\input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*- -*- coding: iso-latin-1 -*-
@setfilename gnus
-@settitle Gnus Manual
+@settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
@synindex fn cp
@synindex vr cp
@synindex pg cp
-@c @direntry
-@c * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
-@c @end direntry
+@dircategory Emacs
+@direntry
+* Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
+@end direntry
@iftex
@finalout
@end iftex
\newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
+\newcommand{\gnusref}[1]{``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
+\newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
\newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
\newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
\thispagestyle{empty}
-Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
+Free Software Foundation, Inc.
-Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
-this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
-are preserved on all copies.
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
-manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
-entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
-permission notice identical to this one.
+Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
+under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
+any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
+Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
+Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
+license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
+License'' in the Emacs manual.
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
-into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
+(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
+this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
+Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
+This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
+Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
+separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
+license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
\newpage
\end{titlepage}
@end iflatex
@end iftex
-@ifinfo
-
-This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
+@ifnottex
-Copyright (C) 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
-Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
-this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
-are preserved on all copies.
+Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
-@ignore
-Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
-results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
-notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
-(this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
+Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
+under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
+any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
+Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
+Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
+license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
+License'' in the Emacs manual.
-@end ignore
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
-manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
-entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
-permission notice identical to this one.
+(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
+this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
+Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
-into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
-@end ifinfo
+This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
+Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
+separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
+license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
+@end ifnottex
@tex
@titlepage
-@title Gnus Manual
+@title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
@author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
@page
@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
-Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
-Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
-this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
-are preserved on all copies.
+Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
+under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
+any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
+Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
+Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
+license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
+License'' in the Emacs manual.
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
-manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
-entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
-permission notice identical to this one.
+(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
+this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
+Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
-into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
+This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
+Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
+separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
+license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
@end titlepage
@page
@node Top
-@top The Gnus Newsreader
+@top The gnus Newsreader
@ifinfo
-You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
+You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
luck.
-This manual corresponds to Gnus 5.8.2.
+T-gnus provides MIME features based on SEMI API. So T-gnus supports
+your right to read strange messages including big images or other
+various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
+internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
+API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
+Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
+
+This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
@end ifinfo
Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
-you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
-even read news with it!
+you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
+can even read news with it!
Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
-allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
+allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
the program.
@end iftex
-
@menu
* Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
-* The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
-* The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
-* The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
+* Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
+* Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
+* Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
* Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
* Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
* Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
* Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
* Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
* Key Index:: Key Index.
-@end menu
-
-@node Starting Up
-@chapter Starting Gnus
-@cindex starting up
-
-@kindex M-x gnus
-@findex gnus
-If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
-and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
-your Emacs.
-
-@findex gnus-other-frame
-@kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
-If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
-@kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
-If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
-variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
-@file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
+@detailmenu
+ --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
-If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
-terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
+Starting Gnus
-@menu
* Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
* The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
* The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
* The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
* Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
* Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
-@end menu
+New Groups
-@node Finding the News
-@section Finding the News
-@cindex finding news
+* Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
+* Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
+* Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
-@vindex gnus-select-method
-@c @head
-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 not fetched with this method are
-foreign groups.
+Group Buffer
-For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
-you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
+* Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
+* Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
+* Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
+* Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
+* Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
+* Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
+* Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
+* Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
+* Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
+* Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
+* Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
+* Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
+* Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
+* Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
+* Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
+* Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
+* Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
-@end lisp
+Group Buffer Format
-If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
+* Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
+* Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
+* Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
-@end lisp
+Group Topics
-If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
-certainly be much faster.
+* Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
+* Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
+* Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
+* Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
+* Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
-@vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
-@cindex NNTPSERVER
-@cindex @sc{nntp} server
-If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
-@code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
-Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
-(@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
-that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
+Misc Group Stuff
-@vindex gnus-nntp-server
-If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
-@code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
-@code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
+* Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
+* Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
+* Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
+* File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
-@vindex gnus-secondary-servers
-@vindex gnus-nntp-server
-You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
-@sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
-(i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
-in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
-type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
-will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
-gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
-server.)
+Summary Buffer
-@findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
-@kindex B (Group)
-However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
-interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
-better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
-let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
-to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
-maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
+* Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
+* Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
+* Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
+* Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
+* Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
+* Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
+* Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
+* Threading:: How threads are made.
+* Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
+* Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
+* Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
+* Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
+* Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
+* Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
+* Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
+* Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
+* MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
+* Charsets:: Character set issues.
+* Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
+* Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
+* Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
+* Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
+* Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
+* Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
+* Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
+* Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
+* Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
+* Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
+* Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
-@vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
-@c @head
-A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
-@code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
-listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
-@code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
-files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
-appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
-groups are.
+Summary Buffer Format
-For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
-would typically set this variable to
+* Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
+* To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
+* Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
+* Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
-@end lisp
+Choosing Articles
+* Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
+* Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
-@node The First Time
-@section The First Time
-@cindex first time usage
+Reply, Followup and Post
-If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
-be subscribed by default.
+* Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
+* Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
+* Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
+* Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
-@vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
-If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
-will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
-killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
-something useful.
+Marking Articles
-Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
-picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
-here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
+* Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
+* Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
+* Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
+* Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
+* Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
+* Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
-You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
-help you with most common problems.
+Threading
-If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
-use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
-special.
+* Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
+* Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
+Customizing Threading
-@node The Server is Down
-@section The Server is Down
-@cindex server errors
+* 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!
-If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
-problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
-the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
+Decoding Articles
-Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
-without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
-will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
-given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
-for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
-groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
-buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
+* Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode 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?
-@findex gnus-no-server
-@kindex M-x gnus-no-server
-@c @head
-If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
-your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
-@code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
-if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
-your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
-1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
-levels.)
+Decoding Variables
+* Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
+* Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
+* Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
-@node Slave Gnusae
-@section Slave Gnusae
-@cindex slave
+Article Treatment
-You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
-same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
-are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
-that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
+* Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
+* Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
+* Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
+* Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
+* Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
+* Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
+* Article Signature:: What is a signature?
+* Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
-The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
-@code{.newsrc} file.
+Alternative Approaches
-To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
-Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
-@dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
-taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
-conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
-me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
-Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
+* Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
+* Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
-Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
-however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
-@kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
-files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
-on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
-starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
-information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
-they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
+Various Summary Stuff
-Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
-information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
+* Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
+* Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
+* Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
+* Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
+Article Buffer
-@node Fetching a Group
-@section Fetching a Group
-@cindex fetching a group
+* Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
+* Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
+* Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
+* Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
+* Misc Article:: Other stuff.
-@findex gnus-fetch-group
-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.
-It takes the group name as a parameter.
+Composing Messages
+* Mail:: Mailing and replying.
+* 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.
+* Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
+* Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
+* Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
+* Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
-@node New Groups
-@section New Groups
-@cindex new groups
-@cindex subscription
+Select Methods
-@vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
-If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
-you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
-also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
-@code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
-@kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
-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}).
+* Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
+* Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
+* Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
+* Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
+* Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
+* Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
+* Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
-@menu
-* Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
-* Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
-* Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
-@end menu
+Server Buffer
+* Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
+* Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
+* Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
+* Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
+* Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
+* Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
+* Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
-@node Checking New Groups
-@subsection Checking New Groups
+Getting News
-Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
-list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
-dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
-@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
-server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
-cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
-groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
-@code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
-Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
-Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
+* NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
+* News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
-I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
-server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
-fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
-@code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
-few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
-work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
-supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
-You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
-whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
-it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
-@samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
+Getting Mail
-This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
-issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
-subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
-if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
-that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
-Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
+* Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
+* Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
+* Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
+* Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
+* Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
+* Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
+* Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
+* Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
+* Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
+* Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
+* Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
+* Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
+* Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
+Mail Sources
-@node Subscription Methods
-@subsection Subscription Methods
+* Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
+* Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
+* Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
-@vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
-What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
-@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
+Choosing a Mail Backend
-This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
-with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
+* Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
+* Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
+* Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
+* MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
+* Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
+* Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
-Some handy pre-fab functions are:
+Browsing the Web
-@table @code
+* Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
+* Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
+* Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
+* Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
+* RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
+* Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
-@item gnus-subscribe-zombies
-@vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
-Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
-zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
-(with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
+Other Sources
-@item gnus-subscribe-randomly
-@vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
-Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
-new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
+* Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
+* Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
+* Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
+* SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
+* Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
+* IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
-@item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
-@vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
-Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
+Document Groups
-@item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
-@vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
-Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
-function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
-@code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
-alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
-hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
-@samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
-up. Or something like that.
+* Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
-@item gnus-subscribe-interactively
-@vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
-Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
-you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
-to will be subscribed hierarchically.
+SOUP
-@item gnus-subscribe-killed
-@vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
-Kill all new groups.
+* SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
+* SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
+* SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
-@item gnus-subscribe-topics
-@vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
-Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
-parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
-topic parameter that looks like
+@sc{imap}
-@example
-"nnslashdot"
-@end example
+* Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
+* Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
+* Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
-will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
-that topic.
+Combined Groups
-If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
-top-level topic.
+* Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
+* Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
-@end table
+Gnus Unplugged
-@vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
-A closely related variable is
-@code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
-mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
-hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
-will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
-hierarchy or not.
+* 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.
+* Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
+* Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
+* 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.
+* Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
+* Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
-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.
+Agent Categories
+* Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
+* Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
+* Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
-@node Filtering New Groups
-@subsection Filtering New Groups
+Agent Commands
-A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
-subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
-the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
+* Group Agent Commands::
+* Summary Agent Commands::
+* Server Agent Commands::
-@example
-options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
-@end example
+Scoring
-@vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
-This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
-person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
-groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
-be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
-be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
-subscribing these groups.
-@code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
-variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
+* 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.
-@vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
-@vindex gnus-options-subscribe
-If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
-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 new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
-subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
+GroupLens
-@vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
-Yet another variable that meddles here is
-@code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
-@code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
-thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
-meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
-more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
-that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
-@code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
-don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
+* 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.
-New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
-@code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
+Advanced Scoring
+* Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
+* Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
+* Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
-@node Changing Servers
-@section Changing Servers
-@cindex changing servers
+Various
-Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
-This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
-very flaky and you want to use another.
+* 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 tendinitis 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 unsolicited commercial email.
+* Various Various:: Things that are really various.
-Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
-@code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
+Formatting Variables
-@emph{Wrong!}
+* Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
+* Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
+* 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.
-Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
-@sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
-you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
-change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
-worthless.
+XEmacs Enhancements
-Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
-file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
-common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
-functions more than absolutely necessary.
-
-@kindex M-x gnus-change-server
-@findex gnus-change-server
-If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
-the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
-article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
-gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
-will prompt for the method you want to move to.
-
-@kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
-@findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
-You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
-gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
-move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
+* 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.
-@kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
-@findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
-If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
-and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
-gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
-that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
+Picons
-After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
-since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
-affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
+* 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 Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
+Appendices
-@node Startup Files
-@section Startup Files
-@cindex startup files
-@cindex .newsrc
-@cindex .newsrc.el
-@cindex .newsrc.eld
+* History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
+* On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
+* Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
+* Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
+* Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
+* Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
+* Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
+* Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
-Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
-information is traditionally stored in this file.
+History
-Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
-keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
-@file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
-the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
-the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
-files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
-@sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
+* Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
+* Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
+* 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.
+* Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
+* Contributors:: Oodles of people.
+* New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
-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. You should
-never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
-not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
+New Features
-@vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
-@vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
-You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
-@code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
-the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
-However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
-Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
-@code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
-@file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
-convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
+* ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
+* September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
+* Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
+* Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
+* Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
-@vindex gnus-save-killed-list
-If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
-will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
-save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
-will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
-so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
-You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
-@code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
-Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
-the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
-saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
-several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
+Customization
-@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.
+* Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
+* Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
+* Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
+* Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
-@vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
-@vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
-@vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
-@code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
-files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
-saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
-@code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
-@file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
-control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
-startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
+Gnus Reference Guide
-@lisp
-(defun turn-off-backup ()
- (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
+* 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.
-(add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
-(add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
-@end lisp
+Backend Interface
-@vindex gnus-init-file
-When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
-(@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).
+* Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
+* Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
+* Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
+* Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
+* Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
+* Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
+Various File Formats
+* Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
+* Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
-@node Auto Save
-@section Auto Save
-@cindex dribble file
-@cindex auto-save
+Emacs for Heathens
-Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
-catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
-special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
-Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
-@file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
-this file.
+* Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
+* Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
-If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
-read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
-saved.
+@end detailmenu
+@end menu
-@vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
-If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
-maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
+@node Starting Up
+@chapter Starting gnus
+@cindex starting up
-@vindex gnus-dribble-directory
-Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
-this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
-into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
-normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
-file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
+@kindex M-x gnus
+@findex gnus
+If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
+and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
+your Emacs.
-@vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
-If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
-read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
+@findex gnus-other-frame
+@kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
+If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
+@kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
+If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
+variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
+@file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
-@node The Active File
-@section The Active File
-@cindex active file
-@cindex ignored groups
+If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
+terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
-When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
-articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
-file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
+@menu
+* Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
+* The First Time:: What does gnus do the first time you start it?
+* The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
+* Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one gnus active at a time.
+* Fetching a Group:: Starting gnus just to read a group.
+* New Groups:: What is gnus supposed to do with new groups?
+* Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
+* Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
+* The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
+* Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
+* Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
+@end menu
-@vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
-Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
-regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
-any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
-ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
-recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
-Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
-@c This variable is
-@c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
-@c if you set it to anything else.
+@node Finding the News
+@section Finding the News
+@cindex finding news
-@vindex gnus-read-active-file
+@vindex gnus-select-method
@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{some} by default.
+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 not fetched with this method are
+foreign groups.
-Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
-you actually subscribe to.
+For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
+you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
-Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
-variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
-present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
-considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
+@end lisp
-This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
-attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
-servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
-support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
-at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
-is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
+If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
-Some news servers (Leafnode and old versions of INN, for instance) do
-not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these servers, @code{nil}
-is probably the most efficient value for this variable.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
+@end lisp
-If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
-lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
-@sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
-read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
-performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
-@code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
+If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
+certainly be much faster.
-If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
-different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
+@vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
+@cindex NNTPSERVER
+@cindex @sc{nntp} server
+If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
+@code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
+gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
+(@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
+that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
-In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
-kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
+@vindex gnus-nntp-server
+If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
+@code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
+@code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
-Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
-secondary select methods.
+@vindex gnus-secondary-servers
+@vindex gnus-nntp-server
+You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
+@sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
+(i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
+in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
+type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
+will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
+gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
+server.)
+@findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
+@kindex B (Group)
+However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
+interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
+better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
+let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
+to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
+maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
-@node Startup Variables
-@section Startup Variables
+@vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
+@c @head
+A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
+@code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
+listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
+@code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
+files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
+appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
+groups are.
-@table @code
+For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
+would typically set this variable to
-@item gnus-load-hook
-@vindex gnus-load-hook
-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.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
+@end lisp
-@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 run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
+@node The First Time
+@section The First Time
+@cindex first time usage
-@item gnus-started-hook
-@vindex gnus-started-hook
-A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
-successfully.
+If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
+be subscribed by default.
-@item gnus-setup-news-hook
-@vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
-A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
-generating the group buffer.
+@vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
+If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
+will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
+killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
+something useful.
-@item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
-@vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
-If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
-startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
-@file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
-bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
-best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
-in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
+Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
+picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
+here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
-@item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
-@vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
-If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
-your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
-of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
-@file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
+You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
+help you with most common problems.
-@item gnus-no-groups-message
-@vindex gnus-no-groups-message
-Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
+If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
+use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
+special.
-@item gnus-play-startup-jingle
-@vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
-If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
-@item gnus-startup-jingle
-@vindex gnus-startup-jingle
-Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
-default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
+@node The Server is Down
+@section The Server is Down
+@cindex server errors
-@end table
+If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
+problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
+the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
+Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
+without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
+will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
+given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
+for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
+groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
+buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
-@node The Group Buffer
-@chapter The Group Buffer
-@cindex group buffer
+@findex gnus-no-server
+@kindex M-x gnus-no-server
+@c @head
+If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
+your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
+@code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
+if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
+your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
+1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
+levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
-The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
-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
+@node Slave Gnusae
+@section Slave Gnusae
+@cindex slave
-@menu
-* Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
-* Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
-* Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
-* Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
-* Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
-* Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
-* Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
-* Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
-* Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
-* Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
-* Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
-* Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
-* Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
-* Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
-* Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
-* Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
-* Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
-@end menu
+You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
+same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
+are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
+that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
+The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
+@code{.newsrc} file.
-@node Group Buffer Format
-@section Group Buffer Format
+To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
+Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
+@dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
+taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
+conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
+me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
+Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
-@menu
-* Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
-* Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
-* Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
-@end menu
+Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
+however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
+@kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
+files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
+on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
+starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
+information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
+they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
+Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
+information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
-@node Group Line Specification
-@subsection Group Line Specification
-@cindex group buffer format
-The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
-make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
+@node Fetching a Group
+@section Fetching a Group
+@cindex fetching a group
-Here's a couple of example group lines:
+@findex gnus-fetch-group
+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.
+It takes the group name as a parameter.
-@example
- 25: news.announce.newusers
- * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
-@end example
-Quite simple, huh?
+@node New Groups
+@section New Groups
+@cindex new groups
+@cindex subscription
-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?).
+@vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
+If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
+you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
+also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
+@code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
+@kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
+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}).
-@vindex gnus-group-line-format
-You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
-@code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
-lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
-a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
-@xref{Formatting Variables}.
+@menu
+* Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
+* Subscription Methods:: What gnus should do with new groups.
+* Filtering New Groups:: Making gnus ignore certain new groups.
+@end menu
-@samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
-There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
-the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
-even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
-never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
-text properties.
+@node Checking New Groups
+@subsection Checking New Groups
-(Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
-layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
-instead of wasting time reading news.)
+Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
+list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
+dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
+@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
+server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
+cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
+groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
+@code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
+Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
+Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
-Here's a list of all available format characters:
+I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
+server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
+fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
+@code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
+few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
+work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
+supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
+You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
+whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
+it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
+@samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
-@table @samp
+This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
+issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
+subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
+if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
+that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
+Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
-@item M
-An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
-@item S
-Whether the group is subscribed.
+@node Subscription Methods
+@subsection Subscription Methods
-@item L
-Level of subscribedness.
+@vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
+What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
+@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
-@item N
-Number of unread articles.
+This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
+with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
-@item I
-Number of dormant articles.
+Some handy pre-fab functions are:
-@item T
-Number of ticked articles.
+@table @code
-@item R
-Number of read articles.
+@item gnus-subscribe-zombies
+@vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
+Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
+zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
+(with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
-@item t
-Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
-minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
+@item gnus-subscribe-randomly
+@vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
+Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
+new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
-@item y
-Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
+@item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
+@vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
+Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
-@item i
-Number of ticked and dormant articles.
+@item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
+@vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
+Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
+function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
+@code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
+alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
+hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
+@samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
+up. Or something like that.
-@item g
-Full group name.
+@item gnus-subscribe-interactively
+@vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
+Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
+you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
+to will be subscribed hierarchically.
-@item G
-Group name.
+@item gnus-subscribe-killed
+@vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
+Kill all new groups.
-@item D
-Newsgroup description.
+@item gnus-subscribe-topics
+@vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
+Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
+parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
+topic parameter that looks like
-@item o
-@samp{m} if moderated.
+@example
+"nnslashdot"
+@end example
-@item O
-@samp{(m)} if moderated.
+will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
+that topic.
-@item s
-Select method.
+If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
+top-level topic.
-@item n
-Select from where.
+@end table
-@item z
-A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
-used.
+@vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
+A closely related variable is
+@code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
+mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
+hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
+will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
+hierarchy or not.
