t1)))
gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
@end lisp
If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
-is uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
+it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
@code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
@code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
happen automatically.
@vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
-You can control how many articles that are to be pre-fetched by setting
+You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
@code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
-pre-fetch all the articles that it can without bound. If it is
-@code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be made.
+pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
+@code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
@vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
@findex gnus-async-read-p
There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
-articles, for instance. Which articles to pre-fetch is controlled by
-the @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable. This function should
+articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
@code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
data structure as the only parameter.
-If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles that are
-shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
+If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
@lisp
(defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
@end lisp
These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
-preferrably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
-It's also probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
+preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
+It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
@vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
@vindex gnus-cache-directory
@vindex gnus-use-cache
To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
-all articles that are ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
+all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
@code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
-When re-select a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
+When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
-articles that are marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
+articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
@code{unread} and @code{read}.
@findex gnus-jog-cache
So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
-subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, and store them in
-the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this command if 1)
-your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really, really slow
-and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk. Seriously.
+subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
+store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
+command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
+really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
+Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
+to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
+not then be downloaded by this command.
@vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
@kindex O o (Summary)
@kindex o (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-save-article
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
Save the current article using the default article saver
(@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
@item O f
@kindex O f (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
Save the current article in plain file format
(@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
@code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
-@code{gnus-Folder-save-name}. The former creates capitalized names, and
-the latter does not.
+@code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
@item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
@findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
@code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
name.
+Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
+lots of mail groups called things like
+@samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
+these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
+following will do just that:
+
+@lisp
+(defun my-save-name (group)
+ (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
+ (substring group (match-end 0))))
+
+(setq gnus-split-methods
+ '((gnus-article-archive-name)
+ (my-save-name)))
+@end lisp
+
+
@vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
@code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
@lisp
(setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
-(setq gnus-default-article-save 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
+(setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
@end lisp
Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
@menu
* Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
-* Shared Articles:: Unshar articles.
+* Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
* PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
+* Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
* Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
* Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
@end menu
+@cindex series
+@cindex article series
All these functions use the process/prefix convention
(@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
-Subjects that are nonstandard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
+Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
@item X u
@kindex X u (Summary)
@findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
+@c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
@item X U
@kindex X v U (Summary)
@findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
-(@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
+(@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
+
@end table
Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
off.
-@node Shared Articles
-@subsection Shared Articles
+@node Shell Archives
+@subsection Shell Archives
@cindex unshar
+@cindex shell archives
@cindex shared articles
+Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
+sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
+some commands to deal with these:
+
@table @kbd
@item X s
@end table
+@node Other Files
+@subsection Other Files
+
+@table @kbd
+@item X o
+@kindex X o (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-decode-save
+Save the current series
+(@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
+
+@item X b
+@kindex X b (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
+Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
+doesn't really work yet.
+@end table
+
+
@node Decoding Variables
@subsection Decoding Variables
@cindex rule variables
Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
-variables are on the form
+variables are of the form
@lisp
(list '(regexp1 command2)
@vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
@item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
-All functions in this list will be called right each file has been
+All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
@item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
@vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
-Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark articles that were
-unsuccessfully decoded as unread.
+Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
+decoded articles as unread.
@item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
@vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
+@item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
+@vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
+Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
+
@item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
@vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
@cindex metamail
@item gnus-uu-post-threaded
@vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
-thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen are able
+thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
@section Article Treatment
Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
-object of newsreaders are to actually, like, read what people have
+object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
these articles easier.
highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
-header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
-@var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
-match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
-prepended---Gnus will add one.
+header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
+(@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
+the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
+@var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
@item W H c
@kindex W H c (Summary)
@item gnus-cite-face-list
@vindex gnus-cite-face-list
-List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
-from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
-citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
-see who wrote what.
+List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
+When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
+Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
+This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
@item gnus-supercite-regexp
@vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
@code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
-that says what regular expression grouping used to find the entire
+that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
@code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
@code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
@code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
-@code{gnus-emphasis-undeline-bold}, and
+@code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
@code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
@item W W p
@kindex W W p (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
-Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}).
+@vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
+Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
+@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
+signature has been hidden.
@item W W P
@kindex W W P (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-hide-pem
-Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) gruft
+Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
(@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
@item W W c
@item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
@vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
-The cited text must be have at least this length (default 10) before it
+The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
is hidden.
@item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
@vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
-Gnus adds buttons show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
+Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
-specs are legal:
+specs are valid:
@table @samp
@item b
@item W r
@kindex W r (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
(@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
+Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
+(Typically offensive jokes and such.)
+
+It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
+positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
+#15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
+is rumoured to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
@item W t
@kindex W t (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
+@item W d
+@kindex W d (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
+Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
+
@item W w
@kindex W w (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
@item W c
@kindex W c (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-remove-cr
-Remove CR (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
+Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
+(@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
@item W q
@kindex W q (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
+Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
+non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
+@samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
+readable to me.
@item W f
@kindex W f (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-x-face-command
@vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
@vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\include{xface}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
Look for and display any X-Face headers
(@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
@item W b
@kindex W b (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-add-buttons
-Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
+Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
+@xref{Article Buttons}
@item W B
@kindex W B (Summary)
Do all the three commands above
(@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
+@item W E s
+@kindex W E s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
+Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
+body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
+
@end table
People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
-with the minimum of fuzz.
+with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
+button on these references.
Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
@item regexp
All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
-external reference. Here's a typical regexp that match embedded URLs:
+external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
@samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
@item button-par
-Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be highlighted. This is
-a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp that is to be
+Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
+is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
@item use-p
(HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
@end lisp
-@var{header} is a regular expression.
+@var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
@item gnus-button-url-regexp
@vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
@item gnus-article-mouse-face
@vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
-Face is used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
+Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
@end table
(@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
@code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
-for a list possible format specs.
+for a list of possible format specs.
@item W T e
@kindex W T e (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
-Say how much time has (e)lapsed between the article was posted and now
-(@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
+@findex gnus-start-date-timer
+@findex gnus-stop-date-timer
+Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
+(@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
+updated continually, you can put
+
+@lisp
+(gnus-start-date-timer)
+@end lisp
+
+in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
+you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
+command.
@item W T o
@kindex W T o (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-date-original
Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
-be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and is
+be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
@emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
@end enumerate
This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
-listed above.
+listed above. Here's an example:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-signature-limit
+ '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
+@end lisp
+
+This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
+separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
+the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
+signature after all.
@node Article Commands
@cindex parent articles
@cindex referring articles
-@findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
+@table @kbd
+@item ^
@kindex ^ (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
@kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
article.
+@item A R (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-refer-references
@kindex A R (Summary)
-You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
-header of the article by pushing @kbd{A R}
-(@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
-
+Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
+article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
+
+@item A T (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
+@kindex A T (Summary)
+Display the full thread where the current article appears
+(@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
+headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
+you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
+to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
+visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
+faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
+
+@vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
+The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
+articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
+fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
+the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
+by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
+
+@item M-^ (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-refer-article
@kindex M-^ (Summary)
@cindex Message-ID
@code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
+@end table
+
+The current select method will be used when fetching by
+@code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
+by giving this command a prefix.
@vindex gnus-refer-article-method
If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
-would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the same
-as the one that keeps the spool you are reading from updated, but that's
-not really necessary.
+would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
+updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
+necessary.
Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
-not do a particularly excellent job of it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
+not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
@code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
@code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
@subsection Pick and Read
@cindex pick and read
-Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{nn}) use a two-phased
-reading interface. The user first marks the articles she wants to read
-from a summary buffer. Then she starts reading the articles with just
-an article buffer displayed.
+Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
+a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
+buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
+articles with just an article buffer displayed.
@findex gnus-pick-mode
@kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
-it makes one additional command for switching to the summary buffer
-available.
+it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
Pick the article on the current line
(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
-go to the article on that line and pick that article. (The line number
-is normally displayed on the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
+go to that article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
+at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
@item SPACE
@kindex SPACE (Pick)
all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
@vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
-The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different than the
+The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
@code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
@kindex g (Binary)
@findex gnus-binary-show-article
-In fact, the only way to see the actual articles if you have turned this
-mode on is the @kbd{g} command (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
+The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
+command, when you have turned on this mode
+(@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
@vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
@code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
@item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
@vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
-is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}. For a list of legal specs, @pxref{Summary
+is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list of valid specs, @pxref{Summary
Buffer Mode Line}.
@item gnus-selected-tree-face
the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
-Legal specs are:
+Valid specs are:
@table @samp
@item n
This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
(sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
-default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}))}.
+default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
@item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
@vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
-higher than that number. The default is @code{t}.
+higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
+have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
+buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
+other windows displayed next to it.
@item gnus-generate-tree-function
@vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
@end table
-Here's and example from a horizontal tree buffer:
+Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
@example
@{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
[Paa]
@end example
+If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
+side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
+following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-use-trees t
+ gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
+ gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
+(gnus-add-configuration
+ '(article
+ (vertical 1.0
+ (horizontal 0.25
+ (summary 0.75 point)
+ (tree 1.0))
+ (article 1.0))))
+@end lisp
+
+@xref{Windows Configuration}.
+
@node Mail Group Commands
@section Mail Group Commands
@cindex mail group commands
Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
-illegal in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
+invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
@findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
Delete all the expirable articles in the group
(@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
-articles that are eligible for expiry in the current group will
+articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
@item B DEL
@kindex B DEL (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-delete-article
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
(@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
@kindex B c (Summary)
@cindex copy mail
@findex gnus-summary-copy-article
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
(@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
@kindex C-c C-c (Article)
Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
-(@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}).
+(@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
+@kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
@item B q
@kindex B q (Summary)
generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
-has been set.
+have been set.
@vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
@item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
-Is is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
+It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
+@vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
+@item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
+When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
+it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
+same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
+sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
+If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
+@code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
+any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
+article---it'll be as if it never existed.
+
@end table
FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
-between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} probably will be used for
-fetching the file.
+between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
+be used for fetching the file.
@item H d
@kindex H d (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-execute-command
This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
-(@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}).
+(@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
+backward instead.
@item M-&
@kindex M-& (Summary)
article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
-whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages on
+whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
fashion.
@findex gnus-summary-exit
@vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
@vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
Exit the current group and update all information on the group
(@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
-called before doing much of the exiting, and calls
+called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
-@code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exiting
+@code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
group mode having no more (unread) groups.
@kindex Z c (Summary)
@kindex c (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
(@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
@kindex Z G (Summary)
@kindex M-g (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
+@c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
articles, both read and unread.
By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
(@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
-approach may not work satisfactorily for some users for various
+approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
reasons.
@enumerate
You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
@end enumerate
-I'm sure there are other situations that @code{Xref} handling fails as
+I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
well, but these four are the most common situations.
If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
-article as read the the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
+article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
saw the article in.
@table @code
@vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
-However, this means that only duplicate articles that is read in a
-single Gnus session are suppressed.
+However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
+session are suppressed.
@item gnus-duplicate-list-length
@vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
-This variables says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
+This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
suppression list. The default is 10000.
@item gnus-duplicate-file
@vindex gnus-duplicate-file
-The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list. The
+The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
@end table
(setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
@end lisp
-This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
+This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
remain visible.
@item gnus-ignored-headers
(setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
@end lisp
-This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
+This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
be removed.
Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
@end lisp
Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
-variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers that
-are listed in this variable.
+variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
@findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
@vindex gnus-article-display-hook
@code{From} header.
@item date
Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
-old.
+old.
+@item long-to
+Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
+@item many-to
+Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
@end table
To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
-comes streaming out out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
+comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
@item TAB
@kindex TAB (Article)
@findex gnus-article-next-button
-Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}. This
+Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
@item M-TAB
@kindex M-TAB (Article)
@findex gnus-article-prev-button
-Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}.
+Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
@end table
@item gnus-page-delimiter
@vindex gnus-page-delimiter
This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
-(form linefeed).
+(formfeed).
@end table
@node Composing Messages
@chapter Composing Messages
+@cindex composing messages
+@cindex messages
+@cindex mail
+@cindex sending mail
@cindex reply
@cindex followup
@cindex post
* Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
* Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
* Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
-@c * Posting Styles:: An easier way to configure some key elements.
-@c * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
-@c * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
+* Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
+* Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
@end menu
Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
+@item gnus-add-to-list
+@vindex gnus-add-to-list
+If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
+that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
+
@end table
Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
-dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to sent the
+dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
@node Mail and Post
@section Mail and Post
-Here's a list of variables that are relevant to both mailing and
+Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
posting:
@table @code
@findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
@cindex mailing lists
-If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists that are
+If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
(@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
-@code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that match the groups that
+@code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
still a pain, though.
@cindex archived messages
@cindex sent messages
-Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail you send.
-The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to store
-the mail. If you want to disable this completely, the
+Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
+send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
+store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
@code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
is the default.
@lisp
(nnfolder "archive"
- (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))
+ (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
+ (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
+ (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
+ (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
@end lisp
You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
-This variable can be:
+This variable can be used to do the following:
@itemize @bullet
@item a string
"%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
@end lisp
+(XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
+use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
+
Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
-That's the default method of archiving sent mail. Gnus also a different
-way for the people who don't like the default method. In that case you
-should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}; this will
-disable archiving.
-
-XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
-use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.
+That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
+different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
+case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
+this will disable archiving.
@table @code
@item gnus-outgoing-message-group
message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
of names).
+
+This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
+but the latter is the preferred method.
@end table
@c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
@c @end lisp
-@c @node Drafts
-@c @section Drafts
-@c @cindex drafts
-@c
-@c If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
-@c you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
-@c craazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save the
-@c message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some other
-@c day, and send it when you feel its finished.
-@c
-@c Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
-@c some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
-@c automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
-@c If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
-@c article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
-@c group.)
-@c
-@c @cindex nndraft
-@c @vindex gnus-draft-group-directory
-@c The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
-@c @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
-@c @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{gnus-draft-group-directory}
-@c controls both the name of the group and the location---the leaf element
-@c in the path will be used as the name of the group. What makes this
-@c group special is that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any
-@c articles as read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
-@c
-@c If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
-@c to it.
-@c
+@node Drafts
+@section Drafts
+@cindex drafts
+
+If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
+you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
+craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
+the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
+other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
+
+Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
+some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
+automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
+If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
+article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
+group.)
+
+@cindex nndraft
+@vindex nndraft-directory
+The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
+@code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
+@samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
+@code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
+that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
+read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
+
+If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
+to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
+unsubscribe it.
+
@c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
@c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
@c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
@c @vindex gnus-use-draft
@c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
@c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
-@c
-@c @findex gnus-summary-send-draft
-@c @kindex S D c (Summary)
-@c When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
-@c draft group and push @kbd{S D c} (@code{gnus-summary-send-draft}) to do
-@c that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
-@c
-@c Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
-@c Articles}).
-@c
-@c @findex gnus-summary-send-all-drafts
-@c If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
-@c doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{S D a} command
-@c (@code{gnus-summary-send-all-drafts}). This command understands the
-@c process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@c
-@c
-@c @node Rejected Articles
-@c @section Rejected Articles
-@c @cindex rejected articles
-@c
-@c Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
-@c doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
-@c @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
-@c Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
-@c
-@c These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
-@c (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
-@c fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
-@c you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
-@c articles until some later time when the server feels better.
-@c
-@c The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
-@c (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
-@c typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
-@c
+
+@findex gnus-draft-edit-message
+@kindex D e (Draft)
+When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
+draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
+that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
+
+Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
+Articles}).
+
+@findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
+@findex gnus-draft-send-message
+If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
+doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
+(@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
+process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
+command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
+in the buffer.
+
+If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
+@kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
+as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
+
+
+@node Rejected Articles
+@section Rejected Articles
+@cindex rejected articles
+
+Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
+doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
+@emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
+Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
+
+These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
+(Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
+fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
+you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
+articles until some later time when the server feels better.
+
+The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
+(@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
+typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
+
@node Select Methods
@chapter Select Methods
@cindex foreign groups
@cindex select methods
-A @dfn{foreign group} is a group that is not read by the usual (or
+A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
@sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
personal mail group.
* Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
* Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
* Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
+* Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
@end menu
on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
-These select methods specifications can sometimes become quite
+These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
@sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
-To enter the server buffer, user the @kbd{^}
+To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
(@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
@menu
backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
will.
-After these two elements, there may be a arbitrary number of
+After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
@var{(variable form)} pairs.
To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
-port 15 from that machine. This is what the select method should
+port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
look like then:
@lisp
@end lisp
You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
-variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example.
+variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
@code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
-you private mail:
+your private mail:
@lisp
(nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
actually the case or not.
That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
-Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to the server
-@samp{nepholococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
-away from you, the machine is quite, so it takes 1 minute just to find
-out that it refuses connection from you today. If Gnus were to attempt
-to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't attempt to do
-that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'', it will
-regard that server as ``down''.
+Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
+@samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
+away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
+to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
+attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
+attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
+it will regard that server as ``down''.
So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
@item R
@kindex R (Server)
@findex gnus-server-remove-denials
-Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from all servers
+Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
(@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
@end table
@cindex nntp authentification
@findex nntp-send-authinfo
@findex nntp-send-mode-reader
-@code{nntp-server-opened-hook} is run after a connection has been made.
-It can be used to send commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has
-been contacted. By default is sends the command @code{MODE READER} to
-the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function.
+is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
+commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
+default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
+@code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
+present in this hook.
@item nntp-authinfo-function
@vindex nntp-authinfo-function
@table @code
@item nntp-send-authinfo
@findex nntp-send-authinfo
-This function will used you current login name as the user name and will
+This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
prompt you for the password. This is the default.
@item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
@item nntp-server-action-alist
@vindex nntp-server-action-alist
-This is an list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
+This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
The default value is
@lisp
- '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
- (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook nntp-send-mode-reader)))
+'(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
+ (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
@end lisp
This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
no timeouts are done.
-@item nntp-command-timeout
-@vindex nntp-command-timeout
-@cindex PPP connections
-@cindex dynamic IP addresses
-If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
-address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
-changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
-waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
-unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
-then, if it sits waiting longer than that number of seconds for a reply
-from the server, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
-the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
-likely number is 30 seconds.
-
-@item nntp-retry-on-break
-@vindex nntp-retry-on-break
-If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
-hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
-described above.
+@c @item nntp-command-timeout
+@c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
+@c @cindex PPP connections
+@c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
+@c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
+@c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
+@c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
+@c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
+@c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
+@c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
+@c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
+@c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
+@c likely number is 30 seconds.
+@c
+@c @item nntp-retry-on-break
+@c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
+@c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
+@c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
+@c described above.
@item nntp-server-hook
@vindex nntp-server-hook
server.
@findex nntp-open-rlogin
+@findex nntp-open-telnet
@findex nntp-open-network-stream
@item nntp-open-connection-function
@vindex nntp-open-connection-function
-This function is used to connect to the remote system. Two pre-made
+This function is used to connect to the remote system. Three pre-made
functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
-is @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an rlogin on the remote system,
-and then does a telnet to the @sc{nntp} server available there.
+two are @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an @samp{rlogin} on the
+remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
+available there, and @code{nntp-open-telnet}, which does a @samp{telnet}
+to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet} to get to the
+@sc{nntp} server.
+
+@code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
+
+@table @code
+
+@item nntp-rlogin-program
+@vindex nntp-rlogin-program
+Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
+but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
@item nntp-rlogin-parameters
@vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
-If you use @code{nntp-open-rlogin} as the
-@code{nntp-open-connection-function}, this list will be used as the
-parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
+This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
+
+@item nntp-rlogin-user-name
+@vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
+User name on the remote system.
+
+@end table
+
+@code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
+
+@table @code
+@item nntp-telnet-command
+@vindex nntp-telnet-command
+Command used to start @code{telnet}.
+
+@item nntp-telnet-switches
+@vindex nntp-telnet-switches
+List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
+
+@item nntp-telnet-user-name
+@vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
+User name for log in on the remote system.
+
+@item nntp-telnet-passwd
+@vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
+Password to use when logging in.
+
+@item nntp-telnet-parameters
+@vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
+A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
+via @code{telnet}.
+
+@end table
@item nntp-end-of-line
@vindex nntp-end-of-line
-String to use as end-of-line markers when talking to the @sc{nntp}
+String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
@item nntp-nov-is-evil
@vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
-variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks whether @sc{nov}
-can be used automatically.
+variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
+can be used.
@item nntp-xover-commands
@vindex nntp-xover-commands
@cindex nov
@cindex XOVER
-List of strings that are used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
+List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
"XOVERVIEW")}.
the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
-lines that you do not want, and will not use. This variable says how
+lines that you will not need. This variable says how
big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
@code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
-@code{nntp} will never split requests.