-@item P
-Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
+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.
-@item c
-@vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
-Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
-variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
-The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
-@samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
-@item m
-@vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
-@cindex %
-@samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
-the group lately.
+@node Filtering New Groups
+@subsection Filtering New Groups
-@item d
-A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
-Timestamp}).
+A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
+subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
+the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
-@item u
-User defined specifier. 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 dummy
-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
+@example
+options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
+@end example
-@cindex *
-All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
-if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
-group, or a bogus native group.
+@vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
+This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
+person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
+groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
+be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
+be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
+subscribing these groups.
+@code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
+variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
+@vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
+@vindex gnus-options-subscribe
+If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
+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 new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
+subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
-@node Group Modeline Specification
-@subsection Group Modeline Specification
-@cindex group modeline
+@vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
+Yet another variable that meddles here is
+@code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
+@code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
+thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
+meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
+more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
+that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
+@code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
+don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
-@vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
-The mode line can be changed by setting
-@code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
-doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
+New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
+@code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
-@table @samp
-@item S
-The native news server.
-@item M
-The native select method.
-@end table
+@node Changing Servers
+@section Changing Servers
+@cindex changing servers
-@node Group Highlighting
-@subsection Group Highlighting
-@cindex highlighting
-@cindex group highlighting
+Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
+This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
+very flaky and you want to use another.
-@vindex gnus-group-highlight
-Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
-@code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
-that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
-something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
+Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
+@code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
-Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
-background is dark:
+@emph{Wrong!}
-@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))))
+Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
+@sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
+you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
+change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
+worthless.
-(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)
- (t . my-group-face-5)))
-@end lisp
+Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
+file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
+common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
+functions more than absolutely necessary.
-Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
+@kindex M-x gnus-change-server
+@findex gnus-change-server
+If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
+the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
+article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
+gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
+will prompt for the method you want to move to.
-Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
-include:
+@kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
+@findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
+You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
+gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
+move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
-@table @code
-@item group
-The group name.
-@item unread
-The number of unread articles in the group.
-@item method
-The select method.
-@item mailp
-Whether the group is a mail group.
-@item level
-The level of the group.
-@item score
-The score of the group.
-@item ticked
-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 plus one.
-@item topic
-When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
-topic being inserted.
-@end table
+@kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
+@findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
+If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
+and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
+gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
+that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
-When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
-of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
-functions for snarfing info on the group.
+After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
+since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
+affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
-@vindex gnus-group-update-hook
-@findex gnus-group-highlight-line
-@code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
-It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
-calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
+@node Startup Files
+@section Startup Files
+@cindex startup files
+@cindex .newsrc
+@cindex .newsrc.el
+@cindex .newsrc.eld
-@node Group Maneuvering
-@section Group Maneuvering
-@cindex group movement
+Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
+information is traditionally stored in this file.
-All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
-expected, hopefully.
+Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
+keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
+@file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
+the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
+the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
+files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
+@sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
-@table @kbd
+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. You should
+never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
+not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
-@item n
-@kindex n (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
-Go to the next group that has unread articles
-(@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
+@vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
+@vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
+You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
+@code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
+the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
+However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
+gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
+@code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
+@file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
+convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
-@item p
-@itemx DEL
-@kindex DEL (Group)
-@kindex p (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
-Go to the previous group that has unread articles
-(@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
+@vindex gnus-save-killed-list
+If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
+will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
+save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
+will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
+so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
+You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
+@code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
+Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
+the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
+saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
+several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
-@item N
-@kindex N (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-next-group
-Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
+@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.
-@item P
-@kindex P (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-prev-group
-Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
+@vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
+@vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
+@vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
+@code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
+files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
+saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
+@code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
+@file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
+control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
+startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
-@item M-n
-@kindex M-n (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
-Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
-(@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
+@lisp
+(defun turn-off-backup ()
+ (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
-@item M-p
-@kindex M-p (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
-Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
-(@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
-@end table
+(add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
+(add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
+@end lisp
-Three commands for jumping to groups:
+@vindex gnus-init-file
+When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
+(@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).
-@table @kbd
-@item j
-@kindex j (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
-Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
-(@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
-like living groups.
-@item ,
-@kindex , (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
-Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
-(@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
+@node Auto Save
+@section Auto Save
+@cindex dribble file
+@cindex auto-save
-@item .
-@kindex . (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
-Jump to the first group with unread articles
-(@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
-@end table
+Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
+catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
+special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
+Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
+@file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
+this file.
-@vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
-If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
-commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
-the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
-is @code{t}.
+If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
+read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
+saved.
+@vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
+If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
+maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
-@node Selecting a Group
-@section Selecting a Group
-@cindex group selection
+@vindex gnus-dribble-directory
+Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
+this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
+into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
+normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
+file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
-@table @kbd
+@vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
+If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
+read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
-@item SPACE
-@kindex SPACE (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-read-group
-Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
-first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
-unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
-this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
-group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
-determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
-positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
-negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
-@item RET
-@kindex RET (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-select-group
-Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
-(@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
-@code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
-does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
-entry.
+@node The Active File
+@section The Active File
+@cindex active file
+@cindex ignored groups
-@item M-RET
-@kindex M-RET (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
-This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
-minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
-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,
-which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
-summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
+When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
+articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
+file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
-@item M-SPACE
-@kindex M-SPACE (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
-This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
-command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
-(@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
+@vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
+Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
+regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
+any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
+ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
+recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
+Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
-@item M-C-RET
-@kindex M-C-RET (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
-Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
-doing any processing of its contents
-(@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
-turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
-manner will have no permanent effects.
+@c This variable is
+@c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
+@c if you set it to anything else.
-@end table
+@vindex gnus-read-active-file
+@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{some} by default.
-@vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
-The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
-to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
-(unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
-before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
-should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
-number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
-is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
-be fetched.
+Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
+you actually subscribe to.
-@vindex gnus-select-group-hook
-@vindex gnus-auto-select-first
-@code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
-automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
+Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
+variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
+present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
+considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
-@table @code
+This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
+attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
+servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
+support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
+at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
+is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
-@item nil
-Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
-full summary buffer.
+Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
+instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
+servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
+variable.
-@item t
-Select the first unread article when entering the group.
+If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
+lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
+@sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
+read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
+performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
+@code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
-@item best
-Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
-group.
+If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
+different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
-@end table
+In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
+kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
-This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
-be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
-Useful functions include:
+Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
+secondary select methods.
-@table @code
-@item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
-Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
-don't select the article.
-@item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
-Select the first unread article.
+@node Startup Variables
+@section Startup Variables
-@item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
-Select the highest-scored unread article.
-@end table
+@table @code
+@item gnus-load-hook
+@vindex gnus-load-hook
+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.
-If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
-binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
-in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
-selected.
+@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 run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
-@node Subscription Commands
-@section Subscription Commands
-@cindex subscription
+@item gnus-started-hook
+@vindex gnus-started-hook
+A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
+successfully.
-@table @kbd
+@item gnus-setup-news-hook
+@vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
+A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
+generating the group buffer.
-@item S t
-@itemx u
-@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}).
+@item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
+@vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
+If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
+startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
+@file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
+bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
+best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
+in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
-@item S s
-@itemx U
-@kindex S s (Group)
-@kindex U (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
-Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
-subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
-(@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
+@item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
+@vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
+If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
+your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
+of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
+@file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
-@item S k
-@itemx C-k
-@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 gnus-no-groups-message
+@vindex gnus-no-groups-message
+Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
-@item S y
-@itemx C-y
-@kindex S y (Group)
-@kindex C-y (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-yank-group
-Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
+@item gnus-play-startup-jingle
+@vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
+If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
-@item C-x C-t
-@kindex C-x C-t (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
-Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
-really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
-kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
+@item gnus-startup-jingle
+@vindex gnus-startup-jingle
+Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
+default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
-@item S w
-@itemx C-w
-@kindex S w (Group)
-@kindex C-w (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-kill-region
-Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
+@end table
-@item S z
-@kindex S z (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
-Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
-@item S C-k
-@kindex S C-k (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-kill-level
-Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
-These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
-be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
-really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
-groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
-kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
-@file{.newsrc} file.
+@node Group Buffer
+@chapter Group Buffer
+@cindex group buffer
-@end table
+The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
+is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
+long as gnus is active.
-Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
+@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.
+* Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
+* Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
+* Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
+* Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
+* Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
+* Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
+* Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
+* Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
+* Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
+* Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
+* Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
+* Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
+* Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
+* Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
+* Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
+@end menu
-@node Group Data
-@section Group Data
-@table @kbd
+@node Group Buffer Format
+@section Group Buffer Format
-@item c
-@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
-the group buffer.
+@menu
+* Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
+* Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
+* Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
+@end menu
-@item C
-@kindex C (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
-Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
-(@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
-@item M-c
-@kindex M-c (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-clear-data
-Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
-read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
+@node Group Line Specification
+@subsection Group Line Specification
+@cindex group buffer format
-@item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
-@kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
-@findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
-If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
-and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
-clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
-caution.
+The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
+make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
-@end table
+Here's a couple of example group lines:
+@example
+ 25: news.announce.newusers
+ * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
+@end example
-@node Group Levels
-@section Group Levels
-@cindex group level
-@cindex level
+Quite simple, huh?
-All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
-group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
-can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
-(@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
-a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
+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?).
-Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
+@vindex gnus-group-line-format
+You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
+@code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
+lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
+a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
+@xref{Formatting Variables}.
-@table @kbd
+@samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
-@item S l
-@kindex S l (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-set-current-level
-Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
-next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
-prompted for a level.
-@end table
+There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
+the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
+even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
+never examined by gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
+text properties.
-@vindex gnus-level-killed
-@vindex gnus-level-zombie
-@vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
-@vindex gnus-level-subscribed
-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 (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.
+(Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
+layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
+instead of wasting time reading news.)
-It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
-low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
+Here's a list of all available format characters:
-If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
-Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
-them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
+@table @samp
-@vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
-@vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
-Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
-(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 valid ranges.
+@item M
+An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
-@vindex gnus-keep-same-level
-If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
-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
-rest.
+@item S
+Whether the group is subscribed.
-@vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
-All groups with a level less than or equal to
-@code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
-by default.
+@item L
+Level of subscribedness.
-@vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
-If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
-groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
-@code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
-listed.
+@item N
+Number of unread articles.
-@vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
-If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
-give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
-use this level as the ``work'' level.
+@item I
+Number of dormant articles.
-@vindex gnus-activate-level
-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.
+@item T
+Number of ticked articles.
+@item R
+Number of read articles.
-@node Group Score
-@section Group Score
-@cindex group score
-@cindex group rank
-@cindex rank
+@item t
+Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
+minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
-You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
-is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
-group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
-reason?
+Gnus uses this estimation because the NNTP protocol provides efficient
+access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting the true
+unread message count is not possible efficiently. For hysterical
+raisins, even the mail backends, where the true number of unread
+messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
+interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the
+backend interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
+want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
-This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
-to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
-the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
-score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
-called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
-a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
-of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
-least significant part.))
+@item y
+Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
-@findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
-If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
-read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
-the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
-sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
-action after each summary exit, you can add
-@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
-@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
-slow things down somewhat.
+@item i
+Number of ticked and dormant articles.
+@item g
+Full group name.
-@node Marking Groups
-@section Marking Groups
-@cindex marking groups
+@item G
+Group name.
-If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
-subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
-numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
-bidding on those groups.
+@item D
+Newsgroup description.
-However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
-perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
-with the process mark and then execute the command.
+@item o
+@samp{m} if moderated.
-@table @kbd
+@item O
+@samp{(m)} if moderated.
-@item #
-@kindex # (Group)
-@itemx M m
-@kindex M m (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-mark-group
-Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
+@item s
+Select method.
-@item M-#
-@kindex M-# (Group)
-@itemx M u
-@kindex M u (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-unmark-group
-Remove the mark from the current group
-(@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
+@item n
+Select from where.
-@item M U
-@kindex M U (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
-Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
+@item z
+A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
+used.
-@item M w
-@kindex M w (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-mark-region
-Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
+@item P
+Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
-@item M b
-@kindex M b (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
-Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
+@item c
+@vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
+Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
+variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
+The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
+@samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
-@item M r
-@kindex M r (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
-Mark all groups that match some regular expression
-(@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
-@end table
+@item m
+@vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
+@cindex %
+@samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
+the group lately.
-Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
+@item p
+@samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
-@findex gnus-group-universal-argument
-If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
-with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
-(@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
-the command to be executed.
+@item d
+A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
+Timestamp}).
+@item u
+User defined specifier. 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 dummy
+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
-@node Foreign Groups
-@section Foreign Groups
-@cindex foreign groups
+@cindex *
+All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
+if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
+group, or a bogus native group.
-Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
-groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
-special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
-groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
-consulted.
-@table @kbd
+@node Group Modeline Specification
+@subsection Group Modeline Specification
+@cindex group modeline
-@item G m
-@kindex G m (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-make-group
-@cindex making groups
-Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
-for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
-to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
+@vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
+The mode line can be changed by setting
+@code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
+doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
-@item G r
-@kindex G r (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-rename-group
-@cindex renaming groups
-Rename the current group to something else
-(@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.
+@table @samp
+@item S
+The native news server.
+@item M
+The native select method.
+@end table
-@item G c
-@kindex G c (Group)
-@cindex customizing
-@findex gnus-group-customize
-Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
-@item G e
-@kindex G e (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
-@cindex renaming groups
-Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
-group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
+@node Group Highlighting
+@subsection Group Highlighting
+@cindex highlighting
+@cindex group highlighting
-@item G p
-@kindex G p (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
-Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
-(@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
+@vindex gnus-group-highlight
+Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
+@code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
+that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
+something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
-@item G E
-@kindex G E (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-edit-group
-Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
-(@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
+Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
+background is dark:
-@item G d
-@kindex G d (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
-@cindex nndir
-Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
-for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
+@lisp
+(cond (window-system
+ (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
+ (defface my-group-face-1
+ '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
+ (defface my-group-face-2
+ '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
+ (defface my-group-face-3
+ '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
+ (defface my-group-face-4
+ '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
+ (defface my-group-face-5
+ '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
-@item G h
-@kindex G h (Group)
-@cindex help group
-@findex gnus-group-make-help-group
-Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
+(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)
+ (t . my-group-face-5)))
+@end lisp
-@item G a
-@kindex G a (Group)
-@cindex (ding) archive
-@cindex archive group
-@findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
-@vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
-@vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
-Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
-default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
-(@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
-group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
+Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
-@item G k
-@kindex G k (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
-@cindex nnkiboze
-Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
-match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
-strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
-@xref{Kibozed Groups}.
+Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
+include:
-@item G D
-@kindex G D (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-enter-directory
-@cindex nneething
-Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
-@code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
-@xref{Anything Groups}.
+@table @code
+@item group
+The group name.
+@item unread
+The number of unread articles in the group.
+@item method
+The select method.
+@item mailp
+Whether the group is a mail group.
+@item level
+The level of the group.
+@item score
+The score of the group.
+@item ticked
+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 plus one.
+@item topic
+When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
+topic being inserted.
+@end table
-@item G f
-@kindex G f (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
-@cindex ClariNet Briefs
-@cindex nndoc
-Make a group based on some file or other
-(@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
-command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
-Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
-@code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
-@code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
-If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
-type. @xref{Document Groups}.
+When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
+of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
+functions for snarfing info on the group.
-@item G u
-@kindex G u (Group)
-@vindex gnus-useful-groups
-@findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
-Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
-(@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
+@vindex gnus-group-update-hook
+@findex gnus-group-highlight-line
+@code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
+It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
+calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
-@item G w
-@kindex G w (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-make-web-group
-@cindex DejaNews
-@cindex Alta Vista
-@cindex InReference
-@cindex nnweb
-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. Valid search engine types
-include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
-@xref{Web Searches}.
-If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
-to a particular group by using a match string like
-@samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
+@node Group Maneuvering
+@section Group Maneuvering
+@cindex group movement
-@item G DEL
-@kindex G DEL (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-delete-group
-This function will delete the current group
-(@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
-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. This command can't be used on
-read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
+All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
+expected, hopefully.
-@item G V
-@kindex G V (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
-Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
-(@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
+@table @kbd
-@item G v
-@kindex G v (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
-Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
-(@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
-@end table
+@item n
+@kindex n (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
+Go to the next group that has unread articles
+(@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
-@xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
-methods.
+@item p
+@itemx DEL
+@kindex DEL (Group)
+@kindex p (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
+Go to the previous group that has unread articles
+(@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
-@vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
-If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
-Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
-This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
-groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
-@code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
-newsgroups.
+@item N
+@kindex N (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-next-group
+Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
+@item P
+@kindex P (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-prev-group
+Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
-@node Group Parameters
-@section Group Parameters
-@cindex group parameters
+@item M-n
+@kindex M-n (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
+Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
+(@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
-The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
-Here's an example group parameter list:
+@item M-p
+@kindex M-p (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
+Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
+(@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
+@end table
-@example
-((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
- (auto-expire . t))
-@end example
+Three commands for jumping to groups:
-We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
-the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
-parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
-not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
+@table @kbd
-The following group parameters can be used:
+@item j
+@kindex j (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
+Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
+(@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
+like living groups.
-@table @code
-@item to-address
-@cindex to-address
-Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
+@item ,
+@kindex , (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
+Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
+(@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
-@example
-(to-address . "some@@where.com")
-@end example
+@item .
+@kindex . (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
+Jump to the first group with unread articles
+(@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
+@end table
-This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
-lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
-the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
-ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
-that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
+@vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
+If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
+commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
+the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
+is @code{t}.
-Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
-or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
-@samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
-the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
-group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
-list address instead.
-@item to-list
-@cindex to-list
-Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
+@node Selecting a Group
+@section Selecting a Group
+@cindex group selection
-@example
-(to-list . "some@@where.com")
-@end example
+@table @kbd
-It is totally ignored
-when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
-you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
+@item SPACE
+@kindex SPACE (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-read-group
+Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
+first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
+unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
+this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
+group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
+determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
+positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
+negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
-If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
-@code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
-then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
-sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
-@vindex gnus-add-to-list
+Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
+articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
+- 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
-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.
+When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
+@kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
+ones.
-@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 RET
+@kindex RET (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-select-group
+Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
+(@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
+@code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
+does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
+entry.
-@item broken-reply-to
-@cindex broken-reply-to
-Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
-headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
-reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
-@code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
-broken behavior. So there!
+@item M-RET
+@kindex M-RET (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
+This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
+minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
+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,
+which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
+summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
-@item to-group
-@cindex to-group
-Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
-posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
+@item M-SPACE
+@kindex M-SPACE (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
+This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
+command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
+(@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
-@item newsgroup
-@cindex newsgroup
-If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
-will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
-This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
-news group.
+@item M-C-RET
+@kindex M-C-RET (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
+Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
+doing any processing of its contents
+(@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
+turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
+manner will have no permanent effects.
-@item gcc-self
-@cindex gcc-self
-If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
-composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
-@code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
-generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
-be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
-precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
-(@pxref{Archived Messages}).
+@end table
-@item auto-expire
-@cindex auto-expire
-If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
-. t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
-alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
+@vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
+The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
+to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
+(unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
+before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
+should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
+number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
+is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
+be fetched.
-@item total-expire
-@cindex 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. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
-expiry.
+@vindex gnus-select-group-hook
+@vindex gnus-auto-select-first
+@code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
+automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
-@item expiry-wait
-@cindex expiry-wait
-@vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
-If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
-. 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
-@code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
-The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
-the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
+@table @code
-@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. All
-interactive score entries will be put into this file.
+@item nil
+Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
+full summary buffer.
-@item adapt-file
-@cindex adapt file group parameter
-Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
-@file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
-All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
+@item t
+Select the first unread article when entering the group.
-@item admin-address
-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 best
+Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
+group.
-@item display
-Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
-display on entering the group. Valid values are:
+@end table
+
+This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
+be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
+Useful functions include:
@table @code
-@item all
-Display all articles, both read and unread.
+@item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
+Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
+don't select the article.
-@item default
-Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
-ticked articles.
+@item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
+Select the first unread article.
+
+@item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
+Select the highest-scored unread article.
@end table
-@item comment
-Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
-are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
-Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
-groups.
-@item charset
-Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
-@code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
-used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
+If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
+binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
+in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
+selected.
-@item (@var{variable} @var{form})
-You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
-are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
-you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
-that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
-in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
-@code{eval}ed there.
-This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
-If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
-something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
-group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
-@code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
+@node Subscription Commands
+@section Subscription Commands
+@cindex subscription
-@item posting-style
-You can store additional posting style information for this group only
-here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
-@code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
-the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
-take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
+@table @kbd
-For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
-instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
-like this in the group parameters:
+@item S t
+@itemx u
+@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}).
-@example
-(posting-style
- (name "Funky Name")
- (signature "Funky Signature"))
-@end example
+@item S s
+@itemx U
+@kindex S s (Group)
+@kindex U (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
+Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
+subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
+(@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
-@end table
+@item S k
+@itemx C-k
+@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}).
-Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
-might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
-Parameters}).
+@item S y
+@itemx C-y
+@kindex S y (Group)
+@kindex C-y (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-yank-group
+Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
+@item C-x C-t
+@kindex C-x C-t (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
+Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
+really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
+kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
-@node Listing Groups
-@section Listing Groups
-@cindex group listing
+@item S w
+@itemx C-w
+@kindex S w (Group)
+@kindex C-w (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-kill-region
+Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
-These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
+@item S z
+@kindex S z (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
+Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
-@table @kbd
+@item S C-k
+@kindex S C-k (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-kill-level
+Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
+These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
+be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
+really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
+groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
+kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
+@file{.newsrc} file.
-@item l
-@itemx A s
-@kindex A s (Group)
-@kindex l (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-list-groups
-List all groups that have unread articles
-(@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
-command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
-only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
-@code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
-groups).
+@end table
-@item L
-@itemx A u
-@kindex A u (Group)
-@kindex L (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
-List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
-(@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
-this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
-it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
-unsubscribed groups).
+Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
-@item A l
-@kindex A l (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-list-level
-List all unread groups on a specific level
-(@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
-with no unread articles.
-@item A k
-@kindex A k (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-list-killed
-List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
-prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
-currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
-from the server.
-
-@item A z
-@kindex A z (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-list-zombies
-List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
+@node Group Data
+@section Group Data
-@item A m
-@kindex A m (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-list-matching
-List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
-(@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
+@table @kbd
-@item A M
-@kindex A M (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
-List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
+@item c
+@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
+the group buffer.
-@item A A
-@kindex A A (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-list-active
-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 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 C
+@kindex C (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
+Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
+(@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
-@item A a
-@kindex A a (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-apropos
-List all groups that have names that match a regexp
-(@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
+@item M-c
+@kindex M-c (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-clear-data
+Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
+read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
-@item A d
-@kindex A d (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-description-apropos
-List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
-(@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
+@item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
+@kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
+@findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
+If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
+and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
+clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
+caution.
@end table
-@vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
-@cindex visible group parameter
-Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
-always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
-add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
-get the same effect.
-@vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
-Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
-group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
-@code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
-groups. It is @code{t} by default.
+@node Group Levels
+@section Group Levels
+@cindex group level
+@cindex level
+All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
+group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
+can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
+(@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
+a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
-@node Sorting Groups
-@section Sorting Groups
-@cindex sorting groups
+Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
-@kindex C-c C-s (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-sort-groups
-@vindex gnus-group-sort-function
-The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
-group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
-@code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
-include:
+@table @kbd
-@table @code
+@item S l
+@kindex S l (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-set-current-level
+Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
+next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
+prompted for a level.
+@end table
-@item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
-@findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
-Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
+@vindex gnus-level-killed
+@vindex gnus-level-zombie
+@vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
+@vindex gnus-level-subscribed
+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 (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.
-@item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
-@findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
-Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
+It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
+low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
-@item gnus-group-sort-by-level
-@findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
-Sort by group level.
+Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
+understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
+subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
+empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
+go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
+groups are hidden, in a way.
+
+Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
+are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
+unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
+information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
+and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
+aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
+
+Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
+a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
+group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
+but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
+the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
+list of killed groups.)
-@item gnus-group-sort-by-score
-@findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
-Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
+If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
+Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
+them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
-@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}. @xref{Group Score}.
+@vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
+@vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
+Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
+(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 valid ranges.
-@item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
-@findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
-Sort by number of unread articles.
+@vindex gnus-keep-same-level
+If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
+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
+rest.
-@item gnus-group-sort-by-method
-@findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
-Sort alphabetically on the select method.
+If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
+one with the best level.
+@vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
+All groups with a level less than or equal to
+@code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
+by default.
-@end table
+@vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
+If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
+groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
+@code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
+listed.
-@code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
-functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
-the last one.
+@vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
+If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
+give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
+use this level as the ``work'' level.
+@vindex gnus-activate-level
+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.
-There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
-some sorting criteria:
-@table @kbd
-@item G S a
-@kindex G S a (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
-Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
+@node Group Score
+@section Group Score
+@cindex group score
+@cindex group rank
+@cindex rank
-@item G S u
-@kindex G S u (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
-Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
+You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
+is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
+group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
+reason?
-@item G S l
-@kindex G S l (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
-Sort the group buffer by group level
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
+This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
+to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
+the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
+score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
+called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
+a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
+of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
+least significant part.))
-@item G S v
-@kindex G S v (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
-Sort the group buffer by group score
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
+@findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
+If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
+read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
+the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
+sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
+action after each summary exit, you can add
+@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
+@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
+slow things down somewhat.
-@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}). @xref{Group Score}.
-@item G S m
-@kindex G S m (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
-Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
+@node Marking Groups
+@section Marking Groups
+@cindex marking groups
-@end table
+If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
+subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
+numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
+bidding on those groups.
-All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
-(@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
+perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
+with the process mark and then execute the command.
-When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
-commands will sort in reverse order.
+@table @kbd
-You can also sort a subset of the groups:
+@item #
+@kindex # (Group)
+@itemx M m
+@kindex M m (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-mark-group
+Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
-@table @kbd
-@item G P a
-@kindex G P a (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
-Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
+@item M-#
+@kindex M-# (Group)
+@itemx M u
+@kindex M u (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-unmark-group
+Remove the mark from the current group
+(@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
-@item G P u
-@kindex G P u (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
-Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
+@item M U
+@kindex M U (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
+Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
-@item G P l
-@kindex G P l (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
-Sort the groups by group level
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
+@item M w
+@kindex M w (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-mark-region
+Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
-@item G P v
-@kindex G P v (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
-Sort the groups by group score
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
+@item M b
+@kindex M b (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
+Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
-@item G P r
-@kindex G P r (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
-Sort the groups by group rank
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
+@item M r
+@kindex M r (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
+Mark all groups that match some regular expression
+(@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
+@end table
-@item G P m
-@kindex G P m (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
-Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
-(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
+Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
-@end table
+@findex gnus-group-universal-argument
+If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
+with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
+(@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
+the command to be executed.
+@node Foreign Groups
+@section Foreign Groups
+@cindex foreign groups
-@node Group Maintenance
-@section Group Maintenance
-@cindex bogus groups
+Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
+groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
+special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
+groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
+consulted.
@table @kbd
-@item b
-@kindex b (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
-Find bogus groups and delete them
-(@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
-@item F
-@kindex F (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
-Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
-With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
-for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
-to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
-zombies.
+@item G m
+@kindex G m (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-make-group
+@cindex making groups
+Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
+for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
+to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
-@item C-c C-x
-@kindex C-c C-x (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-expire-articles
-Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
-process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
+@item G r
+@kindex G r (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-rename-group
+@cindex renaming groups
+Rename the current group to something else
+(@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.
-@item C-c M-C-x
-@kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
-Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
-(@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
+@item G c
+@kindex G c (Group)
+@cindex customizing
+@findex gnus-group-customize
+Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
-@end table
+@item G e
+@kindex G e (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
+@cindex renaming groups
+Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
+group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
+@item G p
+@kindex G p (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
+Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
+(@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
-@node Browse Foreign Server
-@section Browse Foreign Server
-@cindex foreign servers
-@cindex browsing servers
+@item G E
+@kindex G E (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-edit-group
+Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
+(@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
-@table @kbd
-@item B
-@kindex B (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
-You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
-then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
-(@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
-@end table
+@item G d
+@kindex G d (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
+@cindex nndir
+Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
+for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
-@findex gnus-browse-mode
-A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
-will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
-a lot) like a normal group buffer.
+@item G h
+@kindex G h (Group)
+@cindex help group
+@findex gnus-group-make-help-group
+Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
-Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
+@item G a
+@kindex G a (Group)
+@cindex (ding) archive
+@cindex archive group
+@findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
+@vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
+@vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
+Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
+default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
+(@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
+group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
-@table @kbd
-@item n
-@kindex n (Browse)
-@findex gnus-group-next-group
-Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
+@item G k
+@kindex G k (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
+@cindex nnkiboze
+Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
+match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
+strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
+@xref{Kibozed Groups}.
-@item p
-@kindex p (Browse)
-@findex gnus-group-prev-group
-Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
+@item G D
+@kindex G D (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-enter-directory
+@cindex nneething
+Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
+@code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
+@xref{Anything Groups}.
-@item SPACE
-@kindex SPACE (Browse)
-@findex gnus-browse-read-group
-Enter the current group and display the first article
-(@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
+@item G f
+@kindex G f (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
+@cindex ClariNet Briefs
+@cindex nndoc
+Make a group based on some file or other
+(@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
+command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
+Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
+@code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
+@code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
+If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
+type. @xref{Document Groups}.
-@item RET
-@kindex RET (Browse)
-@findex gnus-browse-select-group
-Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
+@item G u
+@kindex G u (Group)
+@vindex gnus-useful-groups
+@findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
+Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
+(@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
-@item u
-@kindex u (Browse)
-@findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
-Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
-subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
+@item G w
+@kindex G w (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-make-web-group
+@cindex DejaNews
+@cindex Alta Vista
+@cindex InReference
+@cindex nnweb
+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. Valid search engine types
+include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
+@xref{Web Searches}.
-@item l
-@itemx q
-@kindex q (Browse)
-@kindex l (Browse)
-@findex gnus-browse-exit
-Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
+If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
+to a particular group by using a match string like
+@samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
-@item ?
-@kindex ? (Browse)
-@findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
-Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
-there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
+@item G DEL
+@kindex G DEL (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-delete-group
+This function will delete the current group
+(@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
+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. This command can't be used on
+read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
+
+@item G V
+@kindex G V (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
+Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
+(@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
+
+@item G v
+@kindex G v (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
+Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
+(@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
@end table
+@xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
+methods.
-@node Exiting Gnus
-@section Exiting Gnus
-@cindex exiting Gnus
+@vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
+If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
+gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
+This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
+groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
+@code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
+newsgroups.
-Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
-@table @kbd
-@item z
-@kindex z (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-suspend
-Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
-but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
-is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
+@node Group Parameters
+@section Group Parameters
+@cindex group parameters
-@item q
-@kindex q (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-exit
-@c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
-Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
+The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
+Here's an example group parameter list:
-@item Q
-@kindex Q (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-quit
-Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
-The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
-@end table
+@example
+((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
+ (auto-expire . t))
+@end example
-@vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
-@vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
-@code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
-@code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
-@code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
-exiting Gnus.
+We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
+the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
+parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
+not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
-@findex gnus-unload
-@cindex unloading
-If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
-the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
-trying to customize meta-variables.
+Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
+is an alist of regexps and values.
-Note:
+The following group parameters can be used:
-@quotation
-Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
-numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
-behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
-plastic chair.
-@end quotation
+@table @code
+@item to-address
+@cindex to-address
+Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
+@example
+(to-address . "some@@where.com")
+@end example
-@node Group Topics
-@section Group Topics
-@cindex topics
+This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
+lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
+the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
+ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
+that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
-If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
-them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
-here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
-you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
-even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
-groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
+Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
+or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
+@samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
+the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
+group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
+list address instead.
-@iftex
-@iflatex
-\gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
-\put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
-}
-@end iflatex
-@end iftex
+See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
-Here's an example:
+@item to-list
+@cindex to-list
+Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
@example
-Gnus
- Emacs -- I wuw it!
- 3: comp.emacs
- 2: alt.religion.emacs
- Naughty Emacs
- 452: alt.sex.emacs
- 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
- Misc
- 8: comp.binaries.fractals
- 13: comp.sources.unix
+(to-list . "some@@where.com")
@end example
-@findex gnus-topic-mode
-@kindex t (Group)
-To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
-@code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
-is a toggling command.)
+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}.
-Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
-dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
-press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
-@samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
-bothered?
+If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
+@code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
+then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
+sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
+@vindex gnus-add-to-list
-If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
-the hook for the group mode:
+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.
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
-@end lisp
+See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
-@menu
-* Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
-* Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
-* Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
-* Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
-* Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
-@end menu
+@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}
+headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
+reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
+@code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
+broken behavior. So there!
-@node Topic Variables
-@subsection Topic Variables
-@cindex topic variables
+@item to-group
+@cindex to-group
+Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
+posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
-Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
-really neat, I think.
+@item newsgroup
+@cindex newsgroup
+If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
+will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
+This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
+news group.
-@vindex gnus-topic-line-format
-The topic lines themselves are created according to the
-@code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
-Valid elements are:
+@item gcc-self
+@cindex gcc-self
+If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
+composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
+@code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
+generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
+be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
+precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
+(@pxref{Archived Messages}).
-@table @samp
-@item i
-Indentation.
-@item n
-Topic name.
-@item v
-Visibility.
-@item l
-Level.
-@item g
-Number of groups in the topic.
-@item a
-Number of unread articles in the topic.
-@item A
-Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
-@end table
+@item auto-expire
+@cindex auto-expire
+If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
+. t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
+alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
-@vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
-Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
-@code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
-The default is 2.
+See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
-@vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
-@code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
+@item total-expire
+@cindex 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. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
+expiry.
-@vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
-The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
-topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
+See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
+@item expiry-wait
+@cindex expiry-wait
+@vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
+If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
+. 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
+@code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
+The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
+the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
-@node Topic Commands
-@subsection Topic Commands
-@cindex topic commands
+@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. All
+interactive score entries will be put into this file.
-When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
-available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
-definitions slightly.
+@item adapt-file
+@cindex adapt file group parameter
+Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
+@file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
+All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
-@table @kbd
-
-@item T n
-@kindex T n (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-create-topic
-Prompt for a new topic name and create it
-(@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
+@item admin-address
+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 T m
-@kindex T m (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-move-group
-Move the current group to some other topic
-(@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
-convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@item display
+Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
+display on entering the group. Valid values are:
-@item T j
-@kindex T j (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
-Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
+@table @code
+@item all
+Display all articles, both read and unread.
-@item T c
-@kindex T c (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-copy-group
-Copy the current group to some other topic
-(@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
-convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@item default
+Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
+ticked articles.
+@end table
-@item T D
-@kindex T D (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-remove-group
-Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
-This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
-topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
-remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
-the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
-(which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
-topic.
+@item comment
+Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
+are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
+gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
+groups.
-This command uses the process/prefix convention
-(@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@item charset
+Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
+@code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
+used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
-@item T M
-@kindex T M (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-move-matching
-Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
-(@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
+See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
-@item T C
-@kindex T C (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
-Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
-(@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
+@item ignored-charsets
+Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-known iso-8859-1)}
+will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
+default charset will be used for decoding articles.
-@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}).
+See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
-@item T #
-@kindex T # (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
-Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
-(@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
+@item posting-style
+You can store additional posting style information for this group only
+here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
+@code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
+the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
+take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
-@item T M-#
-@kindex T M-# (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
-Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
-(@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
+For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
+instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
+like this in the group parameters:
-@item T TAB
-@itemx TAB
-@kindex T TAB (Topic)
-@kindex TAB (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-indent
-``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
-previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
-``un-indent'' the topic instead.
+@example
+(posting-style
+ (name "Funky Name")
+ (signature "Funky Signature"))
+@end example
-@item M-TAB
-@kindex M-TAB (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-unindent
-``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
-parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
+@item banner
+An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
+that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
+"regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
+last signature or any of the elements of the alist
+@code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
-@item RET
-@kindex RET (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-select-group
-@itemx SPACE
-Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
-When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
-usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
-visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
-toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
-prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
+@item (@var{variable} @var{form})
+You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
+are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
+you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
+that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
+in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
+@code{eval}ed there.
-@item C-c C-x
-@kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
-Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the expiry
-process (if any) (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}).
+This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
+If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
+something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
+group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
+@code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
-@item C-k
-@kindex C-k (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-kill-group
-Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
-topic will be removed along with the topic.
+@end table
-@item C-y
-@kindex C-y (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-yank-group
-Yank the previously killed group or topic
-(@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
-before all groups.
+Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
+group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
+presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
+silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
+parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
-@item T r
-@kindex T r (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-rename
-Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
+Group parameters can be set in @code{gnus-parameters} too. But some
+variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For example,
-@item T DEL
-@kindex T DEL (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-delete
-Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
+@example
+(setq gnus-parameters
+ '(("mail\\..*" (gnus-show-threads nil)
+ (gnus-use-scoring nil)
+ (gnus-summary-line-format
+ "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
+ (gcc-self . t)
+ (display . all))
+ ("mail\\.me" (gnus-use-scoring t))
+ ("list\\..*" (total-expire . t)
+ (broken-reply-to . t)))
+@end example
-@item A T
-@kindex A T (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-list-active
-List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
-(@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
+@node Listing Groups
+@section Listing Groups
+@cindex group listing
-@item G p
-@kindex G p (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
-@cindex group parameters
-@cindex topic parameters
-@cindex parameters
-Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
-@xref{Topic Parameters}.
+These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
-@end table
+@table @kbd
+@item l
+@itemx A s
+@kindex A s (Group)
+@kindex l (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-list-groups
+List all groups that have unread articles
+(@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
+command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
+only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
+@code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
+groups).
-@node Topic Sorting
-@subsection Topic Sorting
-@cindex topic sorting
+@item L
+@itemx A u
+@kindex A u (Group)
+@kindex L (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
+List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
+(@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
+this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
+it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
+unsubscribed groups).
-You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
-commands:
+@item A l
+@kindex A l (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-list-level
+List all unread groups on a specific level
+(@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
+with no unread articles.
+@item A k
+@kindex A k (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-list-killed
+List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
+prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
+currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
+from the server.