+@code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
@item nntp-prepare-server-hook
@vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
instance.
-Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
+Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
anything else) as the address.
If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
@item nnspool-active-file
@vindex nnspool-active-file
-The path of the active file.
+The path to the active file.
@item nnspool-newsgroups-file
@vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
-The path of the group descriptions file.
+The path to the group descriptions file.
@item nnspool-history-file
@vindex nnspool-history-file
-The path of the news history file.
+The path to the news history file.
@item nnspool-active-times-file
@vindex nnspool-active-times-file
-The path of the active date file.
+The path to the active date file.
@item nnspool-nov-is-evil
@vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
and things will happen automatically.
-For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a one file per
-mail backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
+For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
+mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
@lisp
(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
@lisp
(setq nnmail-split-methods
'(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
- ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
- ("other" "")))
+ ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
+ ("other" "")))
@end lisp
This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
@samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
-latter group.
+last group.
This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
-give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though,
-especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
+give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
+Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
@node Splitting Mail
these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
-determine if it belongs in this mail group.
+determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
+contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
+insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
+
+@lisp
+("list.\\1" "From:.*\\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
+@end lisp
If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
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
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 group names that it
thinks should carry this mail message.
-Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent
+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<SPACE>} line to something else.
@cindex crosspost
@cindex links
@code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
-the crossposted articles. However, not all files systems support hard
+the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
links. If that's the case for you, set
@code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
@vindex nnmail-crash-box
@item nnmail-crash-box
-When the mail backends read a spool file, it is first moved to this
+When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
other spool files.
@item nnmail-tmp-directory
@vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
-This variable says where to move the incoming mail to while processing
+This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
-inhabits (i.e., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
+inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
it will be used instead.
@item nnmail-movemail-program
@c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
(No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
-of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure to
-not lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
+of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
+to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
was lost.
-Delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
+You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
@item nnmail-use-long-file-names
@vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
If 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/}.
+names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
+(assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
+@code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
+the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
@item nnmail-delete-file-function
@vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
@findex delete-file
Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
+@item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
+@vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
+If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
+the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
+discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
+
@end table
(any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
(any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
;; People...
- (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen"))
+ (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
"misc.misc")
@end lisp
@samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
@item
-@var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, and the first
-element is a string, then that means that if header FIELD (a regexp)
-contains VALUE (also a regexp), then store the message as specified by
-SPLIT.
+@var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
+which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
+header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
@item
@var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
@item
@code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
-this message anywhere.
+this message.
@item
@var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
@var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
are expanded as specified by the variable
@code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
-the car of the cells contains the key, and the cdr contains a string.
+the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
+value.
@vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
@code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
when all this splitting is performed.
If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
-information in the headers, you can say things like:
+information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
+substitions in the group names), you can say things like:
@example
-(any "debian-\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
+(any "debian-\\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
@end example
-That is, do @code{replace-match}-like substitions in the group names.
-
-
@node Mail and Procmail
@subsection Mail and Procmail
@cindex procmail
When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
-out that it carries by other means. None of the backends (except
-@code{nnmh}) actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
+out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
+@code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
-This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) what groups
-exist by hand.
+This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
+groups exist.
-Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example.
+Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
@code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
@vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
-If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an @code{nnmh}
+If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly 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,
-quite important.
+ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
+article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
-@file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i. e., the incoming
+@file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
@code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
@code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
Go to the group buffer.
@item
-Type `G f' and give the path of the mbox file when prompted to create an
+Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
@code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
@item
Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
@item
-Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group (@pxref{Setting
-Process Marks}).
+Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
+(@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
@item
Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
-articles that are marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
+articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
column in the summary buffer.
-Note that making a group auto-expirable don't mean that all read
-articles are expired---only the articles that are marked as expirable
-will be expired. Also note the using the @kbd{d} command won't make
+By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
+articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
+before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
+automatically, you can put something like the following in your
+@file{.gnus} file:
+
+@vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
+@lisp
+(remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
+ 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
+(add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
+@end lisp
+
+Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
+articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
+will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
-doesn't really mix very well.
+don't really mix very well.
@vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
-expirable article has to live. The default is seven days.
+expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
+message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
+days.
Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
6))))
@end lisp
-The group names that this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
+The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
-@code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can be either a number (not
-necessarily an integer) or the symbols @code{immediate} or
-@code{never}.
+@code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
+necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
+@code{never}.
You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
easier for procmail users.
@vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
-By the way, that line up there about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
-articles is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
+By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
+articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
caution. Even more dangerous is the
@item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
@findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
-headers too make them look nice. Aaah.
+headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
@item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
@findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
@vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
@vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
@cindex duplicate mails
-If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
+If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
@code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
@code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
-will generate a brand new @code{Message-ID} for the mail and insert a
-warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks that this is a
-duplicate of a different message.
+will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
+that this is a duplicate of a different message.
This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
format. It should be used with some caution.
@vindex nnml-directory
-If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files;
-one file for each mail, and put the articles into the correct
+If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
+one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
@code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
-@sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes is the fastest
+@sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
backend when it comes to reading mail.
Virtual server settings:
it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
names, of course.
-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.
+This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
+successor @code{efs}), 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.
@code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
-@file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the the directory name,
-@code{ange-ftp} will actually allow you to read this directory over at
-@samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
+@file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
+@code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
+directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
@code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
@item nndoc-article-type
@vindex nndoc-article-type
This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
-@code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934}, @code{news}, @code{rnews},
-@code{mime-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, or @code{guess}.
+@code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
+@code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-digest}, @code{standard-digest},
+@code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or @code{guess}.
@item nndoc-post-type
@vindex nndoc-post-type
This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
-a mail group. There are two legal values: @code{mail} (the default)
+a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
and @code{news}.
@end table
@item body-end
If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
-@item nndoc-file-end
+@item file-end
If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
regexp will be totally ignored.
@item article-transform-function
If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
-meant to be used how more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
+meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
body of the article.
@item generate-head-function
@code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
-traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for each
-type. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
+traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
@code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
-low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest legal number.
+low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
@node SOUP
@table @dfn
@item message packets
-These are packets made at the server, and typically contains lots of
+These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
default, where @var{X} is a number.
@item nnsoup-replies-directory
@vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
-All replies will stored in this directory before being packed into a
+All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
@item nnsoup-replies-format-type
@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!
+The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
+means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
@item nnsoup-active-file
@vindex nnsoup-active-file
@item nnsoup-packet-regexp
@vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
-@samp{Soupout}.
+@samp{Soupout}.
+
+@item nnsoup-always-save
+@vindex nnsoup-always-save
+If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
@end table
groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
-manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@code{Duplicate
+manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
@code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
-header---mark all articles that were posted before the last date you
-read the group as read.
+header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
+group as read.
If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
@item nnweb-type
@vindex nnweb-type
What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
-are @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
+are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
+@code{reference}.
@item nnweb-search
@vindex nnweb-search
@item nngateway-header-transformation
@vindex nngateway-header-transformation
-News headers have often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
+News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
transformation should be called, and defaults to
@code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
gateway address.
This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
-@code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address---an article with this
-@code{Newsgroups} header:
+@code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
+For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
@example
Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
other groups.
-For instance, if you are tired of reading many small group, you can
+For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
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}.
+(@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
-One limitation, however---all groups that are included in a virtual
-group has to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
+One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
+group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
@vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
-effect if you have two virtual groups that contain the same component
-group. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
+effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
+common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
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.
+@code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
+and @code{nnvirtual} end.
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
+must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
@kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
@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
+all the articles in all the component 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 @code{nnkiboze} groups.
@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.
+on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
-Articles that are marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have their
-@sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
+Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
+their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
-@node Scoring
-@chapter Scoring
-@cindex scoring
+@node Gnus Unplugged
+@section Gnus Unplugged
+@cindex offline
+@cindex unplugged
+@cindex Agent
+@cindex Gnus Agent
+@cindex Gnus Unplugged
+
+In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
+on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
+was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
+read news. Believe it or not.
+
+Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
+modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
+would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
+the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
+have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
+
+Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
+@code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
+for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
+functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
+reading news on a machine.
+
+Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
-Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
-scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
-something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
-attention!
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
+that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
+here.
-@vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
-All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
-which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
-interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
-@code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
+@item
+Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
+@file{.gnus.el} file:
-Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
-before generating the summary buffer.
+@lisp
+(gnus-agentize)
+@end lisp
+@end itemize
-There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
-entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
-lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
+That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
-There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
-Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
-temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
-silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
+Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
-@menu
-* Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
-* Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
-* Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
-* Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
-* Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
-* Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
-* Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
-* Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
-* Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
-* Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
-* Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
-* Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
-* Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
-* GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
-* Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
-* Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
+@menu
+* Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
+* Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
+* Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
+* Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
+* Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
+* Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
@end menu
-@node Summary Score Commands
-@section Summary Score Commands
-@cindex score commands
+@node Agent Basics
+@subsection Agent Basics
-The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
-score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
-previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
-@dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
-entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
+First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
-The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
-if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
-some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
-score file the current one.
+The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
+connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
+When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
+Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
-General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
+The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
+connected to the net continously.
-@table @kbd
+@dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
+machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
-@item V s
-@kindex V s (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-set-score
-Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
+Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
-@item V S
-@kindex V S (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-current-score
-Display the score of the current article
-(@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
+@itemize @bullet
-@item V t
-@kindex V t (Summary)
-@findex gnus-score-find-trace
-Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
-(@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
+@item
+You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
+Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
+already fetched while in this mode.
-@item V R
-@kindex V R (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-rescore
-Run the current summary through the scoring process
-(@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
-around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
-effect you're having.
+@item
+You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
+your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
+to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
-@item V a
-@kindex V a (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-score-entry
-Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
-(@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
+@item
+You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
+onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
+s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
+know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
-@item V c
-@kindex V c (Summary)
-@findex gnus-score-change-score-file
-Make a different score file the current
-(@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
+@item
+After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
+unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
+then you read the news offline.
-@item V e
-@kindex V e (Summary)
-@findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
-Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
-You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
-File Editing}).
+@item
+And then you go to step 2.
+@end itemize
-@item V f
-@kindex V f (Summary)
-@findex gnus-score-edit-file
-Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
-(@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
+Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
+the Agent.
-@item V F
-@kindex V F (Summary)
-@findex gnus-score-flush-cache
-Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
-after editing score files.
+@itemize @bullet
-@item V C
-@kindex V C (Summary)
-@findex gnus-score-customize
-Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
-(@code{gnus-score-customize}).
+@item
+Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
+backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
+Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
+@kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
+Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
+primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
-@item I C-i
-@kindex I C-i (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-raise-score
-Increase the score of the current article
-(@code{gnus-summary-raise-score}).
+@item
+Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}
-@item L C-l
-@kindex L C-l (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-lower-score
-Lower the score of the current article
-(@code{gnus-summary-lower-score}).
-@end table
+@item
+Uhm... that's it.
+@end itemize
-The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
-@table @kbd
+@node Agent Categories
+@subsection Agent Categories
-@item V m
-@kindex V m (Summary)
-@findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
-Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
-read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
+One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
+newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
+There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
+find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
+to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
+mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
+you're interested in the articles anyway.
-@item V x
-@kindex V x (Summary)
-@findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
-Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
-expunge all articles below this score
-(@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
-@end table
+The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
+@dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
+Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
-The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
-pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
-them.)
+@menu
+* Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
+* The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
+* Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
+@end menu
+
+
+@node Category Syntax
+@subsubsection Category Syntax
+
+A category consists of two things.
@enumerate
@item
-The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
-or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
-@item
-The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
-keys are available:
-@table @kbd
+A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
+are eligible for downloading; and
-@item a
-Score on the author name.
+@item
+a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
+deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
+score} is wholly unrelated to normal scores.)
+@end enumerate
-@item s
-Score on the subject line.
+A predicate consists of predicates with logical operators sprinkled in
+between.
-@item x
-Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
+Perhaps some examples are in order.
-@item t
-Score on thread---the References line.
+Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
+for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
-@item d
-Score on the date.
+@lisp
+short
+@end lisp
-@item l
-Score on the number of lines.
+Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
+short (for some value of ``short'').
-@item i
-Score on the Message-ID.
+Here's a more complex predicate:
-@item f
-Score on followups.
+@lisp
+(or high
+ (and
+ (not low)
+ (not long)))
+@end lisp
-@item b
-Score on the body.
+This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
+or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
+drift.
-@item h
-Score on the head.
-@end table
+The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
+@code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
+@samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
-@item
-The third key is the match type. Which match types are legal depends on
-what headers you are scoring on.
+The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
+you want to do, you can write your own.
@table @code
+@item short
+True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
+lines; default 100.
-@item strings
+@item long
+True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
+lines; default 200.
-@table @kbd
+@item low
+True iff the article has a download score less than
+@code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
-@item e
-Exact matching.
+@item high
+True iff the article has a download score greater than
+@code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
-@item s
-Substring matching.
+@item spam
+True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
+heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
+checksum and sees whether articles match.
-@item f
-Fuzzy matching.
+@item true
+Always true.
-@item r
-Regexp matching
+@item false
+Always false.
@end table
-@item date
+If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
+to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
+@code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
+useful values.
+
+Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
+normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
+seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
+following headers can be scored on: @code{From}, @code{Subject},
+@code{Date}, @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars}, @code{Message-ID},
+and @code{References}.
+
+
+@node The Category Buffer
+@subsubsection The Category Buffer
+
+You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
+When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
+the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
+
+The following commands are available in this buffer:
+
@table @kbd
+@item q
+@kindex q (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-exit
+Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
-@item b
-Before date.
+@item k
+@kindex k (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-kill
+Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
+
+@item c
+@kindex c (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-copy
+Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
@item a
-At date.
+@kindex a (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-add
+Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
-@item n
-This date.
+@item p
+@kindex p (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
+Edit the predicate of the current category
+(@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
+
+@item g
+@kindex g (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-edit-groups
+Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
+(@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
+
+@item s
+@kindex s (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-edit-score
+Edit the download score rule of the current category
+(@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
+
+@item l
+@kindex l (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-list
+List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
@end table
-@item number
-@table @kbd
-@item <
-Less than number.
+@node Category Variables
+@subsubsection Category Variables
-@item =
-Equal to number.
+@table @code
+@item gnus-category-mode-hook
+@vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
+Hook run in category buffers.
-@item >
-Greater than number.
-@end table
+@item gnus-category-line-format
+@vindex gnus-category-line-format
+Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
+Variables}). Legal elements are:
+
+@table @samp
+@item c
+The name of the category.
+
+@item g
+The number of groups in the category.
@end table
-@item
-The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
-score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
-it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
-@table @kbd
+@item gnus-category-mode-line-format
+@vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
+Format of the category mode line.
-@item t
-Temporary score entry.
+@item gnus-agent-short-article
+@vindex gnus-agent-short-article
+Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
-@item p
-Permanent score entry.
+@item gnus-agent-long-article
+@vindex gnus-agent-long-article
+Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
+
+@item gnus-agent-low-score
+@vindex gnus-agent-low-score
+Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
+0.
+
+@item gnus-agent-high-score
+@vindex gnus-agent-high-score
+Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
+0.
-@item i
-Immediately scoring.
@end table
-@end enumerate
-So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
-exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
-score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
-temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
+@node Agent Commands
+@subsection Agent Commands
-To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
-a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
-defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
-``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
-t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
+All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
+(@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
+toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
-@vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
-The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
-pretend they are keymaps or not.
+@menu
+* Group Agent Commands::
+* Summary Agent Commands::
+* Server Agent Commands::
+@end menu
-@node Group Score Commands
-@section Group Score Commands
-@cindex group score commands
+You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
+following incantation:
-There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
+@cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
+@example
+$ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
+@end example
-@table @kbd
-@item W f
-@kindex W f (Group)
-@findex gnus-score-flush-cache
-Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
-all the time. This command will flush the cache
-(@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
+
+@node Group Agent Commands
+@subsubsection Group Agent Commands
+
+@table @kbd
+@item J u
+@kindex J u (Agent Group)
+@findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
+Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
+(@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
+
+@item J c
+@kindex J c (Agent Group)
+@findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
+Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
+
+@item J s
+@kindex J s (Agent Group)
+@findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
+Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
+(@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
+
+@item J S
+@kindex J S (Agent Group)
+@findex gnus-group-send-drafts
+Send all sendable messages in the draft group
+(@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}
+
+@item J a
+@kindex J a (Agent Group)
+@findex gnus-agent-add-group
+Add the current group to an Agent category
+(@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
@end table
-@node Score Variables
-@section Score Variables
-@cindex score variables
+@node Summary Agent Commands
+@subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
-@table @code
+@table @kbd
+@item J #
+@kindex J # (Agent Summary)
+@findex gnus-agent-mark-article
+Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
+
+@item J M-#
+@kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
+@findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
+Remove the downloading mark from the article
+(@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
+
+@item @@
+@kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
+@findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
+Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
+
+@item J c
+@kindex J c (Agent Summary)
+@findex gnus-agent-catchup
+Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
-@item gnus-use-scoring
-@vindex gnus-use-scoring
-If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
-general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
+@end table
-@item gnus-kill-killed
-@vindex gnus-kill-killed
-If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
-articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
-may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
-to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
-group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
-variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
-@item gnus-kill-files-directory
-@vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
-All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
-initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
-This is @file{~/News/} by default.
+@node Server Agent Commands
+@subsubsection Server Agent Commands
-@item gnus-score-file-suffix
-@vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
-Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
-(@samp{SCORE} by default.)
+@table @kbd
+@item J a
+@kindex J a (Agent Server)
+@findex gnus-agent-add-server
+Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
+(@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
+
+@item J r
+@kindex J r (Agent Server)
+@findex gnus-agent-remove-server
+Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
+Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
-@item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
-@vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
-@cindex score cache
-All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
-score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
-bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files that are
-unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
-@file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
-@file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
-variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
-be cached.
+@end table
-@item gnus-save-score
-@vindex gnus-save-score
-If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
-scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
-Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
-@item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
-@vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
-Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
-score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
-ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
-We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
-manually entered data.
+@node Outgoing Messages
+@subsection Outgoing Messages
-@item gnus-summary-default-score
-@vindex gnus-summary-default-score
-Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
+When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
+stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
+after posting, and edit them at will.
-@item gnus-summary-expunge-below
-@vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
-Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
-this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
-articles will be hidden.
+When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
+draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
+the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
+messages in the draft group.
-@item gnus-score-over-mark
-@vindex gnus-score-over-mark
-Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
-default. Default is @samp{+}.
-@item gnus-score-below-mark
-@vindex gnus-score-below-mark
-Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
-default. Default is @samp{-}.
-@item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
-@vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
-Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
-is called with the name of the group as the argument.
+@node Agent Variables
+@subsection Agent Variables
-Predefined functions available are:
@table @code
+@item gnus-agent-directory
+@vindex gnus-agent-directory
+Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
+@file{~/News/agent/}.
-@item gnus-score-find-single
-@findex gnus-score-find-single
-Only apply the group's own score file.
+@item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
+@vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
+Hook run when connecting to the network.
-@item gnus-score-find-bnews
-@findex gnus-score-find-bnews
-Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
-default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
-@file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
-@file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
-@samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
-then a regexp match is done.
+@item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
+@vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
+Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
-This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
-all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
+@end table
-The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
-try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
-files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
-file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
-@item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
-@findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
-Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
-can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
-@file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
+@node Example Setup
+@subsection Example Setup
-@end table
-This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
-functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
-be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
-directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
-alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
-functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
-score file. Phu.
+If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
+setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
+@file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
-@item gnus-score-expiry-days
-@vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
-This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
-entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
-are expired. It's 7 by default.
+@lisp
+;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
+;;; from your ISP's server.
+(setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
-@item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
-@vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
-If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
-their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
-non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
-stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
-even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
-grim reaper.
+;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
+;;; your ISP's POP server.
+(setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
+(setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
-@item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
-@vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
-Function called with the name of the score file just written.
+;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
+(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
-@end table
+;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
+(gnus-agentize)
+@end lisp
+That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
+edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
+gnus}.
-@node Score File Format
-@section Score File Format
-@cindex score file format
+If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
+automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
+subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
+@sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
+command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
+once.
-A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
-single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
-everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
+After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
+groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
+command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
+subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
+back all the killed groups.)
-Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
+You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
+with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
+find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
-@lisp
-(("from"
- ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
- ("Per Abrahamsen")
- ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
- ("subject"
- ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
- ("xref"
- ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
- ("lines"
- (2 -100 nil <))
- (mark 0)
- (expunge -1000)
- (mark-and-expunge -10)
- (read-only nil)
- (orphan -10)
- (adapt t)
- (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
- (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
- (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
- (gnus-summary-make-false-root 'empty))
- (eval (ding)))
-@end lisp
-This example demonstrates absolutely everything about a score file.
-
-Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
-@code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
-has to be legal syntactically, if not semantically.
+@node Scoring
+@chapter Scoring
+@cindex scoring
-Six keys are supported by this alist:
+Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
+scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
+something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
+attention!
-@table @code
+@vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
+All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
+which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
+interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
+@code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
-@item STRING
-If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
-match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
-@code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
-@code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
-these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
-article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
-will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
-perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
-perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
-last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
-final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
-entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
-to articles that matches these score entries.
+Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
+before generating the summary buffer.
-Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
-score entry has one to four elements.
-@enumerate
+There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
+entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
+lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
-@item
-The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
-be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
-integer.
+There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
+Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
+temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
+silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
-@item
-If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
-element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
-interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
-is successful. If this element is not present, the
-@code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
-instead. This is 1000 by default.
+@menu
+* Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
+* Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
+* Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
+* Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
+* Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
+* Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
+* Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
+* Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
+* Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
+* Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
+* Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
+* Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
+* Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
+* GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
+* Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
+* Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
+@end menu
-@item
-If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
-element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
-which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
-element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
-represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 ce.
-@item
-If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
-element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
-whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
-be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
-@table @dfn
+@node Summary Score Commands
+@section Summary Score Commands
+@cindex score commands
-@item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
-For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
-well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
-@code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
-element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
-be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
-that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
-one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
-@code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
-instead, if you feel like.
+The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
+score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
+previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
+@dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
+entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
-@item Lines, Chars
-These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
-@code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
-careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
-@code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
-lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
-the articles with few lines.
+The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
+if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
+some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
+score file the current one.
-@item Date
-For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
-@code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
-ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
-this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
-Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
-sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
-quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
+General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
-@cindex ISO8601
-@cindex date
-A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
-date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
-ISO8601 compact format first---@samp{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS}. If you want to
-match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in every year, you
-could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string, for instance.
-(Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so this will
-match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where the article
-was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the whole
-family, eh?)
+@table @kbd
-@item Head, Body, All
-These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
-header uses.
+@item V s
+@kindex V s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-set-score
+Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
-@item Followup
-This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
-@code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
-articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
-you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
-decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
-trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
-uses.
+@item V S
+@kindex V S (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-current-score
+Display the score of the current article
+(@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
-@item Thread
-This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
-key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread that is
-started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
-@samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
-article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
-@samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
-articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
-entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
-complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
-undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread.
-@end table
-@end enumerate
+@item V t
+@kindex V t (Summary)
+@findex gnus-score-find-trace
+Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
+(@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
-@item mark
-The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
-lower than this number will be marked as read.
+@item V R
+@kindex V R (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-rescore
+Run the current summary through the scoring process
+(@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
+around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
+effect you're having.
-@item expunge
-The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
-lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
+@item V a
+@kindex V a (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-score-entry
+Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
+(@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
-@item mark-and-expunge
-The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
-lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
-summary buffer.
+@item V c
+@kindex V c (Summary)
+@findex gnus-score-change-score-file
+Make a different score file the current
+(@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
-@item thread-mark-and-expunge
-The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
-a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
-and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
-says how to compute the total score for a thread.
+@item V e
+@kindex V e (Summary)
+@findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
+Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
+You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
+File Editing}).
-@item files
-The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
-are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
-this one was.
+@item V f
+@kindex V f (Summary)
+@findex gnus-score-edit-file
+Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
+(@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
-@item exclude-files
-The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
-not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
-other.
+@item V F
+@kindex V F (Summary)
+@findex gnus-score-flush-cache
+Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
+after editing score files.
-@item eval
-The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
-ignored when handling global score files.
+@item V C
+@kindex V C (Summary)
+@findex gnus-score-customize
+Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
+(@code{gnus-score-customize}).
-@item read-only
-Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
-should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
+@end table
-@item orphan
-The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
-parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
-some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
-will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
+The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
-You can do this with the following two score file entries:
+@table @kbd
-@example
- (orphan -500)
- (mark-and-expunge -100)
-@end example
+@item V m
+@kindex V m (Summary)
+@findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
+Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
+read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
-When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
-threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
-interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
-rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
-interesting threads, plus any new threads.
+@item V x
+@kindex V x (Summary)
+@findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
+Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
+expunge all articles below this score
+(@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
+@end table
-I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
-exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
-ordinary scoring rules.
+The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
+pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
+them.)
-@item adapt
-This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
-default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
-adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
-list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
-or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
-adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
-scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
-@code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
-not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
-groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
-insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
-it.
+@findex gnus-summary-increase-score
+@findex gnus-summary-lower-score
-@item adapt-file
-All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
-will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
-if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
-file for a number of groups.
+@enumerate
+@item
+The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
+or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
+@item
+The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
+keys are available:
+@table @kbd
-@item local
-@cindex local variables
-The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
-Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
-and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
-strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
-much.
-@end table
+@item a
+Score on the author name.
+@item s
+Score on the subject line.
-@node Score File Editing
-@section Score File Editing
+@item x
+Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
-You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
-might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
-with a mode for that.
+@item t
+Score on thread---the References line.
-It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
-additional commands:
+@item d
+Score on the date.
-@table @kbd
+@item l
+Score on the number of lines.
-@item C-c C-c
-@kindex C-c C-c (Score)
-@findex gnus-score-edit-done
-Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
-(@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
+@item i
+Score on the Message-ID.
-@item C-c C-d
-@kindex C-c C-d (Score)
-@findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
-Insert the current date in numerical format
-(@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
-you were wondering.
+@item f
+Score on followups.
-@item C-c C-p
-@kindex C-c C-p (Score)
-@findex gnus-score-pretty-print
-The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
-intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
-first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
-you.
+@item b
+Score on the body.
+@item h
+Score on the head.
@end table
-Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
+@item
+The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
+what headers you are scoring on.
-@vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
-@code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
+@table @code
-In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
-e} to begin editing score files.
+@item strings
+@table @kbd
-@node Adaptive Scoring
-@section Adaptive Scoring
-@cindex adaptive scoring
+@item e
+Exact matching.
-If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
-happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
-stupidity, to be precise.
+@item s
+Substring matching.
-@vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
-When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
-article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
-these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
-You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
-@code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
-words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
-@code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
-variable to @code{(word line)}.
+@item f
+Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
-@vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
-To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
-the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
-might look something like this:
+@item r
+Regexp matching
+@end table
-@lisp
-(defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
- '((gnus-unread-mark)
- (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
- (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
- (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
- (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
- (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
- (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
- (gnus-kill-file-mark)
- (gnus-ancient-mark)
- (gnus-low-score-mark)
- (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
-@end lisp
+@item date
+@table @kbd
-As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
-variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
-a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
-pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
-that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
-@code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
-entries.
+@item b
+Before date.
-Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
-will be applied to each article.
+@item a
+At date.
-To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
-articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
-score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
-lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
+@item n
+This date.
+@end table
-If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
-@code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
-That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
-should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
+@item number
+@table @kbd
-If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
-the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
-probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
-adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
+@item <
+Less than number.
-The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
-@code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
-@code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
-@code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
-on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
-current article, thereby matching the following thread.
+@item =
+Equal to number.
-You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
-articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
-@code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
-article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
-added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
-aspirins afterwards.)
+@item >
+Greater than number.
+@end table
+@end table
-If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
-to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
-changes result in articles getting marked as read.
+@item
+The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
+score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
+it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
+@table @kbd
-After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
-become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
-the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
+@item t
+Temporary score entry.
-You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
-by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
-let you use different rules in different groups.
+@item p
+Permanent score entry.
-@vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
-The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
-group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
-is @samp{ADAPT}.
+@item i
+Immediately scoring.
+@end table
-@vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
-When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
-give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
-matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
-the length of the match is less than
-@code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
-this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
-this problem.
+@end enumerate
-@vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
-As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
-headers. If you adapt on words, the
-@code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
-each instance of a word should add given a mark.
+So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
+exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
+score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
+temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
- `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
- (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
- (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
- (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
-@end lisp
+To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
+a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
+defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
+``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
+t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
-This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
-word that appears in subjects of articles that are marked with
-@code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
-score with 30 points.
+These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
+(@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
+(or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
+says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
+current score file.
-@vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
-@vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
-Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
-will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
-@code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
+@vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
+The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
+pretend they are keymaps or not.
-@vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
-When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
-syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
-it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
-After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
-@code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
-what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
+@node Group Score Commands
+@section Group Score Commands
+@cindex group score commands
-Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
-likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
-that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
-rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
+There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
+@table @kbd
-@node Home Score File
-@section Home Score File
+@item W f
+@kindex W f (Group)
+@findex gnus-score-flush-cache
+Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
+all the time. This command will flush the cache
+(@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
-The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
-@dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
-for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
-@samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
+@end table
-However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
-a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
-could perhaps use the same home score file.
+You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
-@vindex gnus-home-score-file
-The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
-be:
+@findex gnus-batch-score
+@cindex batch scoring
+@example
+$ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l gnus -f gnus-batch-score
+@end example
-@enumerate
-@item
-A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
-groups.
-@item
-A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
-file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
-parameter.
+@node Score Variables
+@section Score Variables
+@cindex score variables
-@item
-A list. The elements in this list can be:
+@table @code
-@enumerate
-@item
-@var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
-the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
+@item gnus-use-scoring
+@vindex gnus-use-scoring
+If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
+general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
-@item
-A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
-the home score file.
+@item gnus-kill-killed
+@vindex gnus-kill-killed
+If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
+articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
+may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
+to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
+group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
+variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
-@item
-A string. Use the string as the home score file.
-@end enumerate
+@item gnus-kill-files-directory
+@vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
+All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
+initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
+This is @file{~/News/} by default.
-The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
-for matches.
+@item gnus-score-file-suffix
+@vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
+Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
+(@samp{SCORE} by default.)
-@end enumerate
+@item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
+@vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
+@cindex score cache
+All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
+score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
+bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
+@file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
+@file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
+variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
+be cached.
-So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
+@item gnus-save-score
+@vindex gnus-save-score
+If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
+scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
+Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-home-score-file
- "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
-@end lisp
+@item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
+@vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
+Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
+score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
+ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
+We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
+manually entered data.
-If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
-@file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
+@item gnus-summary-default-score
+@vindex gnus-summary-default-score
+Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-home-score-file
- 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
-@end lisp
+@item gnus-summary-expunge-below
+@vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
+Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
+this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
+articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
+and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
-This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
+@item gnus-score-over-mark
+@vindex gnus-score-over-mark
+Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
+default. Default is @samp{+}.
-If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
-another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
-their own home score files:
+@item gnus-score-below-mark
+@vindex gnus-score-below-mark
+Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
+default. Default is @samp{-}.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-home-score-file
- ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
- '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
- ;; All the comp groups in one score file
- ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
-@end lisp
-
-@vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
-@code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
-@code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
-is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
-specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
+@item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
+@vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
+Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
+is called with the name of the group as the argument.
-In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
-@code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
-(@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
-Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
-precedence over this variable.
+Predefined functions available are:
+@table @code
+@item gnus-score-find-single
+@findex gnus-score-find-single
+Only apply the group's own score file.
-@node Followups To Yourself
-@section Followups To Yourself
+@item gnus-score-find-bnews
+@findex gnus-score-find-bnews
+Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
+default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
+@file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
+@file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
+@samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
+then a regexp match is done.
-Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
-the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
-this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
-articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
-respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
-to easily note when people answer what you've said.
+This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
+all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
-@table @code
+The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
+try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
+files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
+file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
-@item gnus-score-followup-article
-@findex gnus-score-followup-article
-This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
-article.
+@item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
+@findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
+Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
+can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
+@file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
-@item gnus-score-followup-thread
-@findex gnus-score-followup-thread
-This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
-your own article.
@end table
+This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
+functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
+be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
+directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
+alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
+functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
+score file. Phu.
-@vindex message-sent-hook
-These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
-@code{message-sent-hook}.
+@item gnus-score-expiry-days
+@vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
+This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
+entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
+are expired. It's 7 by default.
-If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
-the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
-mine:
+@item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
+@vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
+If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
+their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
+non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
+stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
+even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
+grim reaper.
-@example
-<x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
-<x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
-@end example
+@item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
+@vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
+Function called with the name of the score file just written.
-So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
-exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
-myself:
+@end table
-@lisp
-("references"
- ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf@.*eyesore.no>" 1000 nil r))
-@end lisp
-
-Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
-is system-dependent.
+@node Score File Format
+@section Score File Format
+@cindex score file format
-@node Scoring Tips
-@section Scoring Tips
-@cindex scoring tips
+A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
+single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
+everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
-@table @dfn
+Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
-@item Crossposts
-@cindex crossposts
-@cindex scoring crossposts
-If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
-the @code{Xref} header.
@lisp
-("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
+(("from"
+ ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
+ ("Per Abrahamsen")
+ ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
+ ("subject"
+ ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
+ ("xref"
+ ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
+ ("lines"
+ (2 -100 nil <))
+ (mark 0)
+ (expunge -1000)
+ (mark-and-expunge -10)
+ (read-only nil)
+ (orphan -10)
+ (adapt t)
+ (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
+ (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
+ (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
+ (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
+ (eval (ding)))
@end lisp
-@item Multiple crossposts
-If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
-more than, say, 3 groups:
-@lisp
-("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
-@end lisp
+This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
+approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
-@item Matching on the body
-This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
-Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
-you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
-keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
-and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
-will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
-@code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
-the matches.
+Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
+@code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
+has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
-@item Marking as read
-You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
-number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
-in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
-@lisp
-((mark -100))
-@end lisp
-You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
+Six keys are supported by this alist:
-@item Negated character classes
-If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
-That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
-@code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
-@end table
+@table @code
+@item STRING
+If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
+match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
+@code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
+@code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
+these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
+article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
+will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
+perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
+perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
+last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
+final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
+entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
+to articles that matches these score entries.
-@node Reverse Scoring
-@section Reverse Scoring
-@cindex reverse scoring
+Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
+score entry has one to four elements.
+@enumerate
-If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
-subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
-like this in your score file:
+@item
+The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
+be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
+integer.
-@lisp
-(("subject"
- ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
- (mark 1)
- (expunge 1))
-@end lisp
+@item
+If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
+element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
+interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
+is successful. If this element is not present, the
+@code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
+instead. This is 1000 by default.
-So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
-rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
+@item
+If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
+element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
+which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
+element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
+represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
+@item
+If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
+element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
+whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
+be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
+@table @dfn
-@node Global Score Files
-@section Global Score Files
-@cindex global score files
+@item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
+For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
+well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
+@code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
+element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
+be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
+that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
+one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
+@code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
+instead, if you feel like.
-Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
-nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
-in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
+@item Lines, Chars
+These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
+@code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
+careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
+@code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
+lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
+the articles with few lines.
-What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
-all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
-big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
+@item Date
+For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
+@code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
+ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
+this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
+Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
+sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
+quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
-@vindex gnus-global-score-files
-All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
-@code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
-or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
-files are applicable to which group.
+@cindex ISO8601
+@cindex date
+A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
+date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
+ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
+you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
+every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
+for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
+this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
+the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
+whole family, eh?)
-Say you want to use the score file
-@file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
-all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
+@item Head, Body, All
+These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
+header uses.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-global-score-files
- '("/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
- "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
-@end lisp
+@item Followup
+This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
+@code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
+articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
+you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
+decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
+trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
+uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
+files.)
-@findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
-Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
-directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
-If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
-use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
+@item Thread
+This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
+key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
+@samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
+article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
+@samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
+articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
+entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
+complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
+undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
+key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
+@end table
+@end enumerate
-Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
-somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
+@cindex Score File Atoms
+@item mark
+The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
+lower than this number will be marked as read.
-If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
-just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
-world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
-wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
-sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
-premises! Yay! The net is saved!
+@item expunge
+The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
+lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
-Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
-head:
+@item mark-and-expunge
+The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
+lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
+summary buffer.
-@itemize @bullet
+@item thread-mark-and-expunge
+The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
+a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
+and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
+says how to compute the total score for a thread.
-@item
-Articles that are heavily crossposted are probably junk.
-@item
-To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
-@item
-Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
-@item
-Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
-lowered out of existence.
-@item
-Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
-articles completely.
+@item files
+The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
+are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
+this one was.
-@item
-Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
-should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
-old articles for a long time.
-@end itemize
+@item exclude-files
+The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
+not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
+other.
-... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
-in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
-Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
-holding our breath yet?
-
-
-@node Kill Files
-@section Kill Files
-@cindex kill files
-
-Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
-entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
-Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
-
-In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
-than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
-files into score files.
+@item eval
+The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
+ignored when handling global score files.
-Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
-forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
-sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
-that isn't a very good idea.
+@item read-only
+Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
+should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
-Normal kill files look like this:
+@item orphan
+The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
+parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
+some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
+will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
-@lisp
-(gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
-(gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
-(gnus-expunge "X")
-@end lisp
+You can do this with the following two score file entries:
-This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove them from
-the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
+@example
+ (orphan -500)
+ (mark-and-expunge -100)
+@end example
-Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
-encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
-interpreting it.
+When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
+threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
+interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
+rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
+interesting threads, plus any new threads.
-Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
+I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
+exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
+ordinary scoring rules.
-@table @kbd
+@item adapt
+This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
+default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
+adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
+list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
+or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
+adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
+scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
+@code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
+not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
+groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
+insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
+it.
-@item M-k
-@kindex M-k (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
-Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
+@item adapt-file
+All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
+will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
+if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
+file for a number of groups.
-@item M-K
-@kindex M-K (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
-Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
+@item local
+@cindex local variables
+The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
+Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
+and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
+strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
+much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
@end table
-Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
-
-@table @kbd
-@item M-k
-@kindex M-k (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
-Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
+@node Score File Editing
+@section Score File Editing
-@item M-K
-@kindex M-K (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
-Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
-@end table
+You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
+might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
+with a mode for that.
-Kill file variables:
+It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
+additional commands:
-@table @code
-@item gnus-kill-file-name
-@vindex gnus-kill-file-name
-A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
-@file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
-this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
-The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
-course) is called just @file{KILL}.
+@table @kbd
-@vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
-@item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
-If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
-kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
-kills.
+@item C-c C-c
+@kindex C-c C-c (Score)
+@findex gnus-score-edit-done
+Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
+(@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
-@item gnus-apply-kill-hook
-@vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
-@findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
-@findex gnus-apply-kill-file
-A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
-@code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
-kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
-hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
-kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
+@item C-c C-d
+@kindex C-c C-d (Score)
+@findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
+Insert the current date in numerical format
+(@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
+you were wondering.
-@item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
-@vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
-A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
+@item C-c C-p
+@kindex C-c C-p (Score)
+@findex gnus-score-pretty-print
+The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
+intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
+first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
+you.
@end table
+Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
-@node Converting Kill Files
-@section Converting Kill Files
-@cindex kill files
-@cindex converting kill files
+@vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
+@code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
-If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
-score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
-the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
-by hand.
+In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
+e} to begin editing score files.
-The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
-You can fetch it from
-@file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
-If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
-non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
-hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
-before.
+@node Adaptive Scoring
+@section Adaptive Scoring
+@cindex adaptive scoring
+If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
+happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
+stupidity, to be precise.
-@node GroupLens
-@section GroupLens
-@cindex GroupLens
+@vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
+When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
+article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
+these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
+You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
+@code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
+words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
+@code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
+variable to @code{(word line)}.
-GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
-together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
-huge volume of news articles generated every day.
+@vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
+To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
+the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
+might look something like this:
-To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
-articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
-likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
-article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
-rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
-Once it has found for you some people you agree with it tells you, in
-the form of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use
-this prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
-article.
+@lisp
+(defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
+ '((gnus-unread-mark)
+ (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
+ (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
+ (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
+ (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
+ (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
+ (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
+ (gnus-kill-file-mark)
+ (gnus-ancient-mark)
+ (gnus-low-score-mark)
+ (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
+@end lisp
-@menu
-* Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
-* Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
-* Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
-* GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
-@end menu
+As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
+variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
+a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
+pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
+that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
+@code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
+entries.
+Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
+will be applied to each article.