-@table @kbd
-@item T S a
-@kindex T S a (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
-Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
-(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
+@item A z
+@kindex A z (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-list-zombies
+List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
-@item T S u
-@kindex T S u (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
-Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
-(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
+@item A m
+@kindex A m (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-list-matching
+List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
+(@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
-@item T S l
-@kindex T S l (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
-Sort the current topic by group level
-(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
+@item A M
+@kindex A M (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
+List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
-@item T S v
-@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}). @xref{Group Score}.
+@item A A
+@kindex A A (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-list-active
+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 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 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}). @xref{Group Score}.
-
-@item T S m
-@kindex T S m (Topic)
-@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
-Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
-(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
-
-@end table
-
-@xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
+@item A a
+@kindex A a (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-apropos
+List all groups that have names that match a regexp
+(@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
+@item A d
+@kindex A d (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-description-apropos
+List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
+(@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
-@node Topic Topology
-@subsection Topic Topology
-@cindex topic topology
-@cindex topology
+@item A c
+@kindex A c (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-list-cached
+List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
-So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
+@item A ?
+@kindex A ? (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-list-dormant
+List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
-@example
-Gnus
- Emacs -- I wuw it!
- 3: comp.emacs
- 2: alt.religion.emacs
- Naughty Emacs
- 452: alt.sex.emacs
- 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
- Misc
- 8: comp.binaries.fractals
- 13: comp.sources.unix
-@end example
+@item A /
+@kindex A / (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-list-limit
+List groups limited within the current selection
+(@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
-So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
-that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
-just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
-follows:
+@item A f
+@kindex A f (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-list-flush
+Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
-@lisp
-(("Gnus" visible)
- (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
- (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
- (("Misc" visible)))
-@end lisp
+@item A p
+@kindex A p (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-list-plus
+List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
-@vindex gnus-topic-topology
-This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
-for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
-file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
-to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
-setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
+@end table
-This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
-and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
-allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
+@vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
+@cindex visible group parameter
+Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
+always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
+add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
+get the same effect.
+@vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
+Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
+group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
+@code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
+groups. It is @code{t} by default.
-@node Topic Parameters
-@subsection Topic Parameters
-@cindex topic parameters
-All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
-ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
-parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
+@node Sorting Groups
+@section Sorting Groups
+@cindex sorting groups
-In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
-parameters:
+@kindex C-c C-s (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-groups
+@vindex gnus-group-sort-function
+The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
+group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
+@code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
+include:
@table @code
-@item subscribe
-When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
-@code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
-value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
-topic.
-
-@end table
-Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
-parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
-know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
-verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
+Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
-@example
-Gnus
- Emacs
- 3: comp.emacs
- 2: alt.religion.emacs
- 452: alt.sex.emacs
- Relief
- 452: alt.sex.emacs
- 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
- Misc
- 8: comp.binaries.fractals
- 13: comp.sources.unix
- 452: alt.sex.emacs
-@end example
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
+Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
-The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
-. "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
-@code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
-topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
-@* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
-. "religion.SCORE")}.
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-level
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
+Sort by group level.
-Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
-will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
-group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
-score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
-get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-score
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
+Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
-This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
-there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
-parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
-@code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
-gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
-of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
-happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
-happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
+@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}. @xref{Group Score}.
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
+Sort by number of unread articles.
-@node Misc Group Stuff
-@section Misc Group Stuff
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-method
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
+Sort alphabetically on the select method.
-@menu
-* Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
-* Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
-* Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
-* File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
-@end menu
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-server
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
+Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
-@table @kbd
-@item ^
-@kindex ^ (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
-Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
-@xref{The Server Buffer}.
+@end table
-@item a
-@kindex a (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-post-news
-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.
+@code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
+functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
+the last one.
-@item m
-@kindex m (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-mail
-Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
-@end table
+There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
+some sorting criteria:
-Variables for the group buffer:
+@table @kbd
+@item G S a
+@kindex G S a (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
+Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
-@table @code
+@item G S u
+@kindex G S u (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
+Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
-@item gnus-group-mode-hook
-@vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
-is called after the group buffer has been
-created.
+@item G S l
+@kindex G S l (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
+Sort the group buffer by group level
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
-@item gnus-group-prepare-hook
-@vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
-is called after the group buffer is
-generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
-unnatural way.
+@item G S v
+@kindex G S v (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
+Sort the group buffer by group score
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
-@item gnus-group-prepared-hook
-@vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
-is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
-generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
+@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}). @xref{Group Score}.
-@item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
-@vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
-Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
-whether they are empty or not.
+@item G S m
+@kindex G S m (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
+Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
@end table
+All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
+(@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@node Scanning New Messages
-@subsection Scanning New Messages
-@cindex new messages
-@cindex scanning new news
+When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
+commands will sort in reverse order.
-@table @kbd
+You can also sort a subset of the groups:
-@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 re-reading of the active file(s) from the
-backend(s).
+@table @kbd
+@item G P a
+@kindex G P a (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
+Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
-@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
-to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
+@item G P u
+@kindex G P u (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
+Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
-@findex gnus-activate-all-groups
-@cindex activating groups
-@item C-c M-g
-@kindex C-c M-g (Group)
-Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
+@item G P l
+@kindex G P l (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
+Sort the groups by group level
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
-@item R
-@kindex R (Group)
-@cindex restarting
-@findex gnus-group-restart
-Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
-file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
-Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
+@item G P v
+@kindex G P v (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
+Sort the groups by group score
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
-@end table
+@item G P r
+@kindex G P r (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
+Sort the groups by group rank
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
-@vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
-@code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
+@item G P m
+@kindex G P m (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
+Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
-@vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
-@code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
-news.
+@end table
+And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
+move groups around.
-@node Group Information
-@subsection Group Information
-@cindex group information
-@cindex information on groups
-@table @kbd
+@node Group Maintenance
+@section Group Maintenance
+@cindex bogus groups
+@table @kbd
+@item b
+@kindex b (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
+Find bogus groups and delete them
+(@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
-@item H f
-@kindex H f (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
-@vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
-@cindex FAQ
-@cindex ange-ftp
-Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
-(@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the 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} (or @code{efs}) will be used
-for fetching the file.
+@item F
+@kindex F (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
+Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
+With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
+for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
+to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
+zombies.
-If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
-through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
+@item C-c C-x
+@kindex C-c C-x (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-expire-articles
+Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
+process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
+all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
+(@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
-@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
-@cindex group description
-@findex gnus-group-describe-group
-Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
-a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
+@item C-c M-C-x
+@kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
+Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
+(@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
-@item M-d
-@kindex M-d (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-describe-all-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.
+@end table
-@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}).
-@item ?
-@kindex ? (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
-Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
+@node Browse Foreign Server
+@section Browse Foreign Server
+@cindex foreign servers
+@cindex browsing servers
-@item C-c C-i
-@kindex C-c C-i (Group)
-@cindex info
-@cindex manual
-@findex gnus-info-find-node
-Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
+@table @kbd
+@item B
+@kindex B (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
+You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
+then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
+(@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
@end table
+@findex gnus-browse-mode
+A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
+will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
+a lot) like a normal group buffer.
-@node Group Timestamp
-@subsection Group Timestamp
-@cindex timestamps
-@cindex group timestamps
-
-It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
-group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
-@code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
+Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
-@end lisp
+@table @kbd
+@item n
+@kindex n (Browse)
+@findex gnus-group-next-group
+Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
-After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
+@item p
+@kindex p (Browse)
+@findex gnus-group-prev-group
+Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
-This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
-use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
+@item SPACE
+@kindex SPACE (Browse)
+@findex gnus-browse-read-group
+Enter the current group and display the first article
+(@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-group-line-format
- "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
-@end lisp
+@item RET
+@kindex RET (Browse)
+@findex gnus-browse-select-group
+Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
-This will result in lines looking like:
+@item u
+@kindex u (Browse)
+@findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
+Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
+subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
-@example
-* 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
- 0: custom 19961002T012713
-@end example
+@item l
+@itemx q
+@kindex q (Browse)
+@kindex l (Browse)
+@findex gnus-browse-exit
+Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
-As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
-may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
-something like:
+@item ?
+@kindex ? (Browse)
+@findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
+Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
+there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
+@end table
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-group-line-format
- "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
-@end lisp
+@node Exiting Gnus
+@section Exiting gnus
+@cindex exiting gnus
-@node File Commands
-@subsection File Commands
-@cindex file commands
+Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
@table @kbd
+@item z
+@kindex z (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-suspend
+Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
+but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
+is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
-@item r
-@kindex r (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-read-init-file
-@vindex gnus-init-file
-@cindex reading init file
-Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
-@file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
-
-@item s
-@kindex s (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
-@cindex saving .newsrc
-Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
-(@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
-file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
-
-@c @item Z
-@c @kindex Z (Group)
-@c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
-@c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
+@item q
+@kindex q (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-exit
+@c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
+Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
+@item Q
+@kindex Q (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-quit
+Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
+The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
@end table
+@vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
+@vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
+@code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
+@code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
+@code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
+exiting gnus.
-@node The Summary Buffer
-@chapter The Summary Buffer
-@cindex summary buffer
+@findex gnus-unload
+@cindex unloading
+If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
+the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
+trying to customize meta-variables.
-A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
-move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
+Note:
-The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
-group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
-
-You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
+@quotation
+Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
+numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
+behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
+plastic chair.
+@end quotation
-@menu
-* Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
-* Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
-* Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
-* Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
-* Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
-* Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
-* Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
-* Threading:: How threads are made.
-* Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
-* Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
-* Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
-* Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
-* Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
-* Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
-* Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
-* Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
-* MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
-* Charsets:: Character set issues.
-* Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
-* Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
-* Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
-* Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
-* Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
-* Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
-* Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
-* Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
-* Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
-* Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
-@end menu
+@node Group Topics
+@section Group Topics
+@cindex topics
-@node Summary Buffer Format
-@section Summary Buffer Format
-@cindex summary buffer format
+If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
+them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
+here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
+you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
+even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
+groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
@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}}}
+\gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
+\put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
}
@end iflatex
@end iftex
-@menu
-* Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
-* To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
-* Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
-* Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
-@end menu
+Here's an example:
-@findex mail-extract-address-components
-@findex gnus-extract-address-components
-@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 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
-slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
-cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
+@example
+Gnus
+ Emacs -- I wuw it!
+ 3: comp.emacs
+ 2: alt.religion.emacs
+ Naughty Emacs
+ 452: alt.sex.emacs
+ 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
+ Misc
+ 8: comp.binaries.fractals
+ 13: comp.sources.unix
+@end example
+
+@findex gnus-topic-mode
+@kindex t (Group)
+To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
+@code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
+is a toggling command.)
+
+Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
+dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
+press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
+@samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
+bothered?
+
+If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
+the hook for the group mode:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-extract-address-components
- 'mail-extract-address-components)
+(add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
@end lisp
-@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 @code{""}.
-
+@menu
+* Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
+* Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
+* Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
+* Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
+* Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
+@end menu
-@node Summary Buffer Lines
-@subsection 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 as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
-(@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
+@node Topic Variables
+@subsection Topic Variables
+@cindex topic variables
-The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
+Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
+really neat, I think.
-The following format specification characters are understood:
+@vindex gnus-topic-line-format
+The topic lines themselves are created according to the
+@code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
+Valid elements are:
@table @samp
-@item N
-Article number.
-@item S
-Subject string. List identifiers stripped, @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
-@item s
-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 i
+Indentation.
@item n
-The name (from the @code{From} header).
-@item f
-The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
-(@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
+Topic name.
+@item v
+Visibility.
+@item l
+Level.
+@item g
+Number of groups in the topic.
@item a
-The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
-spec in that it uses the function designated by the
-@code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
-may be more thorough.
+Number of unread articles in the topic.
@item A
-The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
-the @code{a} spec.
-@item L
-Number of lines in the article.
-@item c
-Number of characters in the article.
-@item I
-Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
-@item T
-Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
-pushes everything after it off the screen).
-@item [
-Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
-for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
-@item ]
-Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
-for adopted articles.
-@item >
-One space for each thread level.
-@item <
-Twenty minus thread level spaces.
-@item U
-Unread.
-
-@item R
-This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
-mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
-or has been saved.
-
-@item i
-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
-default level. If the difference between
-@code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
-@code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
-@item V
-Total thread score.
-@item x
-@code{Xref}.
-@item D
-@code{Date}.
-@item d
-The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
-@item o
-The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
-@item M
-@code{Message-ID}.
-@item r
-@code{References}.
-@item t
-Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
-down summary buffer generation somewhat.
-@item e
-An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
-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. 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
-into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
+Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
@end table
-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 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.
+@vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
+Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
+@code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
+The default is 2.
-The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
-(Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
+@vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
+@code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
-This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
+@vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
+The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
+topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
-@node To From Newsgroups
-@subsection To From Newsgroups
-@cindex To
-@cindex Newsgroups
+@node Topic Commands
+@subsection Topic Commands
+@cindex topic commands
-In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
-isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
-you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
-headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
-gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
+When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
+available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
+definitions slightly.
-@enumerate
-@item
-@vindex gnus-extra-headers
-The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
-@code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
-instance:
-
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-extra-headers
- '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
-@end lisp
+@table @kbd
-This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
-storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
+@item T n
+@kindex T n (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-create-topic
+Prompt for a new topic name and create it
+(@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
-@item
-@findex gnus-extra-header
-The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
-@code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
-access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
+@item T m
+@kindex T m (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-move-group
+Move the current group to some other topic
+(@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
+convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@example
-"%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
-@end example
+@item T j
+@kindex T j (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
+Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
-@item
-@vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
-The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
-summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
-@code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
-@code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
-headers are used instead.
+@item T c
+@kindex T c (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-copy-group
+Copy the current group to some other topic
+(@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
+convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@end enumerate
+@item T h
+@kindex T h (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
+Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
+a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
-@vindex nnmail-extra-headers
-A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
-to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
-you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
-this variable.
+@item T s
+@kindex T s (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-show-topic
+Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
+a prefix, show the topic permanently.
-@vindex gnus-summary-line-format
-You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
-@code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
-@code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
+@item T D
+@kindex T D (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-remove-group
+Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
+This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
+topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
+remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
+the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
+(which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
+topic.
-In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
+This command uses the process/prefix convention
+(@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-extra-headers
- '(To Newsgroups))
-(setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
-(setq gnus-summary-line-format
- "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
-(setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
- "Your Name Here")
-@end lisp
+@item T M
+@kindex T M (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-move-matching
+Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
+(@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
-Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
-the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
-nntp admin to add:
+@item T C
+@kindex T C (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
+Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
+(@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
-@example
-Newsgroups:full
-@end example
+@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}).
-to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
-as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
+@item T #
+@kindex T # (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
+Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
+(@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
+@item T M-#
+@kindex T M-# (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
+Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
+(@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
-@node Summary Buffer Mode Line
-@subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
+@item T TAB
+@itemx TAB
+@kindex T TAB (Topic)
+@kindex TAB (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-indent
+``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
+previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
+``un-indent'' the topic instead.
-@vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
-You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
-Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
-like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
+@item M-TAB
+@kindex M-TAB (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-unindent
+``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
+parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
-Here are the elements you can play with:
+@item RET
+@kindex RET (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-select-group
+@itemx SPACE
+Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
+When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
+usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
+visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
+toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
+prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
-@table @samp
-@item G
-Group name.
-@item p
-Unprefixed group name.
-@item A
-Current article number.
-@item z
-Current article score.
-@item V
-Gnus version.
-@item U
-Number of unread articles in this group.
-@item e
-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
-articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
-and no unselected ones.
-@item g
-Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
-shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
-@item S
-Subject of the current article.
-@item u
-User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
-@item s
-Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
-@item d
-Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
-@item t
-Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
-@item r
-Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
-@item E
-Number of articles expunged by the score files.
-@end table
+@item C-c C-x
+@kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
+Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
+expiry process (if any)
+(@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
+@item C-k
+@kindex C-k (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-kill-group
+Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
+topic will be removed along with the topic.
-@node Summary Highlighting
-@subsection Summary Highlighting
+@item C-y
+@kindex C-y (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-yank-group
+Yank the previously killed group or topic
+(@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
+before all groups.
-@table @code
+@item T r
+@kindex T r (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-rename
+Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
-@item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
-@vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
-This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
-highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
-@code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
+@item T DEL
+@kindex T DEL (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-delete
+Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
-@item gnus-summary-update-hook
-@vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
-This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
-@code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
+@item A T
+@kindex A T (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-list-active
+List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
+(@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
-@item gnus-summary-selected-face
-@vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
-This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
-highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
+@item G p
+@kindex G p (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
+@cindex group parameters
+@cindex topic parameters
+@cindex parameters
+Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
+@xref{Topic Parameters}.
-@item gnus-summary-highlight
-@vindex gnus-summary-highlight
-Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
-list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
-. @var{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
-(((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
- ((> score default) . bold))
-@end lisp
-As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
-@var{face} will be applied to the line.
@end table
-@node Summary Maneuvering
-@section Summary Maneuvering
-@cindex summary movement
+@node Topic Sorting
+@subsection Topic Sorting
+@cindex topic sorting
-All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
-behave pretty much as you'd expect.
+You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
+commands:
-None of these commands select articles.
@table @kbd
-@item G M-n
-@itemx M-n
-@kindex M-n (Summary)
-@kindex G M-n (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
-Go to the next summary line of an unread article
-(@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
+@item T S a
+@kindex T S a (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
+Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
+(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
-@item G M-p
-@itemx M-p
-@kindex M-p (Summary)
-@kindex G M-p (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
-Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
-(@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
+@item T S u
+@kindex T S u (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
+Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
+(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
-@item G j
-@itemx j
-@kindex j (Summary)
-@kindex G j (Summary)
-@findex 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 T S l
+@kindex T S l (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
+Sort the current topic by group level
+(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
-@item G g
-@kindex G g (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
-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
+@item T S v
+@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}). @xref{Group Score}.
-If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
-can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
-buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
-to the group buffer.
+@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}). @xref{Group Score}.
-Variables related to summary movement:
+@item T S m
+@kindex T S m (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
+Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
+(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
-@table @code
+@end table
-@vindex gnus-auto-select-next
-@item gnus-auto-select-next
-If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
-no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
-the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
-empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
-this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
-next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
-special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
-next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
-@code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
-the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
-@code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
-without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
+@xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
-@item gnus-auto-select-same
-@vindex gnus-auto-select-same
-If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
-article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
-mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
-for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
-articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
-This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
+@node Topic Topology
+@subsection Topic Topology
+@cindex topic topology
+@cindex topology
-@item gnus-summary-check-current
-@vindex gnus-summary-check-current
-If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
-to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
-Instead, they will choose the current article.
+So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
-@item gnus-auto-center-summary
-@vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
-If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
-centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
-slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
-set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
-action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
-buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
-threads.
+@example
+Gnus
+ Emacs -- I wuw it!
+ 3: comp.emacs
+ 2: alt.religion.emacs
+ Naughty Emacs
+ 452: alt.sex.emacs
+ 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
+ Misc
+ 8: comp.binaries.fractals
+ 13: comp.sources.unix
+@end example
-This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
-the given number of lines from the top.
+So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
+that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
+just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
+follows:
-@end table
+@lisp
+(("Gnus" visible)
+ (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
+ (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
+ (("Misc" visible)))
+@end lisp
+@vindex gnus-topic-topology
+This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
+for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
+file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
+to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
+setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
-@node Choosing Articles
-@section Choosing Articles
-@cindex selecting articles
+This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
+and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
+allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
-@menu
-* Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
-* Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
-@end menu
+@node Topic Parameters
+@subsection Topic Parameters
+@cindex topic parameters
-@node Choosing Commands
-@subsection Choosing Commands
+All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
+ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
+parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
-None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
-and they all select and display an article.