-@node Using GroupLens
-@subsection Using GroupLens
+To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
+articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
+score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
+lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
-To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
-Bit Bureau (BBB).
-@samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
-better bit in town is at the moment.
+If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
+@code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
+That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
+should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
-Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
+If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
+the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
+probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
+adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
-@table @code
+The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
+@code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
+@code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
+@code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
+on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
+current article, thereby matching the following thread.
-@item gnus-use-grouplens
-@vindex gnus-use-grouplens
-Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
-all the relevant GroupLens functions.
-
-@item grouplens-pseudonym
-@vindex grouplens-pseudonym
-This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
-with the Better Bit Bureau.
+You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
+articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
+@code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
+article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
+added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
+aspirins afterwards.)
-@item grouplens-newsgroups
-@vindex grouplens-newsgroups
-A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
+If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
+to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
+changes result in articles getting marked as read.
-@end table
+After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
+become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
+the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
-Thats the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
-Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
-articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
-the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
-yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
-you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
+You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
+by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
+let you use different rules in different groups.
+@vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
+The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
+group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
+is @samp{ADAPT}.
-@node Rating Articles
-@subsection Rating Articles
+@vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
+When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
+give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
+matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
+the length of the match is less than
+@code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
+this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
+this problem.
-In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
-Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
-means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
-yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
-like this one?"
+@vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
+As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
+headers. If you adapt on words, the
+@code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
+each instance of a word should add given a mark.
-There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
+ `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
+ (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
+ (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
+ (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
+@end lisp
-@table @kbd
+This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
+word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
+@code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
+score with 30 points.
-@item r
-@kindex r (GroupLens)
-@findex bbb-summary-rate-article
-This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
+@vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
+@vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
+Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
+will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
+@code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
-@item k
-@kindex k (GroupLens)
-@findex grouplens-score-thread
-This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
-the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
-threads in rec.humor.
+@vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
+When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
+syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
+it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
-@end table
+@vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
+If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
+word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
+below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
-The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
-the score of the article you're reading.
+After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
+@code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
+what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
-@table @kbd
+Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
+likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
+that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
+rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
-@item 1-5 n
-@kindex n (GroupLens)
-@findex grouplens-next-unread-article
-Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
-@item 1-5 ,
-@kindex , (GroupLens)
-@findex grouplens-best-unread-article
-Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
+@node Home Score File
+@section Home Score File
-@end table
+The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
+@dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
+for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
+@samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
-If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
-next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
+However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
+a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
+could perhaps use the same home score file.
+@vindex gnus-home-score-file
+The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
+be:
-@node Displaying Predictions
-@subsection Displaying Predictions
+@enumerate
+@item
+A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
+groups.
-GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
-news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
-5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
-from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
-@code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
+@item
+A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
+file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
+parameter.
-@vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
-There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
-choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
-regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
-people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
-the separate scoring behavior you need to set
-@code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
-GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
-@code{'override} and to combine the scores set
-@code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
-the combine option you will also want to set the values for
-@code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
-@code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
+@item
+A list. The elements in this list can be:
-@vindex grouplens-prediction-display
-In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
-to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
-controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
+@enumerate
+@item
+@var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
+the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
-The following are legal values for that variable.
+@item
+A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
+the home score file.
-@table @code
-@item prediction-spot
-The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
-displayed.
+@item
+A string. Use the string as the home score file.
+@end enumerate
-@item confidence-interval
-A numeric confidence interval.
+The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
+for matches.
-@item prediction-bar
-The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
+@end enumerate
-@item confidence-bar
-Numerical confidence.
+So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
-@item confidence-spot
-The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-home-score-file
+ "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
+@end lisp
-@item prediction-num
-Plain-old numeric value.
+If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
+@file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
-@item confidence-plus-minus
-Prediction +/i confidence.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-home-score-file
+ 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
+@end lisp
-@end table
+This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
+If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
+another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
+their own home score files:
-@node GroupLens Variables
-@subsection GroupLens Variables
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-home-score-file
+ ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
+ '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
+ ;; All the comp groups in one score file
+ ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
+@end lisp
+
+@vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
+@code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
+@code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
+is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
+specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
-@table @code
+In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
+@code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
+(@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
+Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
+precedence over this variable.
-@item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
-The summary line format used in summary buffers that are GroupLens
-enhanced. It accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format
-(@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). The default is
-@samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
-@item grouplens-bbb-host
-Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
-default.
+@node Followups To Yourself
+@section Followups To Yourself
-@item grouplens-bbb-port
-Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
+Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
+the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
+this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
+articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
+respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
+to easily note when people answer what you've said.
-@item grouplens-score-offset
-Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
-prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
-default is 0.
+@table @code
-@item grouplens-score-scale-factor
-This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
-The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
+@item gnus-score-followup-article
+@findex gnus-score-followup-article
+This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
+article.
+@item gnus-score-followup-thread
+@findex gnus-score-followup-thread
+This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
+your own article.
@end table
+@vindex message-sent-hook
+These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
+@code{message-sent-hook}.
-@node Advanced Scoring
-@section Advanced Scoring
+If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
+the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
+mine:
-Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
-really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
-about a particular subject? Or what about if you really don't want to
-read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
-want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
+@example
+<x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
+<x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
+@end example
-By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
-scoring patterns.
+So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
+exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
+myself:
-@menu
-* Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
-* Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
-* Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
-@end menu
+@lisp
+("references"
+ ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
+ 1000 nil r))
+@end lisp
+Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
+is system-dependent.
-@node Advanced Scoring Syntax
-@subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
-Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
-Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
-element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
-non-@code{nil} value.
+@node Scoring Tips
+@section Scoring Tips
+@cindex scoring tips
-These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
-operator, and various match operators.
+@table @dfn
-Logical operators:
+@item Crossposts
+@cindex crossposts
+@cindex scoring crossposts
+If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
+the @code{Xref} header.
+@lisp
+("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
+@end lisp
-@table @code
-@item &
-@itemx and
-This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
-one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
-evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
-@code{true}.
+@item Multiple crossposts
+If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
+more than, say, 3 groups:
+@lisp
+("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
+@end lisp
-@item |
-@itemx or
-This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
-one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
-then this operator will return @code{false}.
+@item Matching on the body
+This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
+Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
+you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
+keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
+and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
+will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
+@code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
+the matches.
-@item !
-@itemx not
-@itemx ¬
-This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
-inverse of the value of its argument.
+@item Marking as read
+You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
+number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
+in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
+@lisp
+((mark -100))
+@end lisp
+You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
+@item Negated character classes
+If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
+That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
+@code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
@end table
-There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
-apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
-instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
-current article. @code{2-} will make score fules apply to the
-grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
-@code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) say how far back into
-the ancestry you want to go.
-
-Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
-real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
-and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
-"Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
-simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
+@node Reverse Scoring
+@section Reverse Scoring
+@cindex reverse scoring
-@node Advanced Scoring Examples
-@subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
+If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
+subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
+like this in your score file:
-Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
-when he's talking about Gnus:
+@lisp
+(("subject"
+ ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
+ (mark 1)
+ (expunge 1))
+@end lisp
-@example
-((&
- ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
- ("subject" "Gnus"))
- 1000)
-@end example
+So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
+rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
-Quite simple, huh?
-When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
+@node Global Score Files
+@section Global Score Files
+@cindex global score files
-@example
-((&
- ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
- (|
- ("subject" "Gnus")
- ("lines" 100 >)))
- 1000)
-@end example
+Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
+nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
+in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
-However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
-really don't want to read what he's written:
+What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
+all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
+big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
-@example
-((&
- ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
- (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
- -100000)
-@end example
+@vindex gnus-global-score-files
+All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
+@code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
+or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
+files are applicable to which group.
-Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
-socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
-white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
-very interesting:
+Say you want to use the score file
+@file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
+all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
-@example
-((&
- (1-
- (&
- ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
- ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
- (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
- ("body" "white.*socks"))
- 1000)
-@end example
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-global-score-files
+ '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
+ "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
+@end lisp
-The possibilities are endless.
+@findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
+Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
+directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
+If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
+use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
+Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
+somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
-@node Advanced Scoring Tips
-@subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
+If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
+just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
+world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
+wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
+sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
+premises! Yay! The net is saved!
-The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
-That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
-result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
-of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
-the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
-(@samp{body}, @code{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
-@samp{subject}) first.
+Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
+head:
-The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
-arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
-something like:
+@itemize @bullet
-@example
-...
-(1-
- (1-
- ("from" "lars")))
-...
-@end example
+@item
+Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
+@item
+To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
+@item
+Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
+@item
+Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
+lowered out of existence.
+@item
+Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
+articles completely.
-Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
-current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
+@item
+Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
+should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
+old articles for a long time.
+@end itemize
-@example
-(1-
- (&
- ("from" "Lars")
- ("subject" "Gnus")))
-@end example
+... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
+in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
+Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
+holding our breath yet?
-than it is to say:
-@example
-(&
- (1- ("from" "Lars"))
- (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
-@end example
+@node Kill Files
+@section Kill Files
+@cindex kill files
+Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
+entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
+Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
-@node Score Decays
-@section Score Decays
-@cindex score decays
-@cindex decays
+In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
+than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
+files into score files.
-You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
-bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
-big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
-use them in any sensible way.
+Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
+forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
+sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
+that isn't a very good idea.
-@vindex gnus-decay-scores
-@findex gnus-decay-score
-@vindex gnus-score-decay-function
-Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
-When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
-non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
-mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
-The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
-function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
-definition of that function:
+Normal kill files look like this:
@lisp
-(defun gnus-decay-score (score)
- (floor
- (- score
- (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
- (min score
- (max gnus-score-decay-constant
- (* (abs score)
- gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
+(gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
+(gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
+(gnus-expunge "X")
@end lisp
-@vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
-@vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
-@code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
-@code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
+This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
+marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
-@enumerate
-@item
-Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
+Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
+encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
+interpreting it.
-@item
-Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
+Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
-@item
-Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
-score.
-@end enumerate
+@table @kbd
-If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
-with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
-the new score, which should be an integer.
+@item M-k
+@kindex M-k (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
+Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
-Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
-four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
+@item M-K
+@kindex M-K (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
+Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
+@end table
+Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
-@node Various
-@chapter Various
+@table @kbd
-@menu
-* Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
-* Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
-* Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
-* Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
-* Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
-* Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
-* Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
-* Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
-* Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
-* NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
-* Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
-* Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
-* Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
-* XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
-* Various Various:: Things that are really various.
-@end menu
+@item M-k
+@kindex M-k (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
+Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
+@item M-K
+@kindex M-K (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
+Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
+@end table
-@node Process/Prefix
-@section Process/Prefix
-@cindex process/prefix convention
+Kill file variables:
-Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
-articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
+@table @code
+@item gnus-kill-file-name
+@vindex gnus-kill-file-name
+A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
+@file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
+this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
+The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
+course) is just called @file{KILL}.
-This is a method for figuring out what articles that the user wants the
-command to be performed on.
+@vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
+@item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
+If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
+kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
+kills.
-It goes like this:
+@item gnus-apply-kill-hook
+@vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
+@findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
+@findex gnus-apply-kill-file
+A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
+@code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
+kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
+hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
+kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
-If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
-articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
-negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
-with the current one.
+@item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
+@vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
+A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
-@vindex transient-mark-mode
-If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
-active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
+@end table
-If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
-process mark, perform the operation on the articles that are marked with
-the process mark.
-If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
-process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
+@node Converting Kill Files
+@section Converting Kill Files
+@cindex kill files
+@cindex converting kill files
-Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
-are avoided.
+If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
+score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
+the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
+by hand.
-Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
-process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
-marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
-@kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
+The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
+You can fetch it from
+@file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
-@vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
-One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
-instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
-Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
-goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
-will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
-summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
-@code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
+If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
+non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
+hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
+before.
-@node Interactive
-@section Interactive
-@cindex interaction
+@node GroupLens
+@section GroupLens
+@cindex GroupLens
-@table @code
+GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
+together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
+huge volume of news articles generated every day.
-@item gnus-novice-user
-@vindex gnus-novice-user
-If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
-World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
-really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
-to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
-default.
+To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
+articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
+likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
+article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
+rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
+Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
+of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
+prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
+article.
-@item gnus-expert-user
-@vindex gnus-expert-user
-If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
-questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
-matter how strange.
+@menu
+* Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
+* Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
+* Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
+* GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
+@end menu
-@item gnus-interactive-catchup
-@vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
-Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
-is @code{t} by default.
-@item gnus-interactive-exit
-@vindex gnus-interactive-exit
-Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
-default.
-@end table
+@node Using GroupLens
+@subsection Using GroupLens
+To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
+Bit Bureau (BBB).
+@samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
+better bit in town at the moment.
-@node Formatting Variables
-@section Formatting Variables
-@cindex formatting variables
+Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
-Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables that
-are called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
-@code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
-output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
-Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
-be annoyed by.
+@table @code
-Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
-%(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
-lots of percentages everywhere.
+@item gnus-use-grouplens
+@vindex gnus-use-grouplens
+Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
+all the relevant GroupLens functions.
-@menu
-* Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
-* Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
-* User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
-* Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
-@end menu
+@item grouplens-pseudonym
+@vindex grouplens-pseudonym
+This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
+with the Better Bit Bureau.
-Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
-@code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
-@code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
-@code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
-@code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
-@code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
-@code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
-@code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
+@item grouplens-newsgroups
+@vindex grouplens-newsgroups
+A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
-All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
-case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
+@end table
-@kindex M-x gnus-update-format
-@findex gnus-update-format
-Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
-specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
-update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
-examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
+That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
+Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
+articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
+the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
+yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
+you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
+@node Rating Articles
+@subsection Rating Articles
-@node Formatting Basics
-@subsection Formatting Basics
+In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
+Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
+means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
+yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
+like this one?"
-Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
-buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
-spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
+There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
-As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
-modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
-@dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
-@samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
-padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
-the right instead.
+@table @kbd
-You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
-particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
-means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
-less than 4 characters wide.
+@item r
+@kindex r (GroupLens)
+@findex bbb-summary-rate-article
+This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
+@item k
+@kindex k (GroupLens)
+@findex grouplens-score-thread
+This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
+the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
+threads in rec.humor.
-@node Advanced Formatting
-@subsection Advanced Formatting
+@end table
-It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
-Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
-be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
-look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
+The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
+the score of the article you're reading.
-These are the legal modifiers:
+@table @kbd
-@table @code
-@item pad
-@itemx pad-left
-Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
-length.
+@item 1-5 n
+@kindex n (GroupLens)
+@findex grouplens-next-unread-article
+Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
-@item pad-right
-Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
-length.
+@item 1-5 ,
+@kindex , (GroupLens)
+@findex grouplens-best-unread-article
+Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
-@item max
-@itemx max-left
-Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
+@end table
-@item max-right
-Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
-length.
+If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
+next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
-@item cut
-@itemx cut-left
-Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
-@item cut-right
-Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
+@node Displaying Predictions
+@subsection Displaying Predictions
-@item ignore
-Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
+GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
+news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
+5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
+from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
+@code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
-@item form
-Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
-used.
-@end table
+@vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
+There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
+choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
+regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
+people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
+the separate scoring behavior you need to set
+@code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
+GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
+@code{'override} and to combine the scores set
+@code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
+the combine option you will also want to set the values for
+@code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
+@code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
-Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
-will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
-This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
-the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
-@samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
-maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
-than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
+@vindex grouplens-prediction-display
+In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
+to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
+controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
-Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
-last operation, padding.
+The following are valid values for that variable.
-If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
-quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
-gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
-@xref{Compilation}.
+@table @code
+@item prediction-spot
+The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
+displayed.
+@item confidence-interval
+A numeric confidence interval.
-@node User-Defined Specs
-@subsection User-Defined Specs
+@item prediction-bar
+The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
-All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
-The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
-will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
-@samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
-a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
-it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
-be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
-specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
-should protect against that.
+@item confidence-bar
+Numerical confidence.
-You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
-much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
-@samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
-given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
-inserted.
+@item confidence-spot
+The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
+@item prediction-num
+Plain-old numeric value.
-@node Formatting Fonts
-@subsection Formatting Fonts
+@item confidence-plus-minus
+Prediction +/- confidence.
-There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
-variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
-the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
-highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
-over it.
+@end table
-Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
-normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
-default. If you say @samp{%1[} instead, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1}
-instead, and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes
-for the @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
-@samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
-Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
+@node GroupLens Variables
+@subsection GroupLens Variables
-@lisp
-;; Create three face types.
-(setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
-(setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
+@table @code
-;; We want the article count to be in
-;; a bold and green face. So we create
-;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
-(copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
-;; Set the color.
-(set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
-(setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
+@item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
+The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
+accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
+Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
+%s\n}.
-;; Set the new & fancy format.
-(setq gnus-group-line-format
- "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
-@end lisp
+@item grouplens-bbb-host
+Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
+default.
-I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
-and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
+@item grouplens-bbb-port
+Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
-Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
-mode-line variables.
+@item grouplens-score-offset
+Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
+prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
+default is 0.
+@item grouplens-score-scale-factor
+This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
+The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
-@node Windows Configuration
-@section Windows Configuration
-@cindex windows configuration
+@end table
-No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
-@vindex gnus-use-full-window
-If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
-other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
-@code{t} by default.
+@node Advanced Scoring
+@section Advanced Scoring
-@vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
-@code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
-buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
+Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
+really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
+about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
+read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
+want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
-@lisp
-((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
- (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
- (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
- (article 1.0))))
-@end lisp
+By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
+scoring patterns.
-This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
-other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
-configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
-possible names is listed below.
+@menu
+* Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
+* Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
+* Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
+@end menu
-The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
-should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
-@lisp
-(article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
- (article 1.0)))
-@end lisp
+@node Advanced Scoring Syntax
+@subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
-This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
-half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
-you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
-reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
-@code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
-rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
-whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
-size spec per split.
+Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
+Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
+element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
+non-@code{nil} value.
-Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
-@code{point}.
+These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
+operator, and various match operators.
-Here's a more complicated example:
+Logical operators:
-@lisp
-(article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
- (summary 0.25 point)
- (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
- (article 1.0)))
-@end lisp
+@table @code
+@item &
+@itemx and
+This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
+one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
+evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
+@code{true}.
-If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
-then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
-occupy, not a percentage.
+@item |
+@itemx or
+This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
+one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
+then this operator will return @code{false}.
-If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
-precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
-split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
-be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
-@code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
-is non-@code{nil}.
+@item !
+@itemx not
+@itemx ¬
+This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
+logical negation of the value of its argument.
-Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
+@end table
-@lisp
-(article (horizontal 1.0
- (vertical 0.5
- (group 1.0)
- (gnus-carpal 4))
- (vertical 1.0
- (summary 0.25 point)
- (summary-carpal 4)
- (article 1.0))))
-@end lisp
+There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
+apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
+instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
+current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
+grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
+@code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
+the ancestry you want to go.
-Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
-@code{horizontal} thingie?
+Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
+real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
+and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
+"Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
+simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
-If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
-split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
-Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
-fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
-the screen is to be given to this strip.
-For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
-The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
-lines from the splits.
+@node Advanced Scoring Examples
+@subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
-To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a legal split
-may look like:
+Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
+when he's talking about Gnus:
@example
-split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
-frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
-horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
-vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
-buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
-size = number | frame-params
-buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
+((&
+ ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
+ ("subject" "Gnus"))
+ 1000)
@end example
-The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
-top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
-return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
-may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
+Quite simple, huh?
-@vindex gnus-window-min-width
-@vindex gnus-window-min-height
-@cindex window height
-@cindex window width
-Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
-than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
-windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
-characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
-splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
-you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
+When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
-If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
-@code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
-Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
-windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
+@example
+((&
+ ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
+ (|
+ ("subject" "Gnus")
+ ("lines" 100 >)))
+ 1000)
+@end example
-@findex gnus-configure-frame
-If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
-@code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
-that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
-nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
-three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
-@code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
-look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
-Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
-@code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
-configuration list.
+However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
+really don't want to read what he's written:
-@lisp
-(gnus-configure-frame
- '(horizontal 1.0
- (vertical 10
- (group 1.0)
- (article 0.3 point))
- (vertical 1.0
- (article 1.0)
- (horizontal 4
- (group 1.0)
- (article 10)))))
-@end lisp
+@example
+((&
+ ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
+ (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
+ -100000)
+@end example
-You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
-@code{frame} split:
+Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
+socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
+white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
+very interesting:
-@lisp
-(gnus-configure-frame
- '(frame 1.0
- (vertical 1.0
- (summary 0.25 point)
- (article 1.0))
- (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
- (user-position . t)
- (left . -1) (top . 1))
- (picon 1.0))))
+@example
+((&
+ (1-
+ (&
+ ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
+ ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
+ (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
+ ("body" "white.*socks"))
+ 1000)
+@end example
-@end lisp
+The possibilities are endless.
-This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
-configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
-frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
-instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
-should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
-@xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
-Reference Manual}.
-Here's a list of all possible keys for
-@code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
+@node Advanced Scoring Tips
+@subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
-@code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
-@code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
-@code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
-@code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
-@code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
-@code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}.
+The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
+That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
+result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
+of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
+the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
+(@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
+@samp{subject}) first.
-Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
-@code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
-it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
-might be used:
+The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
+arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
+something like:
-@lisp
-(message (horizontal 1.0
- (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
- (vertical 0.24
- (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
- '(summary 0.5))
- (group 1.0)))))
-@end lisp
+@example
+...
+(1-
+ (1-
+ ("from" "lars")))
+...
+@end example
-@findex gnus-add-configuration
-Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
-complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
-of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
-you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
+Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
+current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
-@lisp
-(gnus-add-configuration
- '(article (vertical 1.0
- (group 4)
- (summary .25 point)
- (article 1.0))))
-@end lisp
+@example
+(1-
+ (&
+ ("from" "Lars")
+ ("subject" "Gnus")))
+@end example
-You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
-@file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
-Gnus has been loaded.
+than it is to say:
-@vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
-If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
-won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
-``right'' window configuration, you can set
-@code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
+@example
+(&
+ (1- ("from" "Lars"))
+ (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
+@end example
-@node Compilation
-@section Compilation
-@cindex compilation
-@cindex byte-compilation
+@node Score Decays
+@section Score Decays
+@cindex score decays
+@cindex decays
-@findex gnus-compile
-
-Remember all those line format specification variables?
-@code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
-on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
-unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
-(The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
-associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
-course.)
+You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
+bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
+big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
+use them in any sensible way.
-To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
-fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
-satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
-you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
-@file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
-this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
-them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
+@vindex gnus-decay-scores
+@findex gnus-decay-score
+@vindex gnus-score-decay-function
+Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
+When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
+non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
+mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
+The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
+function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
+definition of that function:
+@lisp
+(defun gnus-decay-score (score)
+ "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant' and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
+ (floor
+ (- score
+ (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
+ (min (abs score)
+ (max gnus-score-decay-constant
+ (* (abs score)
+ gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
+@end lisp
-@node Mode Lines
-@section Mode Lines
-@cindex mode lines
+@vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
+@vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
+@code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
+@code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
-@vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
-@code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
-lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
-@code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
-@code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
-Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
-pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
-quicker.
+@enumerate
+@item
+Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
-@cindex display-time
+@item
+Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
-@vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
-By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
-lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
-to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
-mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
-@code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
-elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
-additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
-this variable:
+@item
+Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
+score.
+@end enumerate
-@c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'display-time-hook
- (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
- (+ 21
- (if line-number-mode 5 0)
- (if column-number-mode 4 0)
- (length display-time-string)))))
-@end lisp
+If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
+with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
+the new score, which should be an integer.
-If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
-strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either.
-Note that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the
-percentage complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line;
-the user should configure this variable appropriately for their
-configuration.
+Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
+four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
-@node Highlighting and Menus
-@section Highlighting and Menus
-@cindex visual
-@cindex highlighting
-@cindex menus
+@node Various
+@chapter Various
-@vindex gnus-visual
-The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the prettifying Gnus
-aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
-colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
-file.
+@menu
+* Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
+* Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
+* Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
+* Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
+* Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
+* Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
+* Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
+* Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
+* Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
+* Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
+* Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
+* NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
+* Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
+* Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
+* XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
+* Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
+* Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolited commercial email.
+* Various Various:: Things that are really various.
+@end menu
-This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
-following elements are legal, and are all included by default:
-@table @code
-@item group-highlight
-Do highlights in the group buffer.
-@item summary-highlight
-Do highlights in the summary buffer.
-@item article-highlight
-Do highlights in the article buffer.
-@item highlight
-Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
-@item group-menu
-Create menus in the group buffer.
-@item summary-menu
-Create menus in the summary buffers.
-@item article-menu
-Create menus in the article buffer.
-@item browse-menu
-Create menus in the browse buffer.
-@item server-menu
-Create menus in the server buffer.
-@item score-menu
-Create menus in the score buffers.
-@item menu
-Create menus in all buffers.
-@end table
+@node Process/Prefix
+@section Process/Prefix
+@cindex process/prefix convention
-So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
-buffers, you could say something like:
+Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
+articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
-@end lisp
+This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
+command to be performed on.
-If you want only highlighting and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
+It goes like this:
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
-@end lisp
+If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
+articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
+negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
+with the current one.
-If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
-in all Gnus buffers.
+@vindex transient-mark-mode
+If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
+active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
-Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
+If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
+process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
+the process mark.
-@table @code
-@item gnus-mouse-face
-@vindex gnus-mouse-face
-This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
-mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
+If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
+process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
-@end table
+Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
+are avoided.
-There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
+Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
+process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
+marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
+@kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
-@table @code
+@vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
+One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
+instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
+Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
+goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
+will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
+summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
+@code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
-@item gnus-article-menu-hook
-@vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
-Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
-@item gnus-group-menu-hook
-@vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
-Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
+@node Interactive
+@section Interactive
+@cindex interaction
-@item gnus-summary-menu-hook
-@vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
-Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
+@table @code
-@item gnus-server-menu-hook
-@vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
-Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
+@item gnus-novice-user
+@vindex gnus-novice-user
+If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
+World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
+really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
+to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
+default.
-@item gnus-browse-menu-hook
-@vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
-Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
+@item gnus-expert-user
+@vindex gnus-expert-user
+If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
+questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
+matter how strange.
-@item gnus-score-menu-hook
-@vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
-Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
+@item gnus-interactive-catchup
+@vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
+Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
+is @code{t} by default.
+@item gnus-interactive-exit
+@vindex gnus-interactive-exit
+Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
+default.
@end table
-@node Buttons
-@section Buttons
-@cindex buttons
-@cindex mouse
-@cindex click
-
-Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
-young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
-these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
-using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
-machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
+@node Symbolic Prefixes
+@section Symbolic Prefixes
+@cindex symbolic prefixes
-Right.
+Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
+instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four charaters forward, and
+@kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
+rule of 900 to the current article.
-@vindex gnus-carpal
-Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
-do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
-really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
+This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
+additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
+``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
+doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
+for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
+file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
+same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
+@kindex M-i (Summary)
+@findex gnus-symbolic-argument
+I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
+prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
+character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
+prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
+command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
+``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
+@code{b}''. You get the drift.
-@table @code
+Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
+hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
+functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
-@item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
-@vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
-Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
+If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
+Interactive}.
-@item gnus-carpal-button-face
-@vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
-Face used on buttons.
-@item gnus-carpal-header-face
-@vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
-Face used on carpal buffer headers.
+@node Formatting Variables
+@section Formatting Variables
+@cindex formatting variables
-@item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
-@vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
-Buttons in the group buffer.
+Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
+@code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
+output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
+Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
+be annoyed by.
-@item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
-@vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
-Buttons in the summary buffer.
+Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
+%(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
+lots of percentages everywhere.
-@item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
-@vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
-Buttons in the server buffer.
+@menu
+* Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
+* Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
+* User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
+* Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
+@end menu
-@item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
-@vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
-Buttons in the browse buffer.
-@end table
+Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
+@code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
+@code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
+@code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
+@code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
+@code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
+@code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
+@code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
-All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
-is either a cons cell where the car contains a text to be displayed and
-the cdr contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
+All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
+case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
+@kindex M-x gnus-update-format
+@findex gnus-update-format
+Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
+specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
+update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
+examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
-@node Daemons
-@section Daemons
-@cindex demons
-@cindex daemons
-Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
-of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
-present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
-while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
-when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
-Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
-@dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
-@var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
+@node Formatting Basics
+@subsection Formatting Basics
-Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
-been idle for thirty minutes:
+Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
+buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
+spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
-@lisp
-(gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
-@end lisp
+As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
+modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
+@dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
+@samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
+padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
+the right instead.
-Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
-idle:
+You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
+particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
+means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
+less than 4 characters wide.
-@lisp
-(gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
-@end lisp
-This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter works together
-in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
-@code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
+@node Advanced Formatting
+@subsection Advanced Formatting
-If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
-@var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
-the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
-function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
+It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
+Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
+be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
+look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
-If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
-be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
-@var{idle} minutes.
+These are the valid modifiers:
-If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
-will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
-minutes.
+@table @code
+@item pad
+@itemx pad-left
+Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
+length.
-And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
-the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
-time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
+@item pad-right
+Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
+length.
-@vindex gnus-demon-timestep
-(When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
-seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
-all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
+@item max
+@itemx max-left
+Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
-@vindex gnus-use-demon
-To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
-@code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
+@item max-right
+Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
+length.
-So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
-your @file{.gnus} file:
+@item cut
+@itemx cut-left
+Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
-@findex gnus-demon-add-handler
-@lisp
-(gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
-@end lisp
+@item cut-right
+Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
-@findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
-@findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
-@findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
-@findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
-Some ready-made functions to do this has been created:
-@code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
-@code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just
-put those functions in your @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
+@item ignore
+Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
-@findex gnus-demon-init
-@findex gnus-demon-cancel
-@vindex gnus-demon-handlers
-If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
-run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
-daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
+@item form
+Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
+used.
+@end table
-Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
-functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
-is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
-behave.
+Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
+will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
+This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
+the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
+@samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
+maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
+than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
+Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
+last operation, padding.
-@node NoCeM
-@section NoCeM
-@cindex nocem
-@cindex spam
+If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
+quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
+gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
+@xref{Compilation}.
-@dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
-Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
-Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
-agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
-NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
-implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
-away.
+@node User-Defined Specs
+@subsection User-Defined Specs
-What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
-Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
-from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
-messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
+All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
+The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
+will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
+@samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
+a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
+it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
+be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
+specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
+should protect against that.
-Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
-this will make spam disappear.
+You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
+much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
+@samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
+given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
+inserted.
-There are some variables to customize, of course:
-@table @code
-@item gnus-use-nocem
-@vindex gnus-use-nocem
-Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
-by default.
+@node Formatting Fonts
+@subsection Formatting Fonts
-@item gnus-nocem-groups
-@vindex gnus-nocem-groups
-Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
-default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
-"alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
+There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
+variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
+the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
+highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
+over it.
-@item gnus-nocem-issuers
-@vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
-There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
-people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
-"clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;" "jem@@xpat.com;" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
-(Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
+Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
+normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
+default. If you say @samp{%1[}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
+and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
+@code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
+@samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
-Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
+Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
-@table @samp
-@item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
-@cindex Chris Lewis
-Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
-usenet abuse than anybody else.
+@lisp
+;; Create three face types.
+(setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
+(setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
-@item Automoose-1
-@cindex CancelMoose[tm]
-The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
-Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
+;; We want the article count to be in
+;; a bold and green face. So we create
+;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
+(copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
+;; Set the color.
+(set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
+(setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
-@item jem@@xpat.com;
-@cindex Jem
-John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
-days.
-
-@item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
-Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
-postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
-@end table
-
-You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
-ones you want to listen to.
-
-@item gnus-nocem-verifyer
-@vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
-@findex mc-verify
-This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
-says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
-function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
-(which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
-
-@item gnus-nocem-directory
-@vindex gnus-nocem-directory
-This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
-@file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
-
-@item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
-@vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
-The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
-The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
-might then see old spam.
-
-@end table
-
-
-@node Picons
-@section Picons
-
-So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
-good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
-over your shoulder as you read news.
-
-@menu
-* Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
-* Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
-* Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
-* Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
-* Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
-@end menu
+;; Set the new & fancy format.
+(setq gnus-group-line-format
+ "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
+@end lisp
+I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
+and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
-@node Picon Basics
-@subsection Picon Basics
+Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
+mode-line variables.
-What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
-@quotation
-@dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
-constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
-organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
-e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
-databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
-in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
-@code{GIF} formats.
-@end quotation
+@node Windows Configuration
+@section Windows Configuration
+@cindex windows configuration
-For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
-your Web browser at
-@file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
+No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
-@vindex gnus-picons-database
-Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
-@code{gnus-picons-database}.
+@vindex gnus-use-full-window
+If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
+other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
+@code{t} by default.
+@vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
+@code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
+buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
-@node Picon Requirements
-@subsection Picon Requirements
+@lisp
+((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
+ (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
+ (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
+ (article 1.0))))
+@end lisp
-To use have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
-19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
-display images.
+This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
+other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
+configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
+possible names is listed below.
-Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
+The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
+should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
-@vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
-If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
-the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
-@code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
+@lisp
+(article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
+ (article 1.0)))
+@end lisp
+This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
+half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
+you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
+reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
+@code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
+rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
+whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
+size spec per split.
-@node Easy Picons
-@subsection Easy Picons
+Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
+@code{point}.
-To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
-@file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
+Here's a more complicated example:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-use-picons t)
-(add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
-(add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
-(add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
+(article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
+ (summary 0.25 point)
+ (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
+ (article 1.0)))
@end lisp
+If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
+then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
+occupy, not a percentage.
-@node Hard Picons
-@subsection Hard Picons
+If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
+precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
+split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
+be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
+@code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
+is non-@code{nil}.
-Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
-articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
-database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
-author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
-feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
+Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
-@table @code
+@lisp
+(article (horizontal 1.0
+ (vertical 0.5
+ (group 1.0)
+ (gnus-carpal 4))
+ (vertical 1.0
+ (summary 0.25 point)
+ (summary-carpal 4)
+ (article 1.0))))
+@end lisp
-@item gnus-picons-display-where
-@vindex gnus-picons-display-where
-Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
-default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
-valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
-@samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
-buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
-routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
+Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
+@code{horizontal} thingie?
-@end table
+If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
+split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
+Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
+fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
+the screen is to be given to this strip.
-Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
-window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
+For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
+The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
+lines from the splits.
-Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
-functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
-displayed at the right time.
+To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
+may look like:
-@vindex gnus-article-display-hook
-@vindex gnus-picons-display-where
-@table @code
-@item gnus-article-display-picons
-@findex gnus-article-display-picons
-Looks up and display the picons for the author and the author's domain
-in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to
-the @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
+@example
+split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
+frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
+horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
+vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
+buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
+size = number | frame-params
+buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
+@end example
-@item gnus-group-display-picons
-@findex gnus-article-display-picons
-Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
-be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
-@code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
-is set to @code{article}.
+The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
+top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
+return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
+may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
-@item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
-@findex gnus-article-display-picons
-Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
-should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
+@vindex gnus-window-min-width
+@vindex gnus-window-min-height
+@cindex window height
+@cindex window width
+Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
+than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
+windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
+characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
+splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
+you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
-@end table
+If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
+@code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
+Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
+windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
-Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
-to the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
+@findex gnus-configure-frame
+If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
+@code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
+that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
+nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
+three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
+@code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
+look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
+Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
+@code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
+configuration list.
@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
+(gnus-configure-frame
+ '(horizontal 1.0
+ (vertical 10
+ (group 1.0)
+ (article 0.3 point))
+ (vertical 1.0
+ (article 1.0)
+ (horizontal 4
+ (group 1.0)
+ (article 10)))))
@end lisp
+You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
+@code{frame} split:
-@node Picon Configuration
-@subsection Picon Configuration
+@lisp
+(gnus-configure-frame
+ '(frame 1.0
+ (vertical 1.0
+ (summary 0.25 point)
+ (article 1.0))
+ (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
+ (user-position . t)
+ (left . -1) (top . 1))
+ (picon 1.0))))
-The following variables offer further control over how things are
-done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
-don't need to worry about.
+@end lisp
-@table @code
-@item gnus-picons-database
-@vindex gnus-picons-database
-The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
-containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
-subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces}.
+This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
+configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
+frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
+instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
+should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
+@xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
+Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
+accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
+is such a plist.
-@item gnus-picons-news-directory
-@vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
-Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
-newsgroups.
+Here's a list of all possible keys for
+@code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
-@item gnus-picons-user-directories
-@vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
-List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
-faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc/MISC")} is the default.
+@code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
+@code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
+@code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
+@code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
+@code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
+@code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
-@item gnus-picons-domain-directories
-@vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
-List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
-domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
-want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
+Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
+@code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
+it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
+might be used:
-@item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
-@vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
-The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
-(@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
-Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
-gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
+@lisp
+(message (horizontal 1.0
+ (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
+ (vertical 0.24
+ (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
+ '(summary 0.5))
+ (group 1.0)))))
+@end lisp
-@item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
-@vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
-Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
-to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
+@findex gnus-add-configuration
+Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
+complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
+of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
+you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
-@item gnus-picons-buffer
-@vindex gnus-picons-buffer
-The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
-@samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
+@lisp
+(gnus-add-configuration
+ '(article (vertical 1.0
+ (group 4)
+ (summary .25 point)
+ (article 1.0))))
+@end lisp
-@end table
+You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
+@file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
+Gnus has been loaded.
+@vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
+If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
+won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
+``right'' window configuration, you can set
+@code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
-@node Undo
-@section Undo
-@cindex undo
-It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
-Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
-In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
+@node Faces and Fonts
+@section Faces and Fonts
+@cindex faces
+@cindex fonts
+@cindex colors
-The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
-Gnus---it's all just data that is designed to look nice to the user.
-Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
-disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
-removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
-Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
-@code{undo} function.
+Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
+it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
+the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
+interface.
-Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
-does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
-takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
-the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
-However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
-a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
-yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
-That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
-added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
-never be totally undoable.
-@findex gnus-undo-mode
-@vindex gnus-use-undo
-@findex gnus-undo
-The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
-is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
-default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
-command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
-command.
+@node Compilation
+@section Compilation
+@cindex compilation
+@cindex byte-compilation
+@findex gnus-compile
-@node Moderation
-@section Moderation
-@cindex moderation
+Remember all those line format specification variables?
+@code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
+on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
+unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
+(The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
+associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
+course.)
-If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
-It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
-@samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
-get a copy.
+To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
+fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
+satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
+you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
+@file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
+this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
+them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
-The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
-buffers. Put
+@node Mode Lines
+@section Mode Lines
+@cindex mode lines
+
+@vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
+@code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
+lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
+@code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
+@code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
+Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
+pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
+quicker.
+
+@cindex display-time
+
+@vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
+By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
+lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
+to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
+mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
+@code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
+elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
+additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
+this variable:
+
+@c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
+(add-hook 'display-time-hook
+ (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
+ (+ 21
+ (if line-number-mode 5 0)
+ (if column-number-mode 4 0)
+ (length display-time-string)))))
@end lisp
-in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
+If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
+strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
+that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
+complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
+configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
-If you are the moderation of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
-supposed to work:
-@enumerate
-@item
-You split your incoming mail by matching on
-@samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
-articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
+@node Highlighting and Menus
+@section Highlighting and Menus
+@cindex visual
+@cindex highlighting
+@cindex menus
-@item
-You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
-(edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
+@vindex gnus-visual
+The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
+aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
+colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
+file.
-@item
-If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
-articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
-@kbd{c} command.
-@end enumerate
+This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
+following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
-To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
+@table @code
+@item group-highlight
+Do highlights in the group buffer.
+@item summary-highlight
+Do highlights in the summary buffer.
+@item article-highlight
+Do highlights in the article buffer.
+@item highlight
+Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
+@item group-menu
+Create menus in the group buffer.
+@item summary-menu
+Create menus in the summary buffers.
+@item article-menu
+Create menus in the article buffer.
+@item browse-menu
+Create menus in the browse buffer.
+@item server-menu
+Create menus in the server buffer.
+@item score-menu
+Create menus in the score buffers.
+@item menu
+Create menus in all buffers.
+@end table
+
+So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
+buffers, you could say something like:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-moderated-list
- "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
+(setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
@end lisp
+If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
-@node XEmacs Enhancements
-@section XEmacs Enhancements
-@cindex XEmacs
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
+@end lisp
-XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
-advantage of that. Relevant variables include:
+If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
+in all Gnus buffers.
+
+Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
@table @code
-@item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
-@vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
-This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
-auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
-unusual directory structure.