+In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
+parameters:
-@table @kbd
-@item SPACE
-@kindex SPACE (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-next-page
-Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
-unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
+@table @code
+@item subscribe
+When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
+@code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
+value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
+topic.
-@item G n
-@itemx n
-@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}).
+@end table
-@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}).
+Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
+parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
+know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
+verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
-@item G N
-@itemx N
-@kindex N (Summary)
-@kindex G N (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-next-article
-Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
+@example
+Gnus
+ Emacs
+ 3: comp.emacs
+ 2: alt.religion.emacs
+ 452: alt.sex.emacs
+ Relief
+ 452: alt.sex.emacs
+ 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
+ Misc
+ 8: comp.binaries.fractals
+ 13: comp.sources.unix
+ 452: alt.sex.emacs
+@end example
-@item G P
-@itemx P
-@kindex P (Summary)
-@kindex G P (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-prev-article
-Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
+The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
+. "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
+@code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
+topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
+@* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
+. "religion.SCORE")}.
-@item G C-n
-@kindex G C-n (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
-Go to the next article with the same subject
-(@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
+Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
+will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
+group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
+score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
+get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
-@item G C-p
-@kindex G C-p (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
-Go to the previous article with the same subject
-(@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
+This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
+there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
+parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
+@code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
+gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
+of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
+happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
+happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
-@item G f
-@itemx .
-@kindex G f (Summary)
-@kindex . (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
-Go to the first unread article
-(@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
-@item G b
-@itemx ,
-@kindex G b (Summary)
-@kindex , (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
-Go to the article with the highest score
-(@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
+@node Misc Group Stuff
+@section Misc Group Stuff
-@item G l
-@itemx l
-@kindex l (Summary)
-@kindex G l (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
-Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
-
-@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, 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
+@menu
+* Scanning New Messages:: Asking gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
+* Group Information:: Information and help on groups and gnus.
+* Group Timestamp:: Making gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
+* File Commands:: Reading and writing the gnus files.
+@end menu
-Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
+@table @kbd
-@table @code
-@item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
-@vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
-All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
-article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
-this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
-the server and display it in the article buffer.
+@item ^
+@kindex ^ (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
+Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
+@xref{Server Buffer}.
-@item gnus-select-article-hook
-@vindex gnus-select-article-hook
-This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
-exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
+@item a
+@kindex a (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-post-news
+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 gnus-mark-article-hook
-@vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
-@findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
-@findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
-@findex gnus-unread-mark
-This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
-be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
-@code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
-mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
-only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
-expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
-marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
-instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
-@code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
+@item m
+@kindex m (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-mail
+Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
@end table
+Variables for the group buffer:
-@node Paging the Article
-@section Scrolling the Article
-@cindex article scrolling
+@table @code
-@table @kbd
+@item gnus-group-mode-hook
+@vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
+is called after the group buffer has been
+created.
-@item SPACE
-@kindex SPACE (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-next-page
-Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
-or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
-next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
+@item gnus-group-prepare-hook
+@vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
+is called after the group buffer is
+generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
+unnatural way.
-@item DEL
-@kindex DEL (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-prev-page
-Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
+@item gnus-group-prepared-hook
+@vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
+is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
+generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
-@item RET
-@kindex RET (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
-Scroll the current article one line forward
-(@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
+@item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
+@vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
+Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
+whether they are empty or not.
-@item M-RET
-@kindex M-RET (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
-Scroll the current article one line backward
-(@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
+@item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
+@vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
+An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
+non-ASCII group names.
-@item A g
-@itemx g
-@kindex A g (Summary)
-@kindex g (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-show-article
-@vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
-(Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
-given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
-article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
-the way it came from the server.
+For example:
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
+ '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
+@end lisp
-If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
-@kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
-encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
+@item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
+@vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
+An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
+It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
+For example:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
- '((1 . cn-gb-2312)
- (2 . big5)))
+(setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
+ '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
@end lisp
-then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
+@end table
-@item A <
-@itemx <
-@kindex < (Summary)
-@kindex A < (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
-Scroll to the beginning of the article
-(@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
+@node Scanning New Messages
+@subsection Scanning New Messages
+@cindex new messages
+@cindex scanning new news
-@item A >
-@itemx >
-@kindex > (Summary)
-@kindex A > (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
-Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
+@table @kbd
-@item A s
-@itemx s
-@kindex A s (Summary)
-@kindex s (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
-Perform an isearch in the article buffer
-(@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
+@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 re-reading of the active file(s) from the
+backend(s).
-@item h
-@kindex h (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
-Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
+@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
+to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
-@end table
+@findex gnus-activate-all-groups
+@cindex activating groups
+@item C-c M-g
+@kindex C-c M-g (Group)
+Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
+@item R
+@kindex R (Group)
+@cindex restarting
+@findex gnus-group-restart
+Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
+file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
+gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
-@node Reply Followup and Post
-@section Reply, Followup and Post
+@end table
-@menu
-* Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
-* Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
-* Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
-* Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
-@end menu
+@vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
+@code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
+@vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
+@code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
+news.
-@node Summary Mail Commands
-@subsection Summary Mail Commands
-@cindex mail
-@cindex composing mail
-Commands for composing a mail message:
+@node Group Information
+@subsection Group Information
+@cindex group information
+@cindex information on groups
@table @kbd
-@item S r
-@itemx r
-@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}).
-
-@item S R
-@itemx R
-@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.
-
-@item S w
-@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}). 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)
-@findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
-Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
-message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
-the process/prefix convention.
+@item H f
+@kindex H f (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
+@vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
+@cindex FAQ
+@cindex ange-ftp
+Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
+(@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the 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} (or @code{efs}) will be used
+for fetching the file.
-@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.
+If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
+through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
-@item S m
-@itemx m
-@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 D b
-@kindex S D b (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
-@cindex bouncing mail
-If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
-reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
-resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
-will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
-sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
-the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
-that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
-very well fail, though.
-
-@item S D r
-@kindex S D r (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-resend-message
-Not to be confused with the previous command,
-@code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
-send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
-headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
-@code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
-means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
-header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
-So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
-
-This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
-ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
-@code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
-to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
-@code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
-
-This command understands the process/prefix convention
-(@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@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
+@cindex group description
+@findex gnus-group-describe-group
+Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
+a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
-@item S O m
-@kindex S O m (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
-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 M-d
+@kindex M-d (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-describe-all-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 S M-c
-@kindex S M-c (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
-@cindex crossposting
-@cindex excessive crossposting
-Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
-current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
+@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}).
-@findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
-This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
-crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
-using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
-command understands the process/prefix convention
-(@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
+@item ?
+@kindex ? (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
+Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
+@item C-c C-i
+@kindex C-c C-i (Group)
+@cindex info
+@cindex manual
+@findex gnus-info-find-node
+Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
@end table
-Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
-
-@node Summary Post Commands
-@subsection Summary Post Commands
-@cindex post
-@cindex composing news
-
-Commands for posting a news article:
+@node Group Timestamp
+@subsection Group Timestamp
+@cindex timestamps
+@cindex group timestamps
-@table @kbd
-@item S p
-@itemx a
-@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}).
+It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
+group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
+@code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
-@item S f
-@itemx f
-@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}).
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
+@end lisp
-@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
-process/prefix convention.
+After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
-@item S n
-@kindex S n (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
-Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
-message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
+This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
+use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
-@item S N
-@kindex S N (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
-Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
-message through mail and include the original message
-(@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
-the process/prefix convention.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-group-line-format
+ "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
+@end lisp
-@item S o p
-@kindex S o p (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-post-forward
-Forward the current article to a newsgroup
-(@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
-headers of the forwarded article.
+This will result in lines looking like:
-@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}). This command uses the
-process/prefix convention.
+@example
+* 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
+ 0: custom 19961002T012713
+@end example
-@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
+As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
+may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
+something like:
-Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-group-line-format
+ "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
+@end lisp
-@node Summary Message Commands
-@subsection Summary Message Commands
+@node File Commands
+@subsection File Commands
+@cindex file commands
@table @kbd
-@item S y
-@kindex S y (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-yank-message
-Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
-buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
-what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
-process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-
-@end table
+@item r
+@kindex r (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-read-init-file
+@vindex gnus-init-file
+@cindex reading init file
+Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
+@file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
-@node Canceling and Superseding
-@subsection Canceling Articles
-@cindex canceling articles
-@cindex superseding articles
-
-Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
-really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
+@item s
+@kindex s (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
+@cindex saving .newsrc
+Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
+(@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
+file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
-Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
+@c @item Z
+@c @kindex Z (Group)
+@c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
+@c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
-@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.
-This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@end table
-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 canceling. If you
-want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
-prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
+@node Summary Buffer
+@chapter Summary Buffer
+@cindex summary buffer
-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.
+A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
+move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
-@findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
-@kindex S (Summary)
-Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
-(@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
-where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
-usual way.
+The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
+group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
-The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
-sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
-have posted almost the same article twice.
-
-If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
-there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
-waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
-to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
-find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
-the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
-header by substituting one of those words for the word
-@code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
-you would do normally. The previous article will be
-canceled/superseded.
-
-Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
-
-
-@node Marking Articles
-@section Marking Articles
-@cindex article marking
-@cindex article ticking
-@cindex marks
-
-There are several marks you can set on an article.
-
-You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
-neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
-@dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
-
-In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
+You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
@menu
-* Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
-* Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
-* Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
+* Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
+* Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
+* Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
+* Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
+* Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
+* Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
+* Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
+* Threading:: How threads are made.
+* Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
+* Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
+* Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
+* Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
+* Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
+* Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
+* Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
+* Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
+* MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
+* Charsets:: Character set issues.
+* Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
+* Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
+* Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
+* Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
+* Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
+* Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
+* Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
+* Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
+ or reselecting the current group.
+* Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
+* Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
+* Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
@end menu
-@ifinfo
-There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
-@end ifinfo
-
-@menu
-* Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
-* Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
-* Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
-@end menu
+@node Summary Buffer Format
+@section Summary Buffer Format
+@cindex summary buffer format
-@node Unread Articles
-@subsection Unread Articles
+@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
-The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
-other.
+@menu
+* Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
+* To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
+* Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
+* Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
+@end menu
-@table @samp
-@item !
-@vindex gnus-ticked-mark
-Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
+@findex mail-extract-address-components
+@findex gnus-extract-address-components
+@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. Three pre-defined functions exist:
+@code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
+fast, and too simplistic solution;
+@code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
+slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
+nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
+answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
+other function instead:
-@dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
-you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
-reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
-tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
-article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
-Articles}).
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-extract-address-components
+ 'mail-extract-address-components)
+@end lisp
-@item ?
-@vindex gnus-dormant-mark
-Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
+@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 @code{""}.
-@dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
-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
-Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
+@node Summary Buffer Lines
+@subsection Summary Buffer Lines
-@dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
-@end table
+@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 as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
+(@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
+There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
+the colon after performing an operation.
-@node Read Articles
-@subsection Read Articles
-@cindex expirable mark
+The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
-All the following marks mark articles as read.
+The following format specification characters are understood:
@table @samp
-
-@item r
-@vindex gnus-del-mark
-These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
-command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
+@item N
+Article number.
+@item S
+Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
+@code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
+@item s
+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
+The name (from the @code{From} header).
+@item f
+The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
+(@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
+@item a
+The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
+spec in that it uses the function designated by the
+@code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
+may be more thorough.
+@item A
+The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
+the @code{a} spec.
+@item L
+Number of lines in the article.
+@item c
+Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported in some
+methods (like nnfolder).
+@item I
+Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
+@item B
+A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace lines.
+@item T
+Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
+pushes everything after it off the screen).
+@item [
+Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
+for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
+@item ]
+Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
+for adopted articles.
+@item >
+One space for each thread level.
+@item <
+Twenty minus thread level spaces.
+@item U
+Unread.
@item R
-@vindex gnus-read-mark
-Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
+This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
+mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
+or has been saved.
+@item i
+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
+default level. If the difference between
+@code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
+@code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
+@item V
+Total thread score.
+@item x
+@code{Xref}.
+@item D
+@code{Date}.
+@item d
+The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
+@item o
+The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
+@item M
+@code{Message-ID}.
+@item r
+@code{References}.
+@item t
+Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
+down summary buffer generation somewhat.
+@item e
+An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
+article has any children.
+@item P
+The line number.
@item O
-@vindex gnus-ancient-mark
-Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
-@dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
-
-@item K
-@vindex gnus-killed-mark
-Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
+Download mark.
+@item u
+User defined specifier. 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 the current header as
+argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
+into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
+@end table
-@item X
-@vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
-Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
+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 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 Y
-@vindex gnus-low-score-mark
-Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
+The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
+(Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
-@item C
-@vindex gnus-catchup-mark
-Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
+This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
-@item G
-@vindex gnus-canceled-mark
-Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
-@item F
-@vindex gnus-souped-mark
-@sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
+@node To From Newsgroups
+@subsection To From Newsgroups
+@cindex To
+@cindex Newsgroups
-@item Q
-@vindex gnus-sparse-mark
-Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
-Threading}.
+In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
+isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
+you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
+headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
+gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
-@item M
-@vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
-Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
-(@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
+@enumerate
+@item
+@vindex gnus-extra-headers
+The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
+@code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
+instance:
-@end table
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-extra-headers
+ '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
+@end lisp
-All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
-They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
+This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
+storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
-One more special mark, though:
+@item
+@findex gnus-extra-header
+The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
+@code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
+access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
-@table @samp
-@item E
-@vindex gnus-expirable-mark
-Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
+@example
+"%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
+@end example
-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 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-ignored-from-addresses
+The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
+summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
+@code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
+@code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
+headers are used instead.
+@end enumerate
-@node Other Marks
-@subsection Other Marks
-@cindex process mark
-@cindex bookmarks
+@vindex nnmail-extra-headers
+A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
+to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
+you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
+this variable.
-There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
-read or not.
+@vindex gnus-summary-line-format
+You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
+@code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
+@code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
-@itemize @bullet
+In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
+@file{~/.gnus}:
-@item
-You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
-long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
-before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
-in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
-encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-extra-headers
+ '(To Newsgroups))
+(setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
+(setq gnus-summary-line-format
+ "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
+(setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
+ "Your Name Here")
+@end lisp
-@item
-@vindex gnus-replied-mark
-All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
-answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
-(@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
+Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
+the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
+nntp admin to add:
-@item
-@vindex 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}.
+@example
+Newsgroups:full
+@end example
-@item
-@vindex gnus-saved-mark
-Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
-religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
-(@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
+to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
+as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
-@item
-@vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
-@vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
-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
-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
-marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
+@node Summary Buffer Mode Line
+@subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
-@end itemize
+@vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
+You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
+Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
+like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
-You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
-appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
-replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
+Here are the elements you can play with:
-Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
-replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
-you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
+@table @samp
+@item G
+Group name.
+@item p
+Unprefixed group name.
+@item A
+Current article number.
+@item z
+Current article score.
+@item V
+Gnus version.
+@item U
+Number of unread articles in this group.
+@item e
+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
+articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
+and no unselected ones.
+@item g
+Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
+shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
+@item S
+Subject of the current article.
+@item u
+User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
+@item s
+Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
+@item d
+Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
+@item t
+Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
+@item r
+Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
+@item E
+Number of articles expunged by the score files.
+@end table
-@node Setting Marks
-@subsection Setting Marks
-@cindex setting marks
+@node Summary Highlighting
+@subsection Summary Highlighting
-All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
+@table @code
-@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 gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
+@vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
+This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
+highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
+@code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
-@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 gnus-summary-update-hook
+@vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
+This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
+@code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
-@item M ?
-@itemx ?
-@kindex ? (Summary)
-@kindex M ? (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
-Mark the current article as dormant
-(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
+@item gnus-summary-selected-face
+@vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
+This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
+highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
-@item M d
-@itemx d
-@kindex M d (Summary)
-@kindex d (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
-Mark the current article as read
-(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
+@item gnus-summary-highlight
+@vindex gnus-summary-highlight
+Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
+list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
+. @var{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
+(((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
+ ((> score default) . bold))
+@end lisp
+As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
+@var{face} will be applied to the line.
+@end table
-@item D
-@kindex D (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
-Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
-(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
-@item M k
-@itemx k
-@kindex k (Summary)
-@kindex M k (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
-Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
-and then select the next unread article
-(@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
+@node Summary Maneuvering
+@section Summary Maneuvering
+@cindex summary movement
-@item M K
-@itemx C-k
-@kindex M K (Summary)
-@kindex C-k (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
-Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
-(@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
-
-@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
-@kindex M C-c (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
-Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
-articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
+All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
+behave pretty much as you'd expect.
-@item M H
-@kindex M H (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
-Catchup the current group to point
-(@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
+None of these commands select articles.
-@item C-w
-@kindex C-w (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
-Mark all articles between point and mark as read
-(@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
+@table @kbd
+@item G M-n
+@itemx M-n
+@kindex M-n (Summary)
+@kindex G M-n (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
+Go to the next summary line of an unread article
+(@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
-@item M V k
-@kindex M V k (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-kill-below
-Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
-numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
+@item G M-p
+@itemx M-p
+@kindex M-p (Summary)
+@kindex G M-p (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
+Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
+(@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
-@item M e
-@itemx E
-@kindex M e (Summary)
-@kindex E (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
-Mark the current article as expirable
-(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
+@item G g
+@kindex G g (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
+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
-@item M b
-@kindex M b (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
-Set a bookmark in the current article
-(@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
+If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
+can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
+buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
+to the group buffer.
-@item M B
-@kindex M B (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
-Remove the bookmark from the current article
-(@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
+Variables related to summary movement:
-@item M V c
-@kindex M V c (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-clear-above
-Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
-over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
+@table @code
-@item M V u
-@kindex M V u (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-tick-above
-Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
-numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
+@vindex gnus-auto-select-next
+@item gnus-auto-select-next
+If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
+no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
+the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
+empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
+this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
+next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
+special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
+next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
+@code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
+the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
+@code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
+without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
-@item M V m
-@kindex M V m (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-mark-above
-Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
-score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
-(@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
-@end table
+@item gnus-auto-select-same
+@vindex gnus-auto-select-same
+If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
+article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
+mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
+for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
+articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
-@vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
-The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
-be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
-the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
-one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
-@code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
-@kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
-The default is @code{t}.
+This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
+@item gnus-summary-check-current
+@vindex gnus-summary-check-current
+If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
+to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
+Instead, they will choose the current article.
-@node Generic Marking Commands
-@subsection Generic Marking Commands
+@item gnus-auto-center-summary
+@vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
+If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
+centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
+slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
+set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
+action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
+buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
+threads.
-Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
-the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
-article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
-even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
-previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
-well.
+This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
+the given number of lines from the top.
-Multiply these five behaviours with five different marking commands, and
-you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
-command should do.
+@end table
-To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
-different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
-buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
-to list in this manual.
-While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
-altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
-@kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
-article, you could say something like:
+@node Choosing Articles
+@section Choosing Articles
+@cindex selecting articles
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
-(defun my-alter-summary-map ()
- (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
-@end lisp
+@menu
+* Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
+* Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
+@end menu
-or
-@lisp
-(defun my-alter-summary-map ()
- (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
-@end lisp
+@node Choosing Commands
+@subsection Choosing Commands
+None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
+and they all select and display an article.