+@item gnus-mouse-face
+@vindex gnus-mouse-face
+This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
+mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
-@item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
-@vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
-This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
-foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
+@end table
-@item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
-@vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
-This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
-Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
-@code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
-@code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
-
-@item gnus-use-toolbar
-@vindex gnus-use-toolbar
-If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
-one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
-@code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
+There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
-@item gnus-group-toolbar
-@vindex gnus-group-toolbar
-The toolbar in the group buffer.
+@table @code
-@item gnus-summary-toolbar
-@vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
-The toolbar in the summary buffer.
+@item gnus-article-menu-hook
+@vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
+Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
-@item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
-@vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
-The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
+@item gnus-group-menu-hook
+@vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
+Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
-@item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
-@vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
-A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
-default.
+@item gnus-summary-menu-hook
+@vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
+Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
-@end table
+@item gnus-server-menu-hook
+@vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
+Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
+@item gnus-browse-menu-hook
+@vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
+Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
-@node Various Various
-@section Various Various
-@cindex mode lines
-@cindex highlights
+@item gnus-score-menu-hook
+@vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
+Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
-@table @code
+@end table
-@item gnus-directory
-@vindex gnus-directory
-All Gnus directories will be initialized from this variable, which
-defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or @file{~/News/}
-if that variable isn't set.
-@item gnus-default-directory
-@vindex gnus-default-directory
-Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
-default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
-like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
-default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
-default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
-buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
+@node Buttons
+@section Buttons
+@cindex buttons
+@cindex mouse
+@cindex click
-@item gnus-verbose
-@vindex gnus-verbose
-This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
-the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
-will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
-most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
-shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
+Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
+young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
+these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
+using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
+machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
-@item gnus-verbose-backends
-@vindex gnus-verbose-backends
-This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
-to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
+Right.
-@item nnheader-max-head-length
-@vindex nnheader-max-head-length
-When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
-as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
-the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
-on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
-variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
-@code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
-but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
-@code{ange-ftp}.
+@vindex gnus-carpal
+Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
+do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
+really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
-@item nnheader-head-chop-length
-@vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
-This variable says how big a piece of each article to read when doing
-the operation described above.
-@item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
-@vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
-@cindex file names
-@cindex illegal characters in file names
-@cindex characters in file names
-This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
-For instance, if @samp{:} is illegal as a file character in file names
-on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
+@table @code
-@lisp
-(setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
- '((?: . ?_)))
-@end lisp
+@item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
+@vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
+Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
-In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
-Windows (phooey) systems.
+@item gnus-carpal-button-face
+@vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
+Face used on buttons.
-@item gnus-hidden-properties
-@vindex gnus-hidden-properties
-This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
-@code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
-makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
+@item gnus-carpal-header-face
+@vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
+Face used on carpal buffer headers.
-@item gnus-parse-headers-hook
-@vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
-A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
-gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
-some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
+@item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
+@vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
+Buttons in the group buffer.
-@item gnus-shell-command-separator
-@vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
-String used to separate to shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
+@item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
+@vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
+Buttons in the summary buffer.
+@item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
+@vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
+Buttons in the server buffer.
+@item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
+@vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
+Buttons in the browse buffer.
@end table
+All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
+are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
+the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
-@node The End
-@chapter The End
-Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
-touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
+@node Daemons
+@section Daemons
+@cindex demons
+@cindex daemons
-My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
+Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
+of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
+present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
+while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
+when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
-Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
+Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
+@dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
+@var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
-@quotation
-@strong{Te Deum}
+Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
+been idle for thirty minutes:
-@sp 1
-Not because of victories @*
-I sing,@*
-having none,@*
-but for the common sunshine,@*
-the breeze,@*
-the largess of the spring.
+@lisp
+(gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
+@end lisp
-@sp 1
-Not for victory@*
-but for the day's work done@*
-as well as I was able;@*
-not for a seat upon the dais@*
-but at the common table.@*
-@end quotation
+Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
+idle:
+@lisp
+(gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
+@end lisp
-@node Appendices
-@chapter Appendices
+This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
+in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
+@code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
-@menu
-* History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
-* Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
-* Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
-* Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
-* A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
-* Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
-* Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
-@end menu
+If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
+@var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
+the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
+function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
+If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
+be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
+@var{idle} minutes.
-@node History
-@section History
+If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
+will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
+minutes.
-@cindex history
-@sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
-'94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
+And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
+the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
+time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
-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
-distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
-as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
+@vindex gnus-demon-timestep
+(When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
+seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
+all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
-During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
-called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
-@dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
-(Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
-pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
-appropriate name, don't you think?)
+@vindex gnus-use-demon
+To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
+@code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
-In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
-spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
-renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
-``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
+So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
+your @file{.gnus} file:
-The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
-was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
-plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
+@findex gnus-demon-add-handler
+@lisp
+(gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
+@end lisp
-In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
-releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
+@findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
+@findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
+@findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
+@findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
+@findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
+Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
+@code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
+@code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
+@code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
+@code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
+@file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
-On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
-January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4''.
+@findex gnus-demon-init
+@findex gnus-demon-cancel
+@vindex gnus-demon-handlers
+If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
+run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
+daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
-If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a name that is prefixed --
-``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
-don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
-Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
-out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
-to that instead.
+Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
+functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
+is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
+behave.
-@menu
-* Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
-* Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
-* Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
-* Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
-* Contributors:: Oodles of people.
-* New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
-* Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
-@end menu
+@node NoCeM
+@section NoCeM
+@cindex nocem
+@cindex spam
-@node Why?
-@subsection Why?
+@dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
+Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
-What's the point of Gnus?
+Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
+agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
+NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
+implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
+away.
-I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
-newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
-original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
-me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
-Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
-volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
-newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
-newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
-keep track of millions of people who post?
+What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
+Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
+from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
+messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
-Gnus offers 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 @sc{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 could imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one
-of you to explore and invent.
+Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
+this will make spam disappear.
-May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x hail-emacs}.
+There are some variables to customize, of course:
+@table @code
+@item gnus-use-nocem
+@vindex gnus-use-nocem
+Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
+by default.
-@node Compatibility
-@subsection Compatibility
+@item gnus-nocem-groups
+@vindex gnus-nocem-groups
+Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
+default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
+"alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
-@cindex compatibility
-Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
-bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
-but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
+@item gnus-nocem-issuers
+@vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
+There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
+people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
+"rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
+"jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
+(Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
-Our motto is:
-@quotation
-@cartouche
-@center In a cloud bones of steel.
-@end cartouche
-@end quotation
+Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
-All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
-their names.
+@table @samp
+@item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
+@cindex Chris Lewis
+Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
+usenet abuse than anybody else.
-The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @pxref{Decoding
-Articles}.
+@item Automoose-1
+@cindex CancelMoose[tm]
+The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
+Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
-One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
-buffers. All variables that are relevant while reading a group are
-buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
-important variables have their values copied into their global
-counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
-change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
+@item jem@@xpat.com;
+@cindex Jem
+John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
+days.
-All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
-fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
-changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
-maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
-speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
-peculiar results.
+@item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
+Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
+postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
+@end table
-@cindex hilit19
-@cindex highlighting
-Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
-remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
-(@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
-Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
-faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
-by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
-Away!
+You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
+ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
+messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
+header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
+definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
+@samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
+@var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
+either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
+or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
+regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
+
+For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
+@samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
-Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
-fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
-code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
-does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
+@lisp
+("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
+@end lisp
-Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
-new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
-doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
-to stop doing it the old way.
+On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
+@samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
-Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
+@lisp
+("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
+@end lisp
-@kindex M-x gnus-bug
-@findex gnus-bug
-@cindex reporting bugs
-@cindex bugs
-Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
-@sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
-please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
+The specs are applied left-to-right.
-@node Conformity
-@subsection Conformity
+@item gnus-nocem-verifyer
+@vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
+@findex mc-verify
+This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
+says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
+function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
+(which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
-No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
-to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
-with, of course.
+If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
+not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
-@table @strong
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
+
+(defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
+ (not (eq 'forged
+ (ignore-errors
+ (if (mc-verify)
+ t
+ 'forged)))))
+@end lisp
-@item RFC 822
-@cindex RFC 822
-There are no known breaches of this standard.
+This might be dangerous, though.
-@item RFC 1036
-@cindex RFC 1036
-There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
+@item gnus-nocem-directory
+@vindex gnus-nocem-directory
+This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
+@file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
-@item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
-@cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
-Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
-the next inspection.
+@item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
+@vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
+The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
+The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
+might then see old spam.
-@item Son-of-RFC 1036
-@cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
-We do have some breaches to this one.
+@end table
-@table @emph
+Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
+(i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
+big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
+unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
-@item MIME
-Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
-MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
-@item X-Newsreader
-This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
-consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
-coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
-those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
-for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
-@end table
+@node Undo
+@section Undo
+@cindex undo
-@end table
+It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
+Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
+In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
-If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliantly with regards to the texts
-mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
-know.
+The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
+Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
+Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
+disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
+removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
+Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
+@code{undo} function.
+Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
+does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
+takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
+the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
+However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
+a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
+yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
+That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
+added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
+never be totally undoable.
-@node Emacsen
-@subsection Emacsen
-@cindex Emacsen
-@cindex XEmacs
-@cindex Mule
-@cindex Emacs
+@findex gnus-undo-mode
+@vindex gnus-use-undo
+@findex gnus-undo
+The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
+is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
+default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
+command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
+command.
-Gnus should work on :
-@itemize @bullet
+@node Moderation
+@section Moderation
+@cindex moderation
-@item
-Emacs 19.32 and up.
+If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
+It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
+@samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
+get a copy.
-@item
-XEmacs 19.14 and up.
+The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
+buffers. Put
-@item
-Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
+@end lisp
-@end itemize
+in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
-Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
-reliably, at least.
+If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
+supposed to work:
-There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
-platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
-other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
-Emacsen.
+@enumerate
+@item
+You split your incoming mail by matching on
+@samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
+articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
+@item
+You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
+(edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
-@node Contributors
-@subsection Contributors
-@cindex contributors
+@item
+If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
+articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
+@kbd{c} command.
+@end enumerate
-The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
-people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
-gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
-every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
-tried beyond 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.
-Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
-``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
+To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
-I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
-wrong show.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-moderated-list
+ "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
+@end lisp
-@itemize @bullet
-@item
-Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
+@node XEmacs Enhancements
+@section XEmacs Enhancements
+@cindex XEmacs
-@item
-Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
-well as numerous other things).
+XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
+advantage of that.
-@item
-Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
+@menu
+* Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
+* Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
+* Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
+* XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
+@end menu
-@item
-Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
-@item
-Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
-@dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
+@node Picons
+@subsection Picons
-@item
-Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
-(@pxref{GroupLens}).
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\include{picons}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
-@item
-Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
+So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
+good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
+over your shoulder as you read news.
-@item
-Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
+@menu
+* Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
+* Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
+* Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
+* Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
+* Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
+@end menu
-@item
-Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
-@item
-Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
+@node Picon Basics
+@subsubsection Picon Basics
-@item
-Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
-distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
+What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
-@item
-Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\margindex{}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
-@item
-Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
+@quotation
+@dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
+constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
+organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
+e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
+databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
+in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
+@code{GIF} formats.
+@end quotation
-@item
-Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
+For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
+your Web browser at
+@file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
-@item
-Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
-.newsrc files.
+@vindex gnus-picons-database
+Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
+@code{gnus-picons-database}.
-@item
-Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
-@item
-David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
+@node Picon Requirements
+@subsubsection Picon Requirements
-@item
-Ricardo Nassif, Mark Borges, and Jost Krieger---proof-reading.
+To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
+19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
+display images.
-@item
-Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
+Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
-@item
-François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
+@vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
+If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
+the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
+@code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
-@end itemize
-The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
+@node Easy Picons
+@subsubsection Easy Picons
-Christopher Davis,
-Andrew Eskilsson,
-Kai Grossjohann,
-David Kågedal,
-Richard Pieri,
-Fabrice Popineau,
-Daniel Quinlan,
-Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
-and
-Jack Vinson.
+To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
+@file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
-Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-use-picons t)
+(add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
+(add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
+(add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
+@end lisp
-Peter Arius,
-Marc Auslander,
-Chris Bone,
-Mark Borges,
-Lance A. Brown,
-Kees de Bruin,
-Martin Buchholz,
-Kevin Buhr,
-Alastair Burt,
-Joao Cachopo,
-Massimo Campostrini,
-Michael R. Cook,
-Glenn Coombs,
-Frank D. Cringle,
-Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
-Andre Deparade,
-Ulrik Dickow,
-Dave Disser,
-Joev Dubach,
-Paul Eggert,
-Michael Ernst,
-Luc Van Eycken,
-Sam Falkner,
-Paul Franklin,
-David S. Goldberg,
-D. Hall,
-Magnus Hammerin,
-Raja R. Harinath,
-Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
-Marc Horowitz,
-François Felix Ingrand,
-Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
-Lee Iverson,
-Rajappa Iyer,
-Randell Jesup,
-Fred Johansen,
-Greg Klanderman,
-Peter Skov Knudsen,
-Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
-Thor Kristoffersen,
-Jens Lautenbacher,
-Carsten Leonhardt,
-Christian Limpach,
-Markus Linnala,
-Dave Love,
-Tonny Madsen,
-Shlomo Mahlab,
-Nat Makarevitch,
-Timo Metzemakers,
-Richard Mlynarik,
-Lantz Moore,
-Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
-Erik Toubro Nielsen,
-Hrvoje Niksic,
-Andy Norman,
-C. R. Oldham,
-Alexandre Oliva,
-Ken Olstad,
-Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
-Hideki Ono, @c Ono
-William Perry,
-Stephen Peters,
-Ulrich Pfeifer,
-John McClary Prevost,
-Colin Rafferty,
-Bart Robinson,
-Jason Rumney,
-Loren Schall,
-Dan Schmidt,
-Ralph Schleicher,
-Randal L. Schwartz,
-Danny Siu,
-Paul D. Smith,
-Jeff Sparkes,
-Michael Sperber,
-Richard Stallman,
-Greg Stark,
-Paul Stodghill,
-Kurt Swanson,
-Samuel Tardieu,
-Teddy,
-Chuck Thompson,
-Philippe Troin,
-Jan Vroonhof,
-Barry A. Warsaw,
-Christoph Wedler,
-Joe Wells,
-and
-Katsumi Yamaoka. @c Yamaoka
-For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
-included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
-(550kB and counting).
+@node Hard Picons
+@subsubsection Hard Picons
-Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
-sure.
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\margindex{}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
-Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
-actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
+Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
+articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
+database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
+author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
+feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
+
+@table @code
+
+@item gnus-picons-display-where
+@vindex gnus-picons-display-where
+Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
+default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
+valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
+@samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
+buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
+routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
+
+@item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
+@vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
+Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
+displayed.
+
+@end table
+
+Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
+window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
+
+Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
+functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
+displayed at the right time.
+
+@vindex gnus-article-display-hook
+@vindex gnus-picons-display-where
+@table @code
+@item gnus-article-display-picons
+@findex gnus-article-display-picons
+Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
+in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
+@code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
+
+@item gnus-group-display-picons
+@findex gnus-article-display-picons
+Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
+be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
+@code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
+is set to @code{article}.
+
+@item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
+@findex gnus-article-display-picons
+Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
+should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
+
+@end table
+
+Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
+for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
+
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
+@end lisp
+
+
+@node Picon Configuration
+@subsubsection Picon Configuration
+
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\margindex{}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
+The following variables offer further control over how things are
+done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
+don't need to worry about.
+
+@table @code
+@item gnus-picons-database
+@vindex gnus-picons-database
+The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
+containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
+subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
+
+@item gnus-picons-news-directory
+@vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
+Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
+newsgroups.
+
+@item gnus-picons-user-directories
+@vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
+List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
+faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
+
+@item gnus-picons-domain-directories
+@vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
+List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
+domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
+want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
+
+@item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
+@vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
+The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
+(@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
+Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
+gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
+
+@item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
+@vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
+Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
+to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
+
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\margindex{}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
+@item gnus-picons-buffer
+@vindex gnus-picons-buffer
+The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
+@samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
+
+@end table
+
+@node Smileys
+@subsection Smileys
+@cindex smileys
+
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
+\input{smiley}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
+@dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
+currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
+
+In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
+@file{.gnus.el} file:
+
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
+@end lisp
+
+Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
+the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
+faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
+text and maps that to file names.
+
+@vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
+@vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
+Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
+@code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
+and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
+@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
+
+The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
+which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
+
+The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
+element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
+and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
+
+The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
+files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
+
+@table @code
+
+@item smiley-data-directory
+@vindex smiley-data-directory
+Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
+
+@item smiley-flesh-color
+@vindex smiley-flesh-color
+Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
+
+@item smiley-features-color
+@vindex smiley-features-color
+Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
+
+@item smiley-tongue-color
+@vindex smiley-tongue-color
+Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
+
+@item smiley-circle-color
+@vindex smiley-circle-color
+Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
+
+@item smiley-mouse-face
+@vindex smiley-mouse-face
+Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
+
+@end table
+
+
+@node Toolbar
+@subsection Toolbar
+
+@table @code
+
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\margindex{}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
+@item gnus-use-toolbar
+@vindex gnus-use-toolbar
+If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
+one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
+@code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
+
+@item gnus-group-toolbar
+@vindex gnus-group-toolbar
+The toolbar in the group buffer.
+
+@item gnus-summary-toolbar
+@vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
+The toolbar in the summary buffer.
+
+@item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
+@vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
+The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
+
+@end table
+
+
+@node XVarious
+@subsection Various XEmacs Variables
+
+@table @code
+@item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
+@vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
+This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
+auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
+unusual directory structure.
+
+@item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
+@vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
+This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
+foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
+
+@item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
+@vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
+This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
+Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
+@code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
+@code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
+
+@item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
+@vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
+A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
+default.
+
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\margindex{}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
+@end table
+
+
+
+
+@node Fuzzy Matching
+@section Fuzzy Matching
+@cindex fuzzy matching
+
+Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
+things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
+
+As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
+It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
+means, and the implementation has changed over time.
+
+Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
+@samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
+out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
+adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
+manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
+
+
+@node Thwarting Email Spam
+@section Thwarting Email Spam
+@cindex email spam
+@cindex spam
+@cindex UCE
+@cindex unsolicited commercial email
+
+In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
+and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
+foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
+people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
+lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
+people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
+well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
+perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
+in the end.
+
+The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
+false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
+have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
+mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
+(``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrouos hair on your toes!'')
+and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
+
+This is annoying.
+
+The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
+@samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
+
+First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
+put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
+chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
+@samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
+sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
+part of the mail address.)
+
+@lisp
+(setq message-default-news-headers
+ "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
+@end lisp
+
+Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
+(@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
+
+@lisp
+(
+ ...
+ (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
+ (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
+ ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
+ "spam"))
+ ...
+)
+@end lisp
+
+This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
+@code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
+header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
+(This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
+
+In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
+and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
+header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
+twarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
+put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
+your fancy split rule in this way:
+
+@lisp
+(
+ ...
+ (to "larsi" "misc")
+ "spam")
+@end lisp
+
+In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
+group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
+check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
+citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
+each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
+
+If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
+automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, availiable FOR FREE
+at @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
+Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
+cosmic balance somewhat.
+
+This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
+just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
+spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
+to non-existant domains is yucky, in my opinion.
+
+
+@node Various Various
+@section Various Various
+@cindex mode lines
+@cindex highlights
+
+@table @code
+
+@item gnus-home-directory
+All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
+defaults to @file{~/}.
+
+@item gnus-directory
+@vindex gnus-directory
+Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
+which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
+@file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
+
+@item gnus-default-directory
+@vindex gnus-default-directory
+Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
+default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
+like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
+default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
+default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
+buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
+
+@item gnus-verbose
+@vindex gnus-verbose
+This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
+the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
+will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
+most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
+shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
+
+@item gnus-verbose-backends
+@vindex gnus-verbose-backends
+This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
+to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
+
+@item nnheader-max-head-length
+@vindex nnheader-max-head-length
+When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
+as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
+the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
+on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
+variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
+@code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
+but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
+@code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
+
+@item nnheader-head-chop-length
+@vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
+This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
+read when doing the operation described above.
+
+@item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
+@vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
+@cindex file names
+@cindex invalid characters in file names
+@cindex characters in file names
+This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
+For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
+on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
+
+@lisp
+(setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
+ '((?: . ?_)))
+@end lisp
+
+In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
+Windows (phooey) systems.
+
+@item gnus-hidden-properties
+@vindex gnus-hidden-properties
+This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
+@code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
+makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
+
+@item gnus-parse-headers-hook
+@vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
+A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
+gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
+some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
+
+@item gnus-shell-command-separator
+@vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
+String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
+
+
+@end table
+
+
+@node The End
+@chapter The End
+
+Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
+touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
+
+My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
+
+Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
+
+@quotation
+@strong{Te Deum}
+
+@sp 1
+Not because of victories @*
+I sing,@*
+having none,@*
+but for the common sunshine,@*
+the breeze,@*
+the largess of the spring.
+
+@sp 1
+Not for victory@*
+but for the day's work done@*
+as well as I was able;@*
+not for a seat upon the dais@*
+but at the common table.@*
+@end quotation
+
+
+@node Appendices
+@chapter Appendices
+
+@menu
+* History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
+* Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
+* Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
+* Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
+* A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
+* Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
+* Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
+@end menu
+
+
+@node History
+@section History
+
+@cindex history
+@sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
+'94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
+
+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
+distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
+as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
+
+During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
+called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
+@dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
+(Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
+pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
+appropriate name, don't you think?)
+
+In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
+spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
+renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
+``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
+
+The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
+was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
+plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
+
+In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
+releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
+
+On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
+January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4''.
+
+If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
+``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
+don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
+Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
+out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
+to that instead.
+
+@menu
+* Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
+* Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
+* Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
+* Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
+* Contributors:: Oodles of people.
+* New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
+* Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
+@end menu
+
+
+@node Why?
+@subsection Why?
+
+What's the point of Gnus?
+
+I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
+newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
+original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
+me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
+Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
+volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
+newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
+newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
+keep track of millions of people who post?
+
+Gnus offers 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 @sc{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 could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
+every one of you to explore and invent.
+
+May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
+@kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
+
+
+@node Compatibility
+@subsection Compatibility
+
+@cindex compatibility
+Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
+bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
+but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
+
+Our motto is:
+@quotation
+@cartouche
+@center In a cloud bones of steel.
+@end cartouche
+@end quotation
+
+All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
+their names.
+
+The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
+Articles}.
+
+One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
+buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
+buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
+important variables have their values copied into their global
+counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
+change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
+
+All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
+fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
+changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
+maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
+speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
+peculiar results.
+
+@cindex hilit19
+@cindex highlighting
+Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
+remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
+(@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
+Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
+faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
+by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
+Away!
+
+Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
+fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
+code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
+does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
+
+Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
+new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
+doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
+to stop doing it the old way.
+
+Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
+
+@kindex M-x gnus-bug
+@findex gnus-bug
+@cindex reporting bugs
+@cindex bugs
+Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
+@sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
+please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
+
+
+@node Conformity
+@subsection Conformity
+
+No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
+to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
+with, of course.
+
+@table @strong
+
+@item RFC 822
+@cindex RFC 822
+There are no known breaches of this standard.
+
+@item RFC 1036
+@cindex RFC 1036
+There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
+
+@item Son-of-RFC 1036
+@cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
+We do have some breaches to this one.
+
+@table @emph
+
+@item MIME
+Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
+MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
+
+@item X-Newsreader
+This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
+consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
+coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
+those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
+for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
+@end table
+
+@end table
+
+If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
+mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
+know.
+
+
+@node Emacsen
+@subsection Emacsen
+@cindex Emacsen
+@cindex XEmacs
+@cindex Mule
+@cindex Emacs
+
+Gnus should work on :
+
+@itemize @bullet
+
+@item
+Emacs 19.32 and up.
+
+@item
+XEmacs 19.14 and up.
+
+@item
+Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
+
+@end itemize
+
+Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
+reliably, at least.
+
+There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
+platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
+other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
+Emacsen.
+
+
+@node Contributors
+@subsection Contributors
+@cindex contributors
+
+The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
+people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
+gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
+every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
+tried beyond 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.
+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.
+
+@itemize @bullet
+
+@item
+Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
+
+@item
+Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
+well as numerous other things).
+
+@item
+Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
+
+@item
+Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
+
+@item
+Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
+@dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
+
+@item
+Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
+
+@item
+Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
+(@pxref{GroupLens}).
+
+@item
+Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
+
+@item
+Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
+
+@item
+Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
+
+@item
+Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
+
+@item
+Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
+distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
+
+@item
+Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
+
+@item
+Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
+
+@item
+Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
+
+@item
+Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
+.newsrc files.
+
+@item
+Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
+
+@item
+David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
+
+@item
+Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
+
+@item
+François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
+
+@end itemize
+
+This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
+Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
+
+The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
+
+Christopher Davis,
+Andrew Eskilsson,
+Kai Grossjohann,
+David Kågedal,
+Richard Pieri,
+Fabrice Popineau,
+Daniel Quinlan,
+Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
+and
+Jack Vinson.
+
+Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
+
+Jari Aalto,
+Adrian Aichner,
+Peter Arius,
+Matt Armstrong,
+Marc Auslander,
+Robert Bihlmeyer,
+Chris Bone,
+Mark Borges,
+Mark Boyns,
+Lance A. Brown,
+Kees de Bruin,
+Martin Buchholz,
+Kevin Buhr,
+Alastair Burt,
+Joao Cachopo,
+Zlatko Calusic,
+Massimo Campostrini,
+Dan Christensen,
+Michael R. Cook,
+Glenn Coombs,
+Frank D. Cringle,
+Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
+Andre Deparade,
+Ulrik Dickow,
+Dave Disser,
+Joev Dubach,
+Michael Welsh Duggan,
+Paul Eggert,
+Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
+Michael Ernst,
+Luc Van Eycken,
+Sam Falkner,
+Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
+Sigbjorn Finne,
+Gary D. Foster,
+Paul Franklin,
+Guy Geens,
+Arne Georg Gleditsch,
+David S. Goldberg,
+Michelangelo Grigni,
+D. Hall,
+Magnus Hammerin,
+Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
+Raja R. Harinath,
+Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
+Marc Horowitz,
+Gunnar Horrigmo,
+Brad Howes,
+François Felix Ingrand,
+Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
+Lee Iverson,
+Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
+Rajappa Iyer,
+Andreas Jaeger,
+Randell Jesup,
+Fred Johansen,
+Greg Klanderman,
+Karl Kleinpaste,
+Peter Skov Knudsen,
+Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
+Thor Kristoffersen,
+Jens Lautenbacher,
+Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
+Carsten Leonhardt,
+James LewisMoss,
+Christian Limpach,
+Markus Linnala,
+Dave Love,
+Tonny Madsen,
+Shlomo Mahlab,
+Nat Makarevitch,
+David Martin,
+Gordon Matzigkeit,
+Timo Metzemakers,
+Richard Mlynarik,
+Lantz Moore,
+Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
+Erik Toubro Nielsen,
+Hrvoje Niksic,
+Andy Norman,
+C. R. Oldham,
+Alexandre Oliva,
+Ken Olstad,
+Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
+Hideki Ono, @c Ono
+William Perry,
+Stephen Peters,
+Ulrich Pfeifer,
+John McClary Prevost,
+Colin Rafferty,
+Lars Balker Rasmussen,
+Bart Robinson,
+Jason Rumney,
+Jay Sachs,
+Dewey M. Sasser,
+Loren Schall,
+Dan Schmidt,
+Ralph Schleicher,
+Philippe Schnoebelen,
+Randal L. Schwartz,
+Justin Sheehy,
+Danny Siu,
+Matt Simmons,
+Paul D. Smith,
+Jeff Sparkes,
+Toby Speight,
+Michael Sperber,
+Darren Stalder,
+Richard Stallman,
+Greg Stark,
+Paul Stodghill,
+Kurt Swanson,
+Samuel Tardieu,
+Teddy,
+Chuck Thompson,
+Philippe Troin,
+James Troup,
+Aaron M. Ucko,
+Didier Verna,
+Jan Vroonhof,
+Stefan Waldherr,
+Barry A. Warsaw,
+Christoph Wedler,
+Joe Wells,
+and
+Katsumi Yamaoka. @c Yamaoka
+
+For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
+included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
+(550kB and counting).
+
+Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
+sure.
+
+Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
+actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
+
+
+@node New Features
+@subsection New Features
+@cindex new features
+
+@menu
+* ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
+* September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
+* Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
+@end menu
+
+These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
+@emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
+Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
+
+
+@node ding Gnus
+@subsubsection (ding) Gnus
+
+New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
+
+@itemize @bullet
+
+@item
+The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
+(@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
+
+@item
+Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
+(@pxref{Select Methods}).
+
+@item
+You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
+
+@item
+You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
+All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
+(@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
+
+@item
+Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
+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}).
+
+@item
+Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
+them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
+
+@item
+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
+Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
+(@pxref{Group Levels}).
+
+@item
+You can score articles according to any number of criteria
+(@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
+manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
+read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
+
+@item
+Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
+the @file{.emacs} file.
+
+@item
+You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
+operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+
+@item
+You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
+results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
+
+@item
+You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
+(@pxref{Listing Groups}).
+
+@item
+You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
+servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
+
+@item
+Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
+server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
+
+@item
+You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
+
+@item
+The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
+(@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
+
+@item
+You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
+of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
+
+@item
+Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
+glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
+
+@item
+Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
+
+@item
+Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
+(@pxref{Document Groups}).
+
+@item
+Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
+Articles}).
+
+@item
+URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
+Buttons}).
+
+@item
+You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
+configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
+
+@item
+You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
+(@pxref{Buttons}).
+
+@end itemize
+
+
+@node September Gnus
+@subsubsection September Gnus
+
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
+New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
+
+@itemize @bullet
+
+@item
+A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
+for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
+now obsolete.
+
+@item
+Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
+missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
+Threading}).
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
+(@pxref{Archived Messages}).
+
+@item
+Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
+referred.
+
+@item
+Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
+
+@item
+Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
+
+@item
+A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-use-trees t)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
+buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
+
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
+Groups}).
+
+@item
+Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
+Topics}).
+
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
+
+@item
+Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
+is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
+
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
+groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
+
+@item
+Caching is possible in virtual groups.
+
+@item
+@code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
+news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
+else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
+
+@item
+Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
+(@pxref{SOUP}).
+
+@item
+The Gnus cache is much faster.
+
+@item
+Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
+Groups}).
+
+@item
+New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
+expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
+
+@item
+All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
+(@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
+
+@item
+There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
+marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
+
+@item
+The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
+articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
+bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
+
+@item
+Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
+(@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
+
+@item
+All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
+
+@item
+Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
+
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
+ 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
+
+@item
+Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
+
+@item
+All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
+buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
+
+@item
+Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
+Configuration}).
+
+@item
+Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
+@item
+Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-use-nocem t)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
+
+@item
+Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
+
+@item
+Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
+(@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
+ 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
+refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
+buffer to allow easier treatment.
+
+@item
+Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
+
+@item
+Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
+Articles}).
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+@code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
+articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
+(@pxref{Article Washing}).
+
+@item
+Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
+cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
+
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
+ 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
+
+@item
+Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
+
+@end itemize
+
+
+@node Red Gnus
+@subsubsection Red Gnus
+
+New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
+
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
+@itemize @bullet
+
+@item
+@file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
+
+@item
+Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
+Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
+
+@item
+Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
+@code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
+Scoring}).
+
+@item
+Article washing status can be displayed in the
+article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
+
+@item
+@file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
+
+@item
+Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
+(@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
+considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
+been added.
+
+@item
+@code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
+Server Internals}).
+
+@item
+Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
+Parameters}).
+
+@item
+Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
+
+@item
+Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
+(@pxref{Article Signature}).
+
+@item
+Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
+numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
+articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
+
+@item
+Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
+another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
+
+@item
+There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
+when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
+
+@item
+Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
+(@pxref{Undo}).
+
+@item
+Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
+(@pxref{Score File Format}).
+
+@item
+Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
+(@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-decay-scores t)
+@end lisp
+
+@item
+Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
+normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
+
+@item
+A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
+the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
+
+@item
+A new command for reading collections of documents
+(@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
+(@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
+
+@item
+Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
+Marks}).
+
+@item
+A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
+server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
+
+@item
+A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
+(@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
+(@pxref{Web Searches}).
+
+@item
+Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
+functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
+Sorting}).
+
+@item
+Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
+Groups}).
+
+@item
+Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
+Commands}).
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
+@item
+Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
+Variables}).
+
+@item
+Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
+Mail}).
+
+@item
+More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
+mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
+
+@item
+Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
+
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
+@end lisp
+
+@end itemize
+
+
+@node Newest Features
+@subsection Newest Features
+@cindex todo
+
+Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
+next millennium.
+
+Be afraid. Be very afraid.
+
+(That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
+decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
+interesting.)
+
+(Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
+
+@itemize @bullet
+
+@item
+Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
+
+@item
+Really do unbinhexing.
+
+@item
+ I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
+latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
+
+@item
+ A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
+
+@item
+ http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
+
+@item
+ facep is not declared.
+
+@item
+ Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
+isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
+
+@item
+ Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
+
+@item
+@example
+ Hypermail:
+<URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
+<URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
+<URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
+<URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
+http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
+<URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
+http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
+
+@end example
+
+@item
+@samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
+
+@item
+ gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
+
+@item
+ when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
+@item
+ starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
+NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
+@item
+ nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
+@item
+ FAQ doesn't have an up node?
+@item
+ when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
+the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
+@item
+ `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
+@item
+ nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
+be marked as unread.
+@item
+ Orphan score entries dont show on "V t" score trace
+@item
+ when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
+@item
+ rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
+to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
+@item
+ expinged articles are counted when computing scores.
+@item
+ implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
+@item
+ ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
+stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
+@item
+ topics that contain just groups with ticked
+articles aren't displayed.
+@item
+ nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
+@item
+ implement gnus-score-thread
+@item
+ If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
+make the mail groups killed.
+@item
+ no "no news is good news" when using topics.
+@item
+ when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
+and articles have to be removed.
+@item
+ nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
+parts.
+@item
+ scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
+@item
+ finding short score file names takes forever.
+@item
+ canceling articles in foreign groups.
+@item
+ nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
+@item
+ C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
+@item
+ move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
+@item
+ nnweb doesn't work properly.
+@item
+ using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
+@item
+ when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
+master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
+Perhaps.
+@item
+ warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
+@item
+ really unbinhex binhex files.
+@item
+ take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
+bar and the Gnus bar.
+@item
+@example
+ push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
+`(canonize-message-id id)'
+`(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
+`(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
+`(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
+`(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
+
+@end example
+
+@item
+ nnml .overview directory with splits.
+@item
+ asynchronous cache
+@item
+ postponed commands.
+@item
+ the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
+@item
+ when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
+the server?
+@item
+ sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
+headers of the oldest orhpan with a 0 article number?
+@item
+ nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
+inherit copy prompts and save files.
+@item
+ command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
+@item
+ allow editing the group description from the group buffer
+for backends that support that.
+@item
+gnus-hide,show-all-topics
+@item
+ groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
+and not just list all subtopics at the end.
+@item
+ a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
+threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
+@item
+ a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
+@item
+ a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
+@item
+ add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
+@item
+ server mode command: close/open all connections
+@item
+ put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
+has been changed before using it.
+@item
+ on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
+@item
+ hide (sub)threads with low score.
+@item
+ when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
+@item
+ gnus-summary-limit-to-body
+@item
+ a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
+on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
+@item
+ easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
+contaion groups that match a regexp.
+@item
+ allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
+the URL.
+@item
+ If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
+"From " line.
+@item
+ fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
+from subject lines.
+@item
+ gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
+@item
+ nntp-ping-before-connect
+@item
+ command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
+@item
+ when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
+files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
+@item
+ message annotations.
+@item
+ topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
+@item
+ (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
+to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
+@item
+ allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
+are in the cache.
+@item
+ AUTHINFO GENERIC
+@item
+ support qmail maildir spools
+@item
+ `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
+@item
+ stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
+@item
+ C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
+@item
+ go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
+next group instead of going to the group buffer.
+@item
+ gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
+@item
+ record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
+@item
+ `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
+finds and generate proper active ranges.
+@item
+ nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
+whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
+@item
+ gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
+@item
+ gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
+@item
+ when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
+articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
+@item
+ nneething should allow deletion/moving.
+@item
+ TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
+@item
+ if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
+and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
+save mail in.
+@item
+ command for listing all score files that have been applied.
+@item
+ a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
+@item
+ `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
+`C-c C-c' when posting.
+@item
+ nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
+as a spool file.
+@item
+ when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
+should be marker as expirable.
+@item
+ article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
+@item
+ on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
+on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
+@item
+ when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
+Also consult Date headers.
+@item
+ a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
+@item
+ `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
+@item
+ duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
+Message-ID, delete the "original".
+@item
+ when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
+into a See-Also header.
+@item
+ support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
+@item
+ support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
+@item
+ when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
+should be listed as such and not as "K".
+@item
+ generate font names dynamically.
+@item
+ score file mode auto-alist.
+@item
+ allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
+methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
+@item
+ `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
+absolutely all headers there is.
+@item
+ function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
+and pipe them to the process.
+@item
+ cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
+the file whenever we read the active file or the list
+of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
+@item
+ function for starting to edit a file to put into
+the current mail group.
+@item
+ score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
+@item
+ "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
+to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
+@item
+ look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
+the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
+@item
+ function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
+@item
+ when replying to several process-marked articles,
+have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
+@item
+ command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
+groups it has been mailed to.
+@item
+ `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
+@item
+ hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
+@item
+ Command in the group buffer to respoll process-marked groups.
+@item
+ `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
+pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
+@item
+ When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
+newlines) should be ignored.
+@item
+ Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
+groups in subtopics as well.
+@item
+ Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
+@item
+ nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
+variable settings.
+@item
+ add edit and forward secondary marks.
+@item
+ nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
+@item
+ allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
+@item
+ `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
+@item
+ nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
+@item
+ allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
+@item
+ Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
+or the formatted article.
+@item
+ a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
+@item
+ I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
+should be a feature in Red Gnus.
+@item
+ The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
+@item
+ more limiting functions -- date, etc.
+@item
+ be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
+@item
+ a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
+even unread articles.
+@item
+ a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
+@item
+ variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
+@item
+ manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
+@item
+ checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
+@item
+ cancelling articles in foreign groups.
+@item
+ article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
+Xref handling.
+@item
+ Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
+next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
+@item
+ Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
+in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
+@item
+ Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
+@item
+ a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
+@item
+ a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
+from a particular server? Hm.
+@item
+ `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
+the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
+@item
+ `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
+@item
+ a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
+and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
+@item
+ a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
+all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
+@item
+ It should also probably be possible to delimit what
+`gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
+some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
+a certain number.
+@item
+ nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
+the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
+@item
+ allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
+@item
+ a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
+@item
+ a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
+@item
+ server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
+from a server.
+@item
+ when following up mulitple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
+from all articles.
+@item
+ a command for deciding what the total score of the current
+thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
+@item
+ command to show and edit group scores
+@item
+ a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
+horizontally.
+@item
+ command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
+@item
+ `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
+@item
+ keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
+Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
+buffer.
+@item
+ gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
+that are of that length.
+@item
+ have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
+@item
+ cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
+@item
+ asynchronous posting under nntp.
+@item
+ be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
+@item
+ a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
+@item
+ `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
+@item
+ if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
+a score lower than this number.
+@item
+ split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
+@item
+ buttonize ange-ftp file names.
+@item
+ a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
+so that each copy can be edited separately.
+@item
+ nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
+@item
+ record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
+it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
+@item
+ nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
+all nnml servers.
+@item
+ when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
+the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
+ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
+to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
+@item
+ M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
+the topic.
+@item
+ command to remove all topic stuff.
+@item
+ allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
+and splitting the resulting digests.
+@item
+ nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
+@item
+ command to nix out all nnoo state information.
+@item
+ nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
+matches an alist -- before saving.
+@item
+ use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
+@item
+ variable to activate each group before entering them
+to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
+@item
+ command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
+starting Gnus first if necessary.
+@item
+ when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
+ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
+@item
+ buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
+@item
+ `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
+of several groups at once.
+@item
+ command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
+matches some regexp(s).
+@item
+ nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
+@item
+ it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
+@item
+ hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
+@item
+ `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
+@item
+ remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
+@item
+ `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
+@item
+ when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
+@item
+ killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
+of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
+be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
+should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
+@item
+ command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
+"ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
+@item
+ `X u' should decode base64 articles.
+@item
+ a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
+recently cited text.
+@item
+ nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
+@item
+ after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
+be invalidated.
+@item
+ there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
+server and just read the articles in the server
+@item
+ allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
+value of nnoo variables.
+@item
+ a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
+@item
+ groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
+listed in each group info.
+@item
+ a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
+buffer.
+@item
+ a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
+should only be applied to some groups.
+@item
+ Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
+mail-copies-to: never.
+@item
+ new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
+using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
+@item
+ the slave dribble files should autosave to the slave file names.