-@node Setting Process Marks
-@subsection Setting Process Marks
-@cindex setting process marks
+If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
+@ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
@table @kbd
+@item SPACE
+@kindex SPACE (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-next-page
+Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
+unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
-@item M P p
-@itemx #
-@kindex # (Summary)
-@kindex M P p (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
-Mark the current article with the process mark
-(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
-@findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
-
-@item M P u
-@itemx M-#
-@kindex M P u (Summary)
-@kindex M-# (Summary)
-Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
-(@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
+@item G n
+@itemx n
+@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 M P U
-@kindex M P U (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
-Remove the process mark from all articles
-(@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
+@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 M P i
-@kindex M P i (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
-Invert the list of process marked articles
-(@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
+@item G N
+@itemx N
+@kindex N (Summary)
+@kindex G N (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-next-article
+Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
-@item M P R
-@kindex M P R (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
-Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
-expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
+@item G P
+@itemx P
+@kindex P (Summary)
+@kindex G P (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-prev-article
+Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
-@item M P r
-@kindex M P r (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-mark-region
-Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
+@item G C-n
+@kindex G C-n (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
+Go to the next article with the same subject
+(@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
-@item M P t
-@kindex M P t (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
-Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
-(@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
+@item G C-p
+@kindex G C-p (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
+Go to the previous article with the same subject
+(@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
-@item M P T
-@kindex M P T (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
-Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
-(@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
+@item G f
+@itemx .
+@kindex G f (Summary)
+@kindex . (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
+Go to the first unread article
+(@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
-@item M P v
-@kindex M P v (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-mark-over
-Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
-(@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
+@item G b
+@itemx ,
+@kindex G b (Summary)
+@kindex , (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
+Go to the article with the highest score
+(@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
-@item M P s
-@kindex M P s (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-mark-series
-Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
+@item G l
+@itemx l
+@kindex l (Summary)
+@kindex G l (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
+Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
-@item M P S
-@kindex M P S (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
-Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
-(@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
+@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, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
+For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
+@pxref{Article Backlog}.
-@item M P a
-@kindex M P a (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-mark-all
-Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
+@item G j
+@itemx j
+@kindex j (Summary)
+@kindex G j (Summary)
+@findex 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 M P b
-@kindex M P b (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
-Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
-(@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
+@end table
-@item M P k
-@kindex M P k (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
-Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
-(@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
-@item M P y
-@kindex M P y (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
-Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
-(@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
+@node Choosing Variables
+@subsection Choosing Variables
-@item M P w
-@kindex M P w (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
-Push the current process mark set onto the stack
-(@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
+Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
-@end table
+@table @code
+@item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
+@vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
+All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
+article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
+this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
+the server and display it in the article buffer.
+@item gnus-select-article-hook
+@vindex gnus-select-article-hook
+This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
+exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
-@node Limiting
-@section Limiting
-@cindex limiting
+@item gnus-mark-article-hook
+@vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
+@findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
+@findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
+@findex gnus-unread-mark
+This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
+be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
+@code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
+mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
+only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
+expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
+marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
+instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
+@code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
-It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
-subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
-commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
-buffer.
+@end table
-All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
-from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
-additional articles.
+
+@node Paging the Article
+@section Scrolling the Article
+@cindex article scrolling
@table @kbd
-@item / /
-@itemx / s
-@kindex / / (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
-Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
-(@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
+@item SPACE
+@kindex SPACE (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-next-page
+Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
+or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
+next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
-@item / a
-@kindex / a (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
-Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
-(@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
+@item DEL
+@kindex DEL (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-prev-page
+Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
-@item / x
-@kindex / x (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
-Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
-headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
-(@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
+@item RET
+@kindex RET (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
+Scroll the current article one line forward
+(@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
-@item / u
-@itemx x
-@kindex / u (Summary)
-@kindex x (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
-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 strictly unread. This means that ticked and
-dormant articles will also be excluded.
+@item M-RET
+@kindex M-RET (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
+Scroll the current article one line backward
+(@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
-@item / m
-@kindex / m (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
-Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
-with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
+@item A g
+@itemx g
+@kindex A g (Summary)
+@kindex g (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-show-article
+@vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
+(Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
+given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
+article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
+the way it came from the server.
-@item / t
-@kindex / t (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
-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 younger than that number of days.
+If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
+@kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
+encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
-@item / n
-@kindex / n (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
-Limit the summary buffer to the current article
-(@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
-convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
+ '((1 . cn-gb-2312)
+ (2 . big5)))
+@end lisp
-@item / w
-@kindex / w (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
-Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
-(@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
-the stack.
+then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
-@item / v
-@kindex / v (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
-Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
-score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
+@item A <
+@itemx <
+@kindex < (Summary)
+@kindex A < (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
+Scroll to the beginning of the article
+(@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
-@item / E
-@itemx M S
-@kindex M S (Summary)
-@kindex / E (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
-Include all expunged articles in the limit
-(@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
+@item A >
+@itemx >
+@kindex > (Summary)
+@kindex A > (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
+Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
-@item / D
-@kindex / D (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
-Include all dormant articles in the limit
-(@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
+@item A s
+@itemx s
+@kindex A s (Summary)
+@kindex s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
+Perform an isearch in the article buffer
+(@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
-@item / *
-@kindex / * (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
-Include all cached articles in the limit
-(@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
+@item h
+@kindex h (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
+Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
-@item / d
-@kindex / d (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
-Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
-(@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
+@end table
-@item / M
-@kindex / M (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
-Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
-@item / T
-@kindex / T (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
-Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
+@node Reply Followup and Post
+@section Reply, Followup and Post
-@item / c
-@kindex / c (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
-Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
-(@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
+@menu
+* Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
+* Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
+* Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
+* Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
+@end menu
-@item / C
-@kindex / C (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
-Mark all excluded unread articles as read
-(@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
-also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
-@end table
+@node Summary Mail Commands
+@subsection Summary Mail Commands
+@cindex mail
+@cindex composing mail
+Commands for composing a mail message:
-@node Threading
-@section Threading
-@cindex threading
-@cindex article threading
+@table @kbd
-Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
-to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
-hierarchical fashion.
+@item S r
+@itemx r
+@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}).
-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 propagation 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}.
+@item S R
+@itemx R
+@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.
-First, a quick overview of the concepts:
+@item S w
+@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}). 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.
-@table @dfn
-@item root
-The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
+@item S W
+@kindex S W (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
+Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
+message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
+the process/prefix convention.
-@item thread
-A tree-like article structure.
+@item S v
+@kindex S v (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
+Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
+(@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very 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 in all the process/prefixed
+articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
-@item sub-thread
-A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
+@item S W
+@kindex S W (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
+Mail a very wide reply to the current article and include the original
+message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
+the process/prefix convention.
-@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 typically have many sub-threads that really
-belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
-called loose threads.
+@item S o m
+@itemx C-c C-f
+@kindex S o m (Summary)
+@kindex C-c C-f (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.
-@item thread gathering
-An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
+@item S m
+@itemx m
+@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 sparse threads
-A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
-displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
+@item S D b
+@kindex S D b (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
+@cindex bouncing mail
+If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
+reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
+resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
+will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
+sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
+the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
+that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
+very well fail, though.
-@end table
+@item S D r
+@kindex S D r (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-resend-message
+Not to be confused with the previous command,
+@code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
+send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
+headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
+@code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
+means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
+header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
+So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
+This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
+ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
+@code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
+to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
+@code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
-@menu
-* Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
-* Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
-@end menu
+This command understands the process/prefix convention
+(@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@item S O m
+@kindex S O m (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
+Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
+result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
+command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@node Customizing Threading
-@subsection Customizing Threading
-@cindex customizing threading
+@item S M-c
+@kindex S M-c (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
+@cindex crossposting
+@cindex excessive crossposting
+Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
+current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
-@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
+@findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
+This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
+crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
+using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
+command understands the process/prefix convention
+(@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
+@end table
-@node Loose Threads
-@subsubsection Loose Threads
-@cindex <
-@cindex >
-@cindex loose threads
+Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
-@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.
-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:
+@node Summary Post Commands
+@subsection Summary Post Commands
+@cindex post
+@cindex composing news
-@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
+Commands for posting a news article:
-@cindex adopting articles
+@table @kbd
+@item S p
+@itemx a
+@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}).
-@table @code
+@item S f
+@itemx f
+@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 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 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
+process/prefix convention.
-@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 S n
+@kindex S n (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
+Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
+message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
-@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 S N
+@kindex S N (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
+Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
+message through mail and include the original message
+(@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
+the process/prefix convention.
-@item none
-Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
-display them after one another.
+@item S o p
+@kindex S o p (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-post-forward
+Forward the current article to a newsgroup
+(@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
+headers of the forwarded article.
-@item nil
-Don't gather loose threads.
+@item S O p
+@kindex S O p (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
+@cindex digests
+@cindex making digests
+Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
+(@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-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
-@item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
-@vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
-Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
-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 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
-everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
+Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
-@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 (@pxref{Fuzzy
-Matching}).
-@item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
-@vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
-This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
-that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
-simplification is used.
+@node Summary Message Commands
+@subsection Summary Message Commands
-@item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
-@vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
-If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
-as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
+@table @kbd
+@item S y
+@kindex S y (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-yank-message
+Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
+buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
+what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
+process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
- (concat
- "\\`\\[?\\("
- (mapconcat
- 'identity
- '("looking"
- "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
- "help" "query" "problem" "question"
- "answer" "reference" "announce"
- "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
- ;; ...
- )
- "\\|")
- "\\)\\s *\\("
- (mapconcat 'identity
- '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
- "\\|")
- "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
-@end lisp
+@end table
-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.
+@node Canceling and Superseding
+@subsection Canceling Articles
+@cindex canceling articles
+@cindex superseding articles
-Useful functions to put in this list include:
+Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
+really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
-@table @code
-@item gnus-simplify-subject-re
-@findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
-Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
+Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
-@item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
-@findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
-Simplify fuzzily.
+@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.
+This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@item gnus-simplify-whitespace
-@findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
-Remove excessive whitespace.
-@end table
+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.
-You may also write your own functions, of course.
+Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. 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.
-@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)$}.
+@findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
+@kindex S (Summary)
+Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
+(@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
+where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
+usual way.
-@item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
-@vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
-Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
-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 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:
+The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
+sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
+have posted almost the same article twice.
-@table @code
-@item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
-@findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
-This function is the default gathering function and looks at
-@code{Subject}s exclusively.
+If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
+there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
+waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
+to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
+find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
+the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
+header by substituting one of those words for the word
+@code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
+you would do normally. The previous article will be
+canceled/superseded.
-@item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
-@findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
-This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
-@end table
+Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
-If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
-something like:
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
- 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
-@end lisp
+@node Marking Articles
+@section Marking Articles
+@cindex article marking
+@cindex article ticking
+@cindex marks
-@end table
+There are several marks you can set on an article.
+You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
+neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
+@dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
-@node Filling In Threads
-@subsubsection Filling In Threads
+In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
-@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.
+@menu
+* Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
+* Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
+* Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
+@end menu
-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}).
+@ifinfo
+There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
+@end ifinfo
-@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.
+@menu
+* Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
+* Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
+* Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
+@end menu
-@end table
+@node Unread Articles
+@subsection Unread Articles
-@node More Threading
-@subsubsection More Threading
+The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
+other.
-@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.
+@table @samp
+@item !
+@vindex gnus-ticked-mark
+Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
-@item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
-@vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
-If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
-generated.
-
-@item gnus-thread-expunge-below
-@vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
-All threads that have a total score (as defined by
-@code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
-expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
-threads are expunged.
-
-@item gnus-thread-hide-killed
-@vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
-if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
-will be hidden.
+@dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
+you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
+reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
+tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
+news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
+you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
+(@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
-@item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
-@vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
-Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
-this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
-is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
-in a new thread.
+@item ?
+@vindex gnus-dormant-mark
+Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
-@item gnus-thread-indent-level
-@vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
-This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
-The default is 4.
+@dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
+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}).
+Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
+messages.
-@item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
-@vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
-Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
-arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
-arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
-using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
-up appearing before the article to which they are responding to. Setting
-this variable to an alternate value
-(e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
-appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
-more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
+@item SPACE
+@vindex gnus-unread-mark
+Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
+@dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
@end table
-@node Low-Level Threading
-@subsubsection Low-Level Threading
+@node Read Articles
+@subsection Read Articles
+@cindex expirable mark
-@table @code
+All the following marks mark articles as read.
-@item gnus-parse-headers-hook
-@vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
-Hook run before parsing any headers.
+@table @samp
-@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:
+@item r
+@vindex gnus-del-mark
+These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
+command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
+@item R
+@vindex gnus-read-mark
+Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
-(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
+@item O
+@vindex gnus-ancient-mark
+Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
+@dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
-@end table
+@item K
+@vindex gnus-killed-mark
+Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
+@item X
+@vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
+Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
-@node Thread Commands
-@subsection Thread Commands
-@cindex thread commands
+@item Y
+@vindex gnus-low-score-mark
+Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
-@table @kbd
+@item C
+@vindex gnus-catchup-mark
+Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
-@item T k
-@itemx M-C-k
-@kindex T k (Summary)
-@kindex M-C-k (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
-Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
-(@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
-remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
-articles instead.
+@item G
+@vindex gnus-canceled-mark
+Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
-@item T l
-@itemx M-C-l
-@kindex T l (Summary)
-@kindex M-C-l (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
-Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
-(@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
+@item F
+@vindex gnus-souped-mark
+@sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
-@item T i
-@kindex T i (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
-Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
-(@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
+@item Q
+@vindex gnus-sparse-mark
+Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
+Threading}.
-@item T #
-@kindex T # (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
-Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
-(@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
+@item M
+@vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
+Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
+(@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
-@item T M-#
-@kindex T M-# (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
-Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
-(@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
+@end table
-@item T T
-@kindex T T (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
-Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
+All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
+They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
-@item T s
-@kindex T s (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-show-thread
-Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
-(@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
+One more special mark, though:
-@item T h
-@kindex T h (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
-Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
+@table @samp
+@item E
+@vindex gnus-expirable-mark
+Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
-@item T S
-@kindex T S (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
-Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
+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 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 T H
-@kindex T H (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
-Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
-@item T t
-@kindex T t (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
-Re-thread the current article's thread
-(@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
-summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
+@node Other Marks
+@subsection Other Marks
+@cindex process mark
+@cindex bookmarks
-@item T ^
-@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}).
+There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
+read or not.
-@end table
+@itemize @bullet
-The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
-understand the numeric prefix.
+@item
+You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
+long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
+before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
+in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
+encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
-@table @kbd
+@item
+@vindex gnus-replied-mark
+All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
+answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
+(@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
-@item T n
-@kindex T n (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-next-thread
-Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
+@vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
+All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{O} in
+the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
-@item T p
-@kindex T p (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
-Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
+@item
+@vindex 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 T d
-@kindex T d (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-down-thread
-Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
+@item
+@vindex gnus-saved-mark
+Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
+religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
+(@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
-@item T u
-@kindex T u (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-up-thread
-Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
+@item
+@vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
+@vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
+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 T o
-@kindex T o (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-top-thread
-Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
-@end table
-
-@vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
-If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
-threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
-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 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 fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
-Matching}).
+@item
+@vindex gnus-process-mark
+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
+marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
+@end itemize
-@node Sorting
-@section Sorting
+You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
+appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
+replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
-@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
-@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
-@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
-@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
-@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
-@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
-@vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
-If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
-setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
-function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
-@code{(not some-function)} elements.
+Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
+replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
+you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
-By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
-predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
-@code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
-@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 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.
+@node Setting Marks
+@subsection Setting Marks
+@cindex setting marks
-If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
-last function in the list. You should probably always include
-@code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
-functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
-equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
-ascending article order.
+All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
-If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
-by number, you could do something like:
+@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.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
- '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
- gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
- (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
-@end lisp
+@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}.
-The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
-summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
-alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
-subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
-which the articles arrived.
+@item M ?
+@itemx ?
+@kindex ? (Summary)
+@kindex M ? (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
+Mark the current article as dormant
+(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
-If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
-say something like:
+@item M d
+@itemx d
+@kindex M d (Summary)
+@kindex d (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
+Mark the current article as read
+(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
- '((lambda (t1 t2)
- (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
- gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
-@end lisp
+@item D
+@kindex D (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
+Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
+(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
-@vindex gnus-thread-score-function
-The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
-@code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
-functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
-tickles your fancy.
+@item M k
+@itemx k
+@kindex k (Summary)
+@kindex M k (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
+Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
+and then select the next unread article
+(@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
-@findex gnus-article-sort-functions
-@findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
-@findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
-@findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
-@findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
-@findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
-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
-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}.
+@item M K
+@itemx C-k
+@kindex M K (Summary)
+@kindex C-k (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
+Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
+(@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
-If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
-say something like:
+@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}).
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-article-sort-functions
- '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
- gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
-@end lisp
+@item M C-c
+@kindex M C-c (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
+Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
+articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
+@item M H
+@kindex M H (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
+Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
+(@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
+@item M h
+@kindex M h (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
+Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
+(@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
-@node Asynchronous Fetching
-@section Asynchronous Article Fetching
-@cindex asynchronous article fetching
-@cindex article pre-fetch
-@cindex pre-fetch
+@item C-w
+@kindex C-w (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
+Mark all articles between point and mark as read
+(@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
-If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
-network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
-for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
-article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
-while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
+@item M V k
+@kindex M V k (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-kill-below
+Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
+numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
-First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
-article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
+@item M e
+@itemx E
+@kindex M e (Summary)
+@kindex E (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
+Mark the current article as expirable
+(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
-Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
-quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
-know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
-article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
-connection is blocked.
+@item M b
+@kindex M b (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
+Set a bookmark in the current article
+(@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
-To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
-connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
-thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
-extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
+@item M B
+@kindex M B (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
+Remove the bookmark from the current article
+(@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
-Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
-the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
-loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
-also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
-extra connection.
+@item M V c
+@kindex M V c (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-clear-above
+Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
+over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
-Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
-you really want to.
+@item M V u
+@kindex M V u (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-tick-above
+Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
+numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
-@vindex gnus-asynchronous
-Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
-happen automatically.
+@item M V m
+@kindex M V m (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-mark-above
+Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
+score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
+(@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
+@end table
-@vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
-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 it can without bound. If it is
-@code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
+@vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
+The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
+be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
+the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
+one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
+@code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
+@kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
+The default is @code{t}.
-@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. 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 shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
+@node Generic Marking Commands
+@subsection Generic Marking Commands
-@lisp
-(defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
- "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
- (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
- (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
- 100)))
+Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
+the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
+article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
+even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
+previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
+well.
-(setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
-@end lisp
+Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
+you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
+command should do.
-These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
-preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
-It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
+To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
+different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
+buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
+to list in this manual.
-@vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
-Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
-@code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
-articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
+While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
+altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
+@kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
+article, you could say something like:
-@table @code
-@item read
-Remove articles when they are read.
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
+(defun my-alter-summary-map ()
+ (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
+@end lisp
-@item exit
-Remove articles when exiting the group.
-@end table
+or
-The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
+@lisp
+(defun my-alter-summary-map ()
+ (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
+@end lisp
-@c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
-@c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
-@c from the next group.
+@node Setting Process Marks
+@subsection Setting Process Marks
+@cindex setting process marks
-@node Article Caching
-@section Article Caching
-@cindex article caching
-@cindex caching
+@table @kbd
-If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
-consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
-locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
-potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
-your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
+@item M P p
+@itemx #
+@kindex # (Summary)
+@kindex M P p (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
+Mark the current article with the process mark
+(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
+@findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
-Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
+@item M P u
+@itemx M-#
+@kindex M P u (Summary)
+@kindex M-# (Summary)
+Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
+(@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
-@vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
-@vindex gnus-cache-directory
-@vindex gnus-use-cache
-To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
-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.
+@item M P U
+@kindex M P U (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
+Remove the process mark from all articles
+(@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
-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
-as dormant, and don't worry.
+@item M P i
+@kindex M P i (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
+Invert the list of process marked articles
+(@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
-When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
+@item M P R
+@kindex M P R (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
+Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
+expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
-@vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
-@vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
-The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
-@code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
-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 marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
-symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
-@code{unread} and @code{read}.
+@item M P G
+@kindex M P G (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
+Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
+expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
-@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, 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.
+@item M P r
+@kindex M P r (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-mark-region
+Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
-@vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
-@vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
-It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
-if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
-sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
-feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
+@item M P t
+@kindex M P t (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
+Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
+(@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
-To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
-regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
-@code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
-Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
-variables, the group is not cached.
+@item M P T
+@kindex M P T (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
+Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
+(@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
-@findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
-@findex gnus-cache-generate-active
-@vindex gnus-cache-active-file
-The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
-file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
-of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
-offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
-gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
-files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
-file.
+@item M P v
+@kindex M P v (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-mark-over
+Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
+(@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
+@item M P s
+@kindex M P s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-mark-series
+Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
-@node Persistent Articles
-@section Persistent Articles
-@cindex persistent articles
+@item M P S
+@kindex M P S (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
+Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
+(@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
-Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
-In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
-useful in my opinion.
+@item M P a
+@kindex M P a (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-mark-all
+Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
-Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
-that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
-(using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
-that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
-the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
-the expiry going on at the news server.
+@item M P b
+@kindex M P b (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
+Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
+(@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
-This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
-be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
-you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
+@item M P k
+@kindex M P k (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
+Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
+(@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
-@table @kbd
+@item M P y
+@kindex M P y (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
+Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
+(@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
-@item *
-@kindex * (Summary)
-@findex gnus-cache-enter-article
-Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
+@item M P w
+@kindex M P w (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
+Push the current process mark set onto the stack
+(@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
-@item M-*
-@kindex M-* (Summary)
-@findex gnus-cache-remove-article
-Remove the current article from the persistent articles
-(@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
-article.
@end table
-Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
-
-To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
-you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
-interested in persistent articles:
+Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
+set process marks based on article body contents.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
-@end lisp
+@node Limiting
+@section Limiting
+@cindex limiting
-@node Article Backlog
-@section Article Backlog
-@cindex backlog
-@cindex article backlog
+It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
+subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
+commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
+buffer.
-If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
-unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
-by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
-already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
-you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
-re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
-that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
-increase memory usage some.
+All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
+from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
+additional articles.
-@vindex gnus-keep-backlog
-If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
-at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
-variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
-@emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
-bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
-that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
+@table @kbd
-This variable is @code{nil} by default.
+@item / /
+@itemx / s
+@kindex / / (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
+Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
+(@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
+@item / a
+@kindex / a (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
+Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
+(@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
-@node Saving Articles
-@section Saving Articles
-@cindex saving articles
+@item / x
+@kindex / x (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
+Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
+headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
+(@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
-Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
-for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
-processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
-approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
-(@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
+@item / u
+@itemx x
+@kindex / u (Summary)
+@kindex x (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
+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 strictly unread. This means that ticked and
+dormant articles will also be excluded.
-@vindex gnus-save-all-headers
-If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
-unwanted headers before saving the article.
+@item / m
+@kindex / m (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
+Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
+with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
-@vindex gnus-saved-headers
-If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
-@code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
-deleted before saving.
+@item / t
+@kindex / t (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
+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-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
+articles younger than that number of days.
-@table @kbd
+@item / n
+@kindex / n (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
+Limit the summary buffer to the current article
+(@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
+convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@item O o
-@itemx o
-@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 / w
+@kindex / w (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
+Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
+(@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
+the stack.
-@item O m
-@kindex O m (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
-Save the current article in mail format
-(@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
+@item / v
+@kindex / v (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
+Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
+score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
-@item O r
-@kindex O r (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
-Save the current article in rmail format
-(@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
+@item / E
+@itemx M S
+@kindex M S (Summary)
+@kindex / E (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
+Include all expunged articles in the limit
+(@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
-@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}).
+@item / D
+@kindex / D (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
+Include all dormant articles in the limit
+(@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
-@item O F
-@kindex O F (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
-Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
-file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
+@item / *
+@kindex / * (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
+Include all cached articles in the limit
+(@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
-@item O b
-@kindex O b (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
-Save the current article body in plain file format
-(@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
+@item / d
+@kindex / d (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
+Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
+(@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
-@item O h
-@kindex O h (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
-Save the current article in mh folder format
-(@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
+@item / M
+@kindex / M (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
+Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
-@item O v
-@kindex O v (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
-Save the current article in a VM folder
-(@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
+@item / T
+@kindex / T (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
+Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
-@item O p
-@kindex O p (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
-Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
-the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
-@end table
+@item / c
+@kindex / c (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
+Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
+(@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
-@vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
-All these commands use the process/prefix convention
-(@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
-functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
-and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
-the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
-default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
-loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
-just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
-have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
-to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
-save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
-files.
+@item / C
+@kindex / C (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
+Mark all excluded unread articles as read
+(@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
+also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
+@end table
-@vindex gnus-default-article-saver
-You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
-Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
-functions below, or you can create your own.
-@table @code
+@node Threading
+@section Threading
+@cindex threading
+@cindex article threading
-@item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
-@findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
-@vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
-@findex gnus-plain-save-name
-This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
-@code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
-article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
+Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
+to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
+hierarchical fashion.
-@item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
-@findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
-@vindex gnus-mail-save-name
-Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
-@code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
-article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
+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 propagation exacerbates 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}.
-@item gnus-summary-save-in-file
-@findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
-@vindex gnus-file-save-name
-@findex gnus-numeric-save-name
-Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
-the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
-article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
+First, a quick overview of the concepts:
-@item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
-@findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
-Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
-@code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
-article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
+@table @dfn
+@item root
+The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
-@item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
-@findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
-@findex gnus-folder-save-name
-@findex gnus-Folder-save-name
-@vindex gnus-folder-save-name
-@cindex rcvstore
-@cindex MH folders
-Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
-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}, which creates capitalized names.
+@item thread
+A tree-like article structure.
-@item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
-@findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
-Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
-reader to use this setting.
-@end table
+@item sub-thread
+A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
-@vindex gnus-article-save-directory
-All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
-in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
-@code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
-default.
+@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 typically have many sub-threads that really
+belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
+called loose threads.
-As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
-suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
-available functions that generate names:
+@item thread gathering
+An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
-@table @code
-
-@item gnus-Numeric-save-name
-@findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
-File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
+@item sparse threads
+A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
+displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
-@item gnus-numeric-save-name
-@findex gnus-numeric-save-name
-File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
+@end table
-@item gnus-Plain-save-name
-@findex gnus-Plain-save-name
-File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
-@item gnus-plain-save-name
-@findex gnus-plain-save-name
-File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
-@end table
+@menu
+* Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
+* Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
+@end menu
-@vindex gnus-split-methods
-You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
-the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
-save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
-related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
-like:
-@lisp
-(("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
- ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
- (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
- ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
-@end lisp
+@node Customizing Threading
+@subsection Customizing Threading
+@cindex customizing threading
-We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
-elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
-a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
-head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
-group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
-@code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
-the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
-result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
-called returns a string or a list of strings.
+@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
-You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
-saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
-then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
-name completion over the results from applying this variable.
-This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
-means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
-@code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
-name.
+@node Loose Threads
+@subsubsection Loose Threads
+@cindex <
+@cindex >
+@cindex loose threads
-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:
+@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.
-@lisp
-(defun my-save-name (group)
- (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
- (substring group (match-end 0))))
+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:
-(setq gnus-split-methods
- '((gnus-article-archive-name)
- (my-save-name)))
-@end lisp
+@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
+@cindex adopting articles
-@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
-(@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
-the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
-all the files in the top level directory
-(@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
-@file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
-on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
-Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
+@table @code
-This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
-is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
-names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
-@code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
-contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
-for kill files.
+@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.
-If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
-a spool, you could
+@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}.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
-(setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
-@end lisp
+@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}).)
-Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
-ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
-the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
-around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
+@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 Decoding Articles
-@section Decoding Articles
-@cindex decoding articles
+@item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
+@vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
+Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
+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 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
+everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
-Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
-encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
+@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 (@pxref{Fuzzy
+Matching}).
-@menu
-* Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode 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
+@item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
+@vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
+This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
+that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
+simplification is used.
-@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
-can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
-articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
+@item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
+@vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
+If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
+as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
-Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
-simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
-last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
+@c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
+ (concat
+ "\\`\\[?\\("
+ (mapconcat
+ 'identity
+ '("looking"
+ "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
+ "help" "query" "problem" "question"
+ "answer" "reference" "announce"
+ "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
+ ;; ...
+ )
+ "\\|")
+ "\\)\\s *\\("
+ (mapconcat 'identity
+ '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
+ "\\|")
+ "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
+@end lisp
-For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
-will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
-([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
+All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
+subjects.
-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 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:
-@node Uuencoded Articles
-@subsection Uuencoded Articles
-@cindex uudecode
-@cindex uuencoded articles
+@table @code
+@item gnus-simplify-subject-re
+@findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
+Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
-@table @kbd
+@item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
+@findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
+Simplify fuzzily.
-@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 gnus-simplify-whitespace
+@findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
+Remove excessive whitespace.
+@end table
-@item X U
-@kindex X U (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
-Uudecodes and saves the current series
-(@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
+You may also write your own functions, of course.
-@item X v u
-@kindex X v u (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
-Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
-@item X v 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}).
+@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{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
+
+@item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
+@vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
+Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
+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 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:
+
+@table @code
+@item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
+@findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
+This function is the default gathering function and looks at
+@code{Subject}s exclusively.
+@item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
+@findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
+This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
@end table
-Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
-the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
-entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
-(@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
-(@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
+If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
+something like:
-All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
-@sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
-the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
-articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
-@kbd{X u}.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
+ 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
+@end lisp
-@vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
-Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
-@code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
-@samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
-automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
-you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
-off.
+@end table
-@node Shell Archives
-@subsection Shell Archives
-@cindex unshar
-@cindex shell archives
-@cindex shared articles
+@node Filling In Threads
+@subsubsection Filling In Threads
-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 @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.
-@table @kbd
+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 X s
-@kindex X s (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
-Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
+@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 X S
-@kindex X S (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
-Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
+@item gnus-read-all-available-headers
+@vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
+This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
+intended for those non-news newsgroups where the backend has to fetch
+quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
+go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
+web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
-@item X v s
-@kindex X v s (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
-Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
+If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
+@code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
+that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
-@item X v S
-@kindex X v S (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
-Unshars, views and saves the current series
-(@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
@end table
-@node PostScript Files
-@subsection PostScript Files
-@cindex PostScript
-
-@table @kbd
+@node More Threading
+@subsubsection More Threading
-@item X p
-@kindex X p (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
-Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
+@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 X P
-@kindex X P (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
-Unpack and save the current PostScript series
-(@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
+@item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
+@vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
+If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
+generated.
-@item X v p
-@kindex X v p (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
-View the current PostScript series
-(@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
+@item gnus-thread-expunge-below
+@vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
+All threads that have a total score (as defined by
+@code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
+expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
+threads are expunged.
-@item X v P
-@kindex X v P (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
-View and save the current PostScript series
-(@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
-@end table
+@item gnus-thread-hide-killed
+@vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
+if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
+will be hidden.
+@item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
+@vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
+Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
+this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
+change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
+result in a new thread.
-@node Other Files
-@subsection Other Files
+@item gnus-thread-indent-level
+@vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
+This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
+The default is 4.
-@table @kbd
-@item X o
-@kindex X o (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-decode-save
-Save the current series
-(@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
+@item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
+@vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
+Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
+arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
+arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
+using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
+up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
+Setting this variable to an alternate value
+(e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
+appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
+more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
-@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
-
-Adjective, not verb.
-
-@menu
-* Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
-* Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
-* Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
-@end menu
+@node Low-Level Threading
+@subsubsection Low-Level Threading
+@table @code
-@node Rule Variables
-@subsubsection Rule Variables
-@cindex rule variables
+@item gnus-parse-headers-hook
+@vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
+Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
+@code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
+@code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
+@code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
-Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
-variables are of the form
+@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
- (list '(regexp1 command2)
- '(regexp2 command2)
- ...)
-@end lisp
-
-@table @code
+(setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
-@item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
-@vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
-@cindex sox
-This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
-for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
-say something like:
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
- (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
+(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
-@item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
-@vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
-This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
-user and default view rules.
-
-@item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
-@vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
-This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
-archives.
@end table
-@node Other Decode Variables
-@subsubsection Other Decode Variables
-
-@table @code
-@vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
+@node Thread Commands
+@subsection Thread Commands
+@cindex thread commands
-@item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
-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:
+@table @kbd
-@table @code
+@item T k
+@itemx M-C-k
+@kindex T k (Summary)
+@kindex M-C-k (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
+Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
+(@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
+remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
+articles instead.
-@item gnus-uu-grab-view
-@findex gnus-uu-grab-view
-View the file.
+@item T l
+@itemx M-C-l
+@kindex T l (Summary)
+@kindex M-C-l (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
+Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
+(@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
-@item gnus-uu-grab-move
-@findex gnus-uu-grab-move
-Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
-@end table
+@item T i
+@kindex T i (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
+Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
+(@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
-@item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
-@vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
-Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
-@code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
-that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
-time.
+@item T #
+@kindex T # (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
+Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
+(@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
-@item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
-@vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
-Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
+@item T M-#
+@kindex T M-# (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
+Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
+(@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
-@item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
-@vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
-Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
-Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
-@code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
-kludgey.
+@item T T
+@kindex T T (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
+Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
-@item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
-@vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
-Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
+@item T s
+@kindex T s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-show-thread
+Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
+(@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
-@item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
-@vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
-Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
-looking for files to display.
+@item T h
+@kindex T h (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
+Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
-@item gnus-uu-view-and-save
-@vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
-Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
-after viewing it.
+@item T S
+@kindex T S (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
+Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
-@item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
-@vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
-Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
-rules.
+@item T H
+@kindex T H (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
+Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
-@item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
-@vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
-Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
-unpacking commands.
+@item T t
+@kindex T t (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
+Re-thread the current article's thread
+(@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
+summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
-@item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
-@vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
-Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
-from articles.
+@item T ^
+@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}).
-@item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
-@vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
-Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
-decoded articles as unread.
+@end table
-@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.
+The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
+understand the numeric prefix.
-@item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
-@vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
-Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
+@table @kbd
-@item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
-@vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
-@cindex metamail
-Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
-commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
-content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
-@code{metamail} for viewing.
+@item T n
+@kindex T n (Summary)
+@itemx M-C-n
+@kindex M-C-n (Summary)
+@itemx M-down
+@kindex M-down (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-next-thread
+Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
-@item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
-@vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
-Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
-decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
-@code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
-embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
-to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
-simply dropped them.
+@item T p
+@kindex T p (Summary)
+@itemx M-C-p
+@kindex M-C-p (Summary)
+@itemx M-up
+@kindex M-up (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
+Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
-@end table
+@item T d
+@kindex T d (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-down-thread
+Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
+@item T u
+@kindex T u (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-up-thread
+Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
-@node Uuencoding and Posting
-@subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
+@item T o
+@kindex T o (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-top-thread
+Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
+@end table
-@table @code
+@vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
+If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
+threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
+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 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 fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
+Matching}).
-@item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
-@vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
-Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
-before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
-either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
-for you when you post the article.
-@item gnus-uu-post-length
-@vindex gnus-uu-post-length
-Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
-many articles it takes to post the entire file.
+@node Sorting the Summary Buffer
+@section Sorting the Summary Buffer
-@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 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}.
+@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
+@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
+@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
+@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
+@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
+@findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
+@vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
+If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
+setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
+function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
+@code{(not some-function)} elements.
-@item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
-@vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
-Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
-article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
-variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
-at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
-Default is @code{t}.
+By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
+predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
+@code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
+@code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
+@code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
-@end table
+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 in the list. You should probably always include
+@code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
+functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
+equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
+ascending article order.
-@node Viewing Files
-@subsection Viewing Files
-@cindex viewing files
-@cindex pseudo-articles
+If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
+by number, you could do something like:
-After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
-to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
-viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
-containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
-uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
-This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
-of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
+ '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
+ gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
+ (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
+@end lisp
-Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
-extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
-``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
-will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
+The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
+summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
+alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
+subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
+which the articles arrived.
-@vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
-If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
-until the viewing is done before proceeding.
-
-@vindex gnus-view-pseudos
-If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
-the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
-immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
-be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
-
-@vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
-If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
-pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
-@code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
-a list of parameters to that command.
-
-@vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
-If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
-pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
-
-So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
-@emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
-Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
+If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
+say something like:
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
+ '((lambda (t1 t2)
+ (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
+ gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
+@end lisp
-@node Article Treatment
-@section Article Treatment
+@vindex gnus-thread-score-function
+The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
+@code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
+functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
+tickles your fancy.
-Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
-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.
+@findex gnus-article-sort-functions
+@findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
+@findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
+@findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
+@findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
+@findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
+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
+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}.
-@menu
-* Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
-* Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
-* Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
-* Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
-* Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
-* Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
-* Article Signature:: What is a signature?
-* Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
-@end menu
+If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
+say something like:
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-article-sort-functions
+ '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
+ gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
+@end lisp
-@node Article Highlighting
-@subsection Article Highlighting
-@cindex highlighting
-Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
-you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
-@table @kbd
+@node Asynchronous Fetching
+@section Asynchronous Article Fetching
+@cindex asynchronous article fetching
+@cindex article pre-fetch
+@cindex pre-fetch
-@item W H a
-@kindex W H a (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-highlight
-@findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
-Do much highlighting of the current article
-(@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
-text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
+If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
+network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
+for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
+article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
+while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
-@item W H h
-@kindex W H h (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
-@vindex gnus-header-face-alist
-Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
-highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
-variable, which is a list where each element has the form
-@code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
-@var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
-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.
+First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
+article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
-@item W H c
-@kindex W H c (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
-Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
+Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
+quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
+know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
+article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
+connection is blocked.
-Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
+To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
+connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
+thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
+extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
-@table @code
-@vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
+Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
+the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
+loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
+also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
+extra connection.
-@item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
-If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
-default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
+Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
+you really want to.
-@item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
-@vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
-Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
+@vindex gnus-asynchronous
+Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
+happen automatically.
-@item gnus-cite-max-prefix
-@vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
-Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
+@vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
+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 it can without bound. If it is
+@code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
-@item gnus-cite-face-list
-@vindex gnus-cite-face-list
-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.
+@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. 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.
-@item gnus-supercite-regexp
-@vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
-Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
+If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
-@item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
-@vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
-Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
+@lisp
+(defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
+ "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
+ (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
+ (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
+ 100)))
-@item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
-@vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
-Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
-that it's a citation.