+@item
+ a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
+on article marks.
+@item
+ a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
+of normal logo?)
+@item
+ Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where appliccable.
+@item
+ Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
+clear up info.
+@item
+ group user-defined meta-parameters.
-@node New Features
-@subsection New Features
-@cindex new features
-@menu
-* ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
-* September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
-* Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
-@end menu
-These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
-@emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
-Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
+From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
+@item
+ I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
+thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
+you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
+problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
+What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
+In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at
+ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
-@node ding Gnus
-@subsubsection (ding) Gnus
-New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
-@itemize @bullet
@item
-The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
-(@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
-
-@item
-Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
-(@pxref{Select Methods}).
+@example
+From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
+(add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
+ (lambda ()
+ (gnus-group-add-parameter group
+ (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
+
+(defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
+ "Return the date the group was last read."
+ (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
+ (t "")))
+@end example
-@item
-You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
+@item
+ tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
+opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
+liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
+hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
-@item
-You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
-All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
-(@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
@item
-Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
-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}).
-
-@item
-Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
-them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
+LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
+LMI> answered and read, I guess.
-@item
-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}).
+It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
+unix mbox files).
-@item
-Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
-(@pxref{Group Levels}).
+They could be used like this:
-@item
-You can score articles according to any number of criteria
-(@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
-manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
-read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
+@example
+`M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
+`M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
+`/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
-@item
-Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
-the @file{.emacs} file.
+<expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
-@item
-You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
-operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+ `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
+@end example
-@item
-You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
-results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
+would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
+`fixed'.
-@item
-You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
-(@pxref{Listing Groups}).
+One could also immagine the labels being used for highliting, or
+affect the summary line format.
-@item
-You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
-servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
-@item
-Gnus can fetch articles asynchronously on a second connection to the
-server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
+@item
+Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
-@item
-You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
+I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
+would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
-@item
-The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
-(@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
+- If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
+summary buffer.
-@item
-You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
-of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
+- For other directories, create a nneething summaru buffer.
-@item
-Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
-glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
+- For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
-@item
-Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
+- For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
-@item
-Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
-(@pxref{Document Groups}).
+- For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
-@item
-Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
-Articles}).
+- For other files, just find them normally.
-@item
-URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
-Buttons}).
+I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
+directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
@item
-You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
-configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
+Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
+tell him what you are doing.
@item
-You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
-(@pxref{Buttons}).
-
-@end itemize
-
+Currently, I get prompted:
-@node September Gnus
-@subsubsection September Gnus
-
-New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
+decend into sci?
+- type y
+decend into sci.something ?
+- type n
+decend into ucd?
-@itemize @bullet
+The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
+science, shouldn't it prompt you for only decending sci.something? If
+there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
+for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
@item
-A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
-for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
-now obsolete.
+Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
+`gnus-use-few-score-files'? Så kunne score-regler legges til den
+"mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
+"no.all.SCORE", osv.
@item
-Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
-missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
-Threading}).
-
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
-@end lisp
+What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
+as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
+button:
+
-@item
-Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
-(@pxref{Archived Messages}).
+ ^L's
-@item
-Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
-referred.
+ more than n blank lines
+
+ more than m identical lines
+ (which should be replaced with button to show them)
-@item
-Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
+ any whitespace surrounding any of the above
-@item
-Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
@item
-A @code{trn}-line tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
-
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-use-trees t)
-@end lisp
+Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
+`spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
+subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
+"same" subject for threading purposes.
@item
-An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
-buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
-
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
-@end lisp
+Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
+"(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
+form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
+those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
@item
-In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
-Groups}).
+ Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
+tick - thumb tack
+killed - skull
+soup - bowl of soup
+score below - dim light bulb
+score over - bright light bulb
@item
-Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
-Topics}).
+Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
-@end lisp
-
-@item
-Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
+@example
+Group-mode
+
+ show-list-of-articles-in-group
+ if (key-pressed == SPACE)
+ if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
+ if (articles-selected)
+ start-reading-selected-articles;
+ junk-unread-articles;
+ next-group;
+ else
+ show-next-page;
+
+ else if (key-pressed = '.')
+ if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
+ select-thread-under-cursor;
+ else
+ select-article-under-cursor;
+
+
+Article-mode
+ if (key-pressed == SPACE)
+ if (more-pages-in-article)
+ next-page;
+ else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
+ next-article;
+ else
+ next-group;
+@end example
@item
-Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
-is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
+My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
+One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
+it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
+nneething groups.
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
-@end lisp
+A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
+allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
+the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
+the wildcard expression).
@item
-Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
-groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
+It would be nice if it also handled
-@item
-Caching is possible in virtual groups.
+ <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
-@item
-@code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
-news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
-else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
+which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
-@item
-Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
-(@pxref{SOUP}).
@item
-The Gnus cache is much faster.
-@item
-Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
-Groups}).
+ Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
+really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
+gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
+article versions) variable.
-@item
-New group parameters have been introduced to set list-address and
-expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
+ So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
-@item
-All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
-(@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
+ A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
+the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
-@item
-There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
-marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
@item
-The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
-articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
-bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
-
+ nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
+articles.
@item
-Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
-(@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
-
+ gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
+active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
+(message-sent-hook).
@item
-All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
+ rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
@item
-Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
+ * Enhancements to Gnus:
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
- 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
-@end lisp
+ Add two commands:
-@item
-All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
+ * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
+ straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
+ servers first.
-@item
-Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
+ * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
+ the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
+ quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
@item
-All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
-buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
+ add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
+go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
+and stuff.
@item
-Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
-Configuration}).
+ `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
@item
-Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
+ a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
+secondary marks.
@item
-Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
+ when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
+the nnmail duplicate checking.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-use-nocem t)
-@end lisp
+@item
+ allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
+value of the signature file.
@item
-Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
+ In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
+could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
+interface like
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
-@end lisp
+(setq message-tab-alist
+ '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
+ ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
-@item
-Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
+then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
+the header
@item
-Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
+ cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
@item
-Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
-(@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
+ a command to import a buffer into a group.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
- 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
-@end lisp
+@item
+ nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
@item
-Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
-refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
+ point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
+beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
-@end lisp
+@item
+ a command to process mark all unread articles.
@item
-A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
-buffer to allow easier treatment.
+ `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
+do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
+do more gathering by subject.
@item
-Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
+ gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
+article numerical order.
@item
-Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
-Articles}).
+ (gnus-thread-total-score
+ (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
+bind to a key.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
-@end lisp
+@item
+ sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
@item
-@code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
-articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
+ a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
+in the summary buffer.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
-@end lisp
+@item
+ a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
+version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
@item
-Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
-(@pxref{Article Washing}).
+ http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
+This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
+database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
+and/or newsgroup name.
@item
-Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
-cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
+ new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
-@end lisp
+@item
+ use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
@item
-Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
+ a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
- 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
-@end lisp
+@item
+ in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
+group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
+will automatically get the process mark.
@item
-Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
+ Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
+default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
+user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
@item
-Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
+ make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
+current group.
-@end itemize
+@item
+ `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
+to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
+@item
+ a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
+`first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
+candidates.
-@node Red Gnus
-@subsubsection Red Gnus
+@item
+ be able to select groups that have no articles in them
+to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
-New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
+@item
+ be able to post via DejaNews.
-@itemize @bullet
+@item
+ `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
@item
-@file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
+ allow the user to specify the presedence of the secondary marks. Also
+allow them to be displayed separately.
@item
-Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
-Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
+ gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
+the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
@item
-Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
-@code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
-Scoring}).
+ a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
+articles that match a certain From header.
@item
-Article washing status can be displayed in the
-article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
+ a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
+saving living summary buffers.
@item
-@file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
+ a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
+the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
@item
-Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
-(@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
+ a battery of character translation functions to translate common
+Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
-@end lisp
+@example
+(defun article-fix-m$word ()
+ "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
+ (interactive)
+ (save-excursion
+ (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
+ (goto-char (point-min))
+ (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
+ (replace-match "`" t t))
+ (goto-char (point-min))
+ (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
+ (replace-match "'" t t))
+ (goto-char (point-min))
+ (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
+ (replace-match "\"" t t))
+ (goto-char (point-min))
+ (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
+ (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
+@end example
@item
-New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
-considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}).
+@example
+ (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
+'(lambda ()
+ (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
+ (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
+ (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
+ (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
+@end example
@item
-@code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
-Server Internals}).
+ allow message-default-headers to be a function.
@item
-Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
-Parameters}).
+ new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
+numbers and match on the age of the article.
@item
-Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
+ gnus-cacheable-groups
@item
-Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
-(@pxref{Article Signature}).
+@example
+> > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
+> > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
+> > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
+>
+> > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
+> > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
+>
+> I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
+> least that's the way I've caught it doing the
+> deed before.
+@end example
@item
-Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
-numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
-articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
+ all commands that react to the process mark should push
+the current process mark set onto the stack.
@item
-Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
-another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
+ gnus-article-hide-pgp
+Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
+@example
+"\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
+@end example
+og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
+er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
@item
-A way to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed when
-generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
+ `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
+sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
@item
-Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
-(@pxref{Undo}).
+ gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
+on the lines.
@item
-Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
-(@pxref{Score File Format}).
+ use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
+home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
@item
-Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
-(@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
-
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
-@end lisp
+ add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
@item
-Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
-
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-decay-scores t)
-@end lisp
+ nndraft-request-group should tally autosave files.
@item
-Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
-normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
+ implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
@item
-A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
-the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
+ gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
+articles.
@item
-A new command for reading collections of documents
-(@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
-(@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
+ (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
@item
-Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
-Marks}).
+ nn*-spool-methods
@item
-A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
-server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
+ interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
@item
-A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
-(@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
-(@pxref{Web Searches}).
+ command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
+current group.
@item
-Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
-functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
-Sorting}).
+ a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
+X characters in the body.
@item
-Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
-Groups}).
+ handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
@item
-Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
-Commands}).
-
-@item
-Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
-Variables}).
+ when sending authinfo automatically, things hang.
@item
-Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
-Mail}).
+ include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
@item
-More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
-mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
+ format spec to "tab" to a position.
@item
-Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
-
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
-@end lisp
-
-@end itemize
+ Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
+@item
+ have nntp cache the authinfo passwords.
-@node Newest Features
-@subsection Newest Features
-@cindex todo
+@item
+ command to display all dormant articles.
-Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
-next millennium.
+@item
+ gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
-Be afraid. Be very afraid.
+@item
+ a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
+to something someone else has said.
-@itemize @bullet
@item
-Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
+ Read Netscape discussion groups:
+snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
+
@item
-Really do unbinhexing.
+When the nntp server hangs up while the user is composing the message,
+when sending the message and the nntp server asks for AUTH, Gnus hangs.
+
+@c TODO
@end itemize
And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
-@file{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/rgnus/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.
-
@iftex
+@page
@node The Manual
@section The Manual
@cindex colophon
@end iftex
+@page
@node Terminology
@section Terminology
@item foreign
@cindex foreign
You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
-These are groups that use different backends for getting news.
+These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
+news.
@item secondary
@cindex secondary
@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 not in the head is in the
body.
@item header
server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
+@item activating
+@cindex activating groups
+The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
+number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
+Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
+
@item server
@cindex server
-A machine than one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
+A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
@item select method
@cindex select method
A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
-server parameters.
+server settings.
@item virtual server
@cindex virtual server
-A named select method. Since a select methods defines all there is to
-know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the things as a
+A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
+know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
whole is a virtual server.
@item washing
These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
@code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
+@item threading
+@cindex threading
+To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
+to---in a hierarchical fashion.
+
+@item root
+@cindex root
+@cindex thread root
+The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
+articles in the thread.
+
+@item parent
+@cindex parent
+An article that has responses.
+
+@item child
+@cindex child
+An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
+
+@item digest
+@cindex digest
+A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
+specified by RFC1153.
+
@end table
+@page
@node Customization
@section Customization
@cindex general customization
@node Slow Terminal Connection
@subsection Slow Terminal Connection
-Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that
-runs Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce the
-amount of data that is sent over the wires as much as possible.
+Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
+Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
+possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
@table @code
horizontal and vertical recentering.
@item gnus-visible-headers
-Cut down on the headers that are included in the articles to the
+Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
@samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
-Set@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
+Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
@code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
processing a bit faster.
+@page
@node Troubleshooting
@section Troubleshooting
@cindex troubleshooting
time.
It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
-you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you send back
-just ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
+you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
+back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
@cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
@cindex ding mailing list
-You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@ifi.uio.no}.
-Write to @samp{ding-request@@ifi.uio.no} to subscribe.
+You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
+Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
+@page
@node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
@section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
(ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
-and general method of operations.
+and general methods of operation.
@menu
+* Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
* Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
* Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
* Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
* Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
* Group Info:: The group info format.
+* Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
* Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
* Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
@end menu
+@node Gnus Utility Functions
+@subsection Gnus Utility Functions
+@cindex Gnus utility functions
+@cindex utility functions
+@cindex functions
+@cindex internal variables
+
+When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
+vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
+Below is a list of the most common ones.
+
+@table @code
+
+@item gnus-newsgroup-name
+@vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
+This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
+
+@item gnus-find-method-for-group
+@findex gnus-find-method-for-group
+A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
+
+@item gnus-group-real-name
+@findex gnus-group-real-name
+Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
+name.
+
+@item gnus-group-prefixed-name
+@findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
+Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
+(prefixed) Gnus group name.
+
+@item gnus-get-info
+@findex gnus-get-info
+Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
+
+@item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
+@findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
+Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
+exit.
+
+@item gnus-continuum-version
+@findex gnus-continuum-version
+Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
+number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
+versions.
+
+@item gnus-group-read-only-p
+@findex gnus-group-read-only-p
+Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
+
+@item gnus-news-group-p
+@findex gnus-news-group-p
+Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
+
+@item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
+@findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
+Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
+
+@item gnus-server-to-method
+@findex gnus-server-to-method
+Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
+
+@item gnus-server-equal
+@findex gnus-server-equal
+Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
+
+@item gnus-group-native-p
+@findex gnus-group-native-p
+Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
+
+@item gnus-group-secondary-p
+@findex gnus-group-secondary-p
+Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
+
+@item gnus-group-foreign-p
+@findex gnus-group-foreign-p
+Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
+
+@item group-group-find-parameter
+@findex group-group-find-parameter
+Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
+returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
+
+@item gnus-group-set-parameter
+@findex gnus-group-set-parameter
+Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
+
+@item gnus-narrow-to-body
+@findex gnus-narrow-to-body
+Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
+
+@item gnus-check-backend-function
+@findex gnus-check-backend-function
+Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
+@var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
+
+@lisp
+(gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
+=> t
+@end lisp
+
+@item gnus-read-method
+@findex gnus-read-method
+Prompts the user for a select method.
+
+@end table
+
+
@node Backend Interface
@subsection Backend Interface
The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
-server environments that it pulls down/pushes up when needed.
+server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
-always check whether are present before attempting to call.
+always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
@code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
return value.
Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
-some might be said to not be. The latter are backends that generally
+some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
-- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
more.
This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
-If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try to fetch "extra
-headers, in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
+If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
+headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
-article number in @code{articles}, and fill in the gaps as well. The
+article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
number, do maximum fetches.
field = <text except TAB>
@end example
-For a closer explanation what should be in those fields,
+For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
@pxref{Headers}.
@item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
@var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
-list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that defines this virtual server.
+list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
physical server is alive, then this function should return a
non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
-attempt to reconnect to a server that is has lost connection to.
+attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
There should be no data returned.
If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
-another, and Gnus mainly request articles to be inserted directly into
-its article buffer.
+another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
+into its article buffer.
If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
-the car is the group name the article was fetched from, and the cdr is
+the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
@code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
-on successful article retrievement.
+on successful article retrieval.
@item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
(@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
-(@samp{=other-group} or none of the above (@samp{y}).
+(@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
@item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
-information (as is the case with virtual an imap groups). This function
-should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and should return
-the (altered) group info.
+information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
+function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
+should return the (altered) group info.
There should be no result data from this function.
When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
-user is following up is news or mail. This function should return
+user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
@code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
@var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
@var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
@var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
-The only use for this that I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
+The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
expirable.
that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
optimizations.
-The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
-the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
+The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
+the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
There should be no data returned.
If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
this function in short order.
-The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
-the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
+The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
+the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
There should be no data returned.
@item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
-articles that are in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
+articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
There should be no data returned.
error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
-there are many of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
-This function always returns @code{nil}.
+there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
+This function must always returns @code{nil}.
@lisp
(nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
takes one argument---the server symbol.
-Internally, these function access @var{backend}@code{-status-string}, so
-the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
-@code{nnchoke-status-string}.
+Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
+so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
+@code{nnchoke-status-string}.
@node Writing New Backends
To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
following macros:
-following.
@table @code
nnml nnmh)
@end lisp
-@code{nndir} has here declared that it intends to inherit functions from
+@code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
@item defvoo
@item post-mail
This backend supports both mail and news.
@item none
-This is neither a post or mail backend---it's something completely
+This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
different.
@item respool
It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
(nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
@end lisp
-It simply just calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will a few parameters,
+It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
mail.
files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
-adapt = "adapt" [ space "nil" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
+adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
eval = "eval" space <form>
one looong line, then that's ok.
The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
-manual.
+manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
@node Headers
@subsection Headers
-Gnus uses internally a format for storing article headers that
+Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
@end example
is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
-also legal:
+also valid:
@example
(1 . 5)
("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
(nnml "")
- (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
+ (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@gnus.org")))
@end example
The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
-normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
-read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
-of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
-server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
-parameters}, which is what this section is about.
+normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
+cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
+score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
+fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
+The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
+The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
+this section is about.
Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
@example
-info = "(" group space level space read
+info = "(" group space ralevel space read
[ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
group = quote <string> quote
+ralevel = rank / level
level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
+rank = "(" level "." score ")"
+score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
read = range
marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
marks = "(" <string> range ")"
@samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
in pseudo-BNF.
+If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
+series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
+
+@table @code
+@item gnus-info-group
+@itemx gnus-info-set-group
+@findex gnus-info-group
+@findex gnus-info-set-group
+Get/set the group name.
+
+@item gnus-info-rank
+@itemx gnus-info-set-rank
+@findex gnus-info-rank
+@findex gnus-info-set-rank
+Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
+
+@item gnus-info-level
+@itemx gnus-info-set-level
+@findex gnus-info-level
+@findex gnus-info-set-level
+Get/set the group level.
+
+@item gnus-info-score
+@itemx gnus-info-set-score
+@findex gnus-info-score
+@findex gnus-info-set-score
+Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
+
+@item gnus-info-read
+@itemx gnus-info-set-read
+@findex gnus-info-read
+@findex gnus-info-set-read
+Get/set the ranges of read articles.
+
+@item gnus-info-marks
+@itemx gnus-info-set-marks
+@findex gnus-info-marks
+@findex gnus-info-set-marks
+Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
+
+@item gnus-info-method
+@itemx gnus-info-set-method
+@findex gnus-info-method
+@findex gnus-info-set-method
+Get/set the group select method.
+
+@item gnus-info-params
+@itemx gnus-info-set-params
+@findex gnus-info-params
+@findex gnus-info-set-params
+Get/set the group parameters.
+@end table
+
+All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
+functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
+
+The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
+necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
+is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
+the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
+
+
+@node Extended Interactive
+@subsection Extended Interactive
+@cindex interactive
+@findex gnus-interactive
+
+Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
+slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
+Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
+
+@lisp
+(defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
+ (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
+ ...
+ )
+@end lisp
+
+The best thing to do would have been to implement
+@code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
+@code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
+whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
+on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
+function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
+@code{interactive}.
+
+This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
+adds a few more.
+
+@table @samp
+@item y
+@vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
+The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
+variable.
+
+@item Y
+@vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
+A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
+@code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
+
+@item A
+The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
+function.
+
+@item H
+The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
+function.
+
+@item g
+The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
+function.
+
+@end table
+
@node Emacs/XEmacs Code
@subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
all over.
+In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
+I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
+for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
+
Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
@node Active File Format
@subsubsection Active File Format
-The active file lists all groups that are available on the server in
+The active file lists all groups available on the server in
question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
in each group.
flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
@end example
+For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
+@samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
+
@node Newsgroups File Format
@subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
@end example
+@page
@node Emacs for Heathens
@section Emacs for Heathens
``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
-The shift key is normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
+The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
-keyboards. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
+keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
-Now, us Emacs people doesn't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
+Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
@kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
-previous ``form'', which here is a simple @code{setq} statement.
+previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
@kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
-
+@page
@include gnus-faq.texi
@node Index
projects / gnus / blobdiff