+(setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
+@end lisp
-@item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
-@vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
-Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
+These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
+preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
+It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
-@item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
-@vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
-Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
+@vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
+Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
+@code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
+articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
-@item gnus-cite-attribution-face
-@vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
-Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
-cited text belonging to the attribution.
+@table @code
+@item read
+Remove articles when they are read.
+@item exit
+Remove articles when exiting the group.
@end table
+The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
-@item W H s
-@kindex W H s (Summary)
-@vindex gnus-signature-separator
-@vindex gnus-signature-face
-@findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
-Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
-Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
-Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
-highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
-default.
+@c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
+@c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
+@c from the next group.
-@end table
-@xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
+@node Article Caching
+@section Article Caching
+@cindex article caching
+@cindex caching
+If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
+consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
+locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
+potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
+your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
-@node Article Fontisizing
-@subsection Article Fontisizing
-@cindex emphasis
-@cindex article emphasis
+Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
-@findex gnus-article-emphasize
-@kindex W e (Summary)
-People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
-like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
-this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
-(@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
+@vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
+@vindex gnus-cache-directory
+@vindex gnus-use-cache
+To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
+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 hierarchical is controlled by the
+@code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
-@vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
-How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
-@code{gnus-emphasis-alist} 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 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
-highlighting.
+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
+as dormant, and don't worry.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-article-emphasis
- '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
- ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
-@end lisp
+When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
-@cindex slash
-@cindex asterisk
-@cindex underline
-@cindex /
-@cindex *
+@vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
+@vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
+The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
+@code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
+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 marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
+symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
+@code{unread} and @code{read}.
-@vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
-@vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
-@vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
-@vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
-@vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
-@vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
-@vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
-By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
-@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-underline-bold}, and
-@code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
+@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, 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.
-If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
-customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
-to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
-say something like:
+@vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
+@vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
+It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
+if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
+sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
+feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
-@lisp
-(copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
-@end lisp
+To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
+regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
+@code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
+Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
+variables, the group is not cached.
-@vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
+@findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
+@findex gnus-cache-generate-active
+@vindex gnus-cache-active-file
+The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
+file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
+of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
+offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
+gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
+files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
+file.
-If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
-@code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
-syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
-parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
-@xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
+@node Persistent Articles
+@section Persistent Articles
+@cindex persistent articles
+Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
+In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
+useful in my opinion.
-@node Article Hiding
-@subsection Article Hiding
-@cindex article hiding
+Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
+that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
+(using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
+that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
+the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
+the expiry going on at the news server.
-Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
-too much cruft in most articles.
+This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
+be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
+you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
@table @kbd
-@item W W a
-@kindex W W a (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-hide
-Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
-(@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
-headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
+@item *
+@kindex * (Summary)
+@findex gnus-cache-enter-article
+Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
-@item W W h
-@kindex W W h (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-hide-headers
-Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
-Headers}.
+@item M-*
+@kindex M-* (Summary)
+@findex gnus-cache-remove-article
+Remove the current article from the persistent articles
+(@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
+article.
+@end table
-@item W W b
-@kindex W W b (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
-Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
-(@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
+Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
-@item W W s
-@kindex W W s (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-hide-signature
-Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
-Signature}.
+To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
+you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
+interested in persistent articles:
-@item W W l
-@kindex W W l (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
-@vindex gnus-list-identifiers
-Hide list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. Theese
-are strings some list servers add to the beginning of all @code{Subject}
-headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
+@end lisp
-@table @code
-@item gnus-list-identifiers
-@vindex gnus-list-identifiers
-A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
-subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
+@node Article Backlog
+@section Article Backlog
+@cindex backlog
+@cindex article backlog
-@end table
+If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
+unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
+by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
+already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
+you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
+re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
+that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
+increase memory usage some.
-@item W W p
-@kindex W W p (Summary)
-@findex 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. For example, to automatically verify
-articles that have signatures in them do:
-@lisp
-;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
+@vindex gnus-keep-backlog
+If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
+at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
+variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
+@emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
+bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
+that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
-(setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
+This variable is @code{nil} by default.
-;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
-;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
-(add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
- (lambda ()
- (save-excursion
- (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
- (mc-verify))))
-@end lisp
+@node Saving Articles
+@section Saving Articles
+@cindex saving articles
-@item W W P
-@kindex W W P (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-hide-pem
-Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
-(@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
+Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
+for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
+processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
+approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
+(@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
-@item W W B
-@kindex W W B (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-strip-banner
-@cindex banner
-@cindex OneList
-@cindex stripping advertisments
-@cindex advertisments
-Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
-(@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
-annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
-groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
-the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
-group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
-which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
-removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
-signature should be removed.
+@vindex gnus-save-all-headers
+If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
+unwanted headers before saving the article.
-@item W W c
-@kindex W W c (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-hide-citation
-Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
-customizing the hiding:
+@vindex gnus-saved-headers
+If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
+@code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
+deleted before saving.
-@table @code
+@table @kbd
-@item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
-@itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
-@vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
-@vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
-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 these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
-specs are valid:
+@item O o
+@itemx o
+@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}).
-@table @samp
-@item b
-Starting point of the hidden text.
-@item e
-Ending point of the hidden text.
-@item l
-Number of characters in the hidden region.
-@item n
-Number of lines of hidden text.
-@end table
+@item O m
+@kindex O m (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
+Save the current article in mail format
+(@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
-@item gnus-cited-lines-visible
-@vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
-The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
+@item O r
+@kindex O r (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
+Save the current article in rmail format
+(@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
-@end table
+@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}).
-@item W W C-c
-@kindex W W C-c (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
-
-Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
-following two variables:
+@item O F
+@kindex O F (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
+Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
+file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
-@table @code
-@item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
-@vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
-If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
-50), hide the cited text.
+@item O b
+@kindex O b (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
+Save the current article body in plain file format
+(@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
-@item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
-@vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
-The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
-is hidden.
-@end table
+@item O h
+@kindex O h (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
+Save the current article in mh folder format
+(@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
-@item W W C
-@kindex W W C (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
-Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
-(@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
-useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
-have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
+@item O v
+@kindex O v (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
+Save the current article in a VM folder
+(@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
+@item O p
+@itemx |
+@kindex O p (Summary)
+@kindex | (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
+Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
+the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
@end table
-All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
-prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
-hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
+@vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
+All these commands use the process/prefix convention
+(@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
+functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
+and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
+the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
+default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
+loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
+just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
+have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
+to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
+save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
+files.
-Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
-citation customization.
-@xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
-automatically.
+@vindex gnus-default-article-saver
+You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
+gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
+functions below, or you can create your own.
+@table @code
-@node Article Washing
-@subsection Article Washing
-@cindex washing
-@cindex article washing
+@item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
+@findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
+@vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
+@findex gnus-plain-save-name
+This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
+@code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
+article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
-We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
-@kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
+@item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
+@findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
+@vindex gnus-mail-save-name
+Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
+@code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
+article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
-@dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
-something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
-Cleaner, perhaps.
+@item gnus-summary-save-in-file
+@findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
+@vindex gnus-file-save-name
+@findex gnus-numeric-save-name
+Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
+the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
+article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
-@table @kbd
+@item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
+@findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
+Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
+@code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
+article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
-@item W l
-@kindex W l (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
-Remove page breaks from the current article
-(@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
-delimiters.
+@item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
+@findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
+@findex gnus-folder-save-name
+@findex gnus-Folder-save-name
+@vindex gnus-folder-save-name
+@cindex rcvstore
+@cindex MH folders
+Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
+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}, which creates capitalized names.
-@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.)
+@item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
+@findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
+Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
+reader to use this setting.
+@end table
-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 rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
+@vindex gnus-article-save-directory
+All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
+in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
+@code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
+default.
-@item W t
-@kindex W t (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
-Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
-(@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
+As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
+suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
+available functions that generate names:
-@item W v
-@kindex W v (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
-Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
-(@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
+@table @code
-@item W o
-@kindex W o (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
-Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
+@item gnus-Numeric-save-name
+@findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
+File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
-@item W d
-@kindex W d (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
-@vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
-@cindex Smartquotes
-@cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
-@cindex Latin 1
-Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
-@code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
-(@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
-whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
-interactively.
+@item gnus-numeric-save-name
+@findex gnus-numeric-save-name
+File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
-@item W w
-@kindex W w (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
-Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
+@item gnus-Plain-save-name
+@findex gnus-Plain-save-name
+File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
-You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
-when filling.
+@item gnus-plain-save-name
+@findex gnus-plain-save-name
+File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
-@item W Q
-@kindex W Q (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
-Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
+@item gnus-sender-save-name
+@findex gnus-sender-save-name
+File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
+@end table
-@item W C
-@kindex W C (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
-Capitalize the first word in each sentence
-(@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
+@vindex gnus-split-methods
+You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
+the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
+save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
+related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
+like:
-@item W c
-@kindex W c (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-remove-cr
-Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
-(this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
-CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
-(@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
+@lisp
+(("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
+ ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
+ (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
+ ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
+@end lisp
-@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. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
-Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
-header that says that this encoding has been done.
+We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
+elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
+a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
+head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
+group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
+@code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
+the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
+result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
+called returns a string or a list of strings.
-@item W f
-@kindex W f (Summary)
-@cindex x-face
-@findex gnus-article-display-x-face
-@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.
-If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
-sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
-face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
-is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
-The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
-face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
-@code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
-support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
-X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
-external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
-want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
-last.
+You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
+saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
+then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
+name completion over the results from applying this variable.
-@item W b
-@kindex W b (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-add-buttons
-Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
-@xref{Article Buttons}.
+This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
+means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
+@code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
+name.
-@item W B
-@kindex W B (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
-Add clickable buttons to the article headers
-(@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
+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:
-@item W W H
-@kindex W W H (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
-Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
-article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
+@lisp
+(defun my-save-name (group)
+ (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
+ (substring group (match-end 0))))
-@item W E l
-@kindex W E l (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
-Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
-(@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
+(setq gnus-split-methods
+ '((gnus-article-archive-name)
+ (my-save-name)))
+@end lisp
-@item W E m
-@kindex W E m (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
-Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
-lines with a single empty line.
-(@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
-@item W E t
-@kindex W E t (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
-Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
-(@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
+@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
+(@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
+the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
+all the files in the top level directory
+(@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
+@file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
+on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
+Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
-@item W E a
-@kindex W E a (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
-Do all the three commands above
-(@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
+This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
+is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
+names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
+@code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
+contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
+for kill files.
-@item W E A
-@kindex W E A (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
-Remove all blank lines
-(@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
+If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
+a spool, you could
-@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}).
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
+(setq gnus-default-article-saver
+ 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
+@end lisp
-@item W E e
-@kindex W E e (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
-Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
-body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
+Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
+ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
+the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
+around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
-@end table
-@xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
+@node Decoding Articles
+@section Decoding Articles
+@cindex decoding articles
+Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
+encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
-@node Article Buttons
-@subsection Article Buttons
-@cindex buttons
+@menu
+* Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode 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
-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 when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
-button on these references.
+@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
+can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
+articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
-Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
-Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
-two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
-article heads:
+Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
+simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
+last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
-@table @code
+For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
+will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
+([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
-@item gnus-button-alist
-@vindex gnus-button-alist
-This is an alist where each entry has this form:
+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{#}.
-@lisp
-(REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
-@end lisp
-@table @var
+@node Uuencoded Articles
+@subsection Uuencoded Articles
+@cindex uudecode
+@cindex uuencoded articles
-@item regexp
-All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
-external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
-@samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
+@table @kbd
-@item button-par
-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 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 use-p
-This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
-this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
-avoid false matches.
+@item X U
+@kindex X U (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
+Uudecodes and saves the current series
+(@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
-@item function
-This function will be called when you click on this button.
+@item X v u
+@kindex X v u (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
+Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
-@item data-par
-As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
-says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
+@item X v 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}).
@end table
-So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
+Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
+the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
+entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
+(@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
+(@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
-@lisp
-("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
-@end lisp
+All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
+@sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
+the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
+articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
+@kbd{X u}.
-@item gnus-header-button-alist
-@vindex gnus-header-button-alist
-This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
-article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
-used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
+@vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
+Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
+@code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
+@samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
+automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
+you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
+off.
-@lisp
-(HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
-@end lisp
-@var{header} is a regular expression.
+@node Shell Archives
+@subsection Shell Archives
+@cindex unshar
+@cindex shell archives
+@cindex shared articles
-@item gnus-button-url-regexp
-@vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
-A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
-default values of the variables above.
+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:
-@item gnus-article-button-face
-@vindex gnus-article-button-face
-Face used on buttons.
+@table @kbd
-@item gnus-article-mouse-face
-@vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
-Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
+@item X s
+@kindex X s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
+Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
-@end table
+@item X S
+@kindex X S (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
+Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
-@xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
+@item X v s
+@kindex X v s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
+Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
+@item X v S
+@kindex X v S (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
+Unshars, views and saves the current series
+(@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
+@end table
-@node Article Date
-@subsection Article Date
-The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
-heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
-when the article was sent.
+@node PostScript Files
+@subsection PostScript Files
+@cindex PostScript
@table @kbd
-@item W T u
-@kindex W T u (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-date-ut
-Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
-(@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
+@item X p
+@kindex X p (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
+Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
-@item W T i
-@kindex W T i (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
-@cindex ISO 8601
-Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
-(@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
+@item X P
+@kindex X P (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
+Unpack and save the current PostScript series
+(@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
-@item W T l
-@kindex W T l (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-date-local
-Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
+@item X v p
+@kindex X v p (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
+View the current PostScript series
+(@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
-@item W T s
-@kindex W T s (Summary)
-@vindex gnus-article-time-format
-@findex gnus-article-date-user
-@findex format-time-string
-Display the date using a user-defined format
-(@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 of possible format specs.
+@item X v P
+@kindex X v P (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
+View and save the current PostScript series
+(@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
+@end table
-@item W T e
-@kindex W T e (Summary)
-@findex 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}). It looks something like:
-@example
-X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago
-@end example
+@node Other Files
+@subsection Other Files
-The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
-whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
-replace it.
+@table @kbd
+@item X o
+@kindex X o (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-decode-save
+Save the current series
+(@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
-An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
-into wonderful absurdities.
+@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
-If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
-@lisp
-(gnus-start-date-timer)
-@end lisp
+@node Decoding Variables
+@subsection Decoding Variables
-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.
+Adjective, not verb.
-@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 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*
+@menu
+* Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
+* Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
+* Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
+@end menu
-@end table
-@xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
-preferred format automatically.
+@node Rule Variables
+@subsubsection Rule Variables
+@cindex rule variables
+Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
+variables are of the form
-@node Article Signature
-@subsection Article Signature
-@cindex signatures
-@cindex article signature
+@lisp
+ (list '(regexp1 command2)
+ '(regexp2 command2)
+ ...)
+@end lisp
-@vindex gnus-signature-separator
-Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
-body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
-that says what is to be considered a signature is
-@code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
-@samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
-non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
-of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
-from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
+@table @code
+@item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
+@vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
+@cindex sox
+This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
+for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
+say something like:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-signature-separator
- '("^-- $" ; The standard
- "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
- "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
- ; line of dashes. Shame!
- "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
- "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
- "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
+(setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
+ (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
@end lisp
-The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
-positives.
-
-@vindex gnus-signature-limit
-@code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
-signature when displaying articles.
+@item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
+@vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
+This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
+user and default view rules.
-@enumerate
-@item
-If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
-that integer.
-@item
-If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
-than that number.
-@item
-If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
-and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
-@item
-If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
-in question is not a signature.
-@end enumerate
+@item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
+@vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
+This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
+archives.
+@end table
-This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
-listed above. Here's an example:
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-signature-limit
- '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
-@end lisp
+@node Other Decode Variables
+@subsubsection Other Decode Variables
-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.
+@table @code
+@vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
+@item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
+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:
-@node Article Miscellania
-@subsection Article Miscellania
+@table @code
-@table @kbd
-@item A t
-@kindex A t (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-babel
-Translate the article from one language to another
-(@code{gnus-article-babel}).
+@item gnus-uu-grab-view
+@findex gnus-uu-grab-view
+View the file.
+@item gnus-uu-grab-move
+@findex gnus-uu-grab-move
+Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
@end table
+@item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
+@vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
+Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
+@code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
+that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
+time.
-@node MIME Commands
-@section @sc{mime} Commands
-@cindex MIME decoding
+@item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
+@vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
+Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
-The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
-instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
+@item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
+@vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
+Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
+Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
+@code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
+kludgey.
-@table @kbd
-@item b
-@itemx K v
-@kindex b (Summary)
-@kindex K v (Summary)
-View the @sc{mime} part.
+@item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
+@vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
+Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
-@item K o
-@kindex K o (Summary)
-Save the @sc{mime} part.
+@item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
+@vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
+Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
+looking for files to display.
-@item K c
-@kindex K c (Summary)
-Copy the @sc{mime} part.
+@item gnus-uu-view-and-save
+@vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
+Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
+after viewing it.
-@item K e
-@kindex K e (Summary)
-View the @sc{mime} part externally.
+@item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
+@vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
+Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
+rules.
-@item K i
-@kindex K i (Summary)
-View the @sc{mime} part internally.
+@item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
+@vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
+Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
+unpacking commands.
-@item K |
-@kindex K | (Summary)
-Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
-@end table
-
-The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
-the same manner:
-
-@table @kbd
-@item K b
-@kindex K b (Summary)
-Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in from of them.
-
-@item K m
-@kindex K m (Summary)
-Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
-This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
-be viewed in a more pleasant manner.
-
-@item X m
-@kindex X m (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-save-parts
-Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
-(@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
-convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
+@vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
+Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
+from articles.
-@item M-t
-@kindex M-t (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
-Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
-(@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
+@item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
+@vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
+Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
+decoded articles as unread.
-@item W M w
-@kindex W M w (Summary)
-Decode RFC2047-encoded words in the article headers
-(@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
+@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 W M c
-@kindex W M c (Summary)
-Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
-(@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
+@item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
+@vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
+Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
-This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
-charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
-prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
-groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
-MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
-the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
+@item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
+@vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
+@cindex metamail
+Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
+commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
+content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
+@code{metamail} for viewing.
-@item W M v
-@kindex W M v (Summary)
-View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
-(@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
+@item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
+@vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
+Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
+decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
+@code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
+embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
+to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
+simply dropped them.
@end table
-Relevant variables:
-
-@table @code
-@item gnus-ignored-mime-types
-@vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
-This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
-this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
-@code{nil}.
-
-To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
- '("text/x-vcard"))
-@end lisp
+@node Uuencoding and Posting
+@subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
-@item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
-@vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
-This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
-this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
-displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
+@table @code
-@item gnus-article-mime-part-function
-@vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
-For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
-handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
-users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
-the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
-save all jpegs into some directory).
+@item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
+@vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
+Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
+before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
+either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
+for you when you post the article.
-Here's an example function the does the latter:
+@item gnus-uu-post-length
+@vindex gnus-uu-post-length
+Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
+many articles it takes to post the entire file.
-@lisp
-(defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
- (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
- (with-temp-buffer
- (insert (mm-get-part handle))
- (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
- (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
-(setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
- 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
-@end lisp
+@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 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}.
-@vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
-@item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
-Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
+@item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
+@vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
+Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
+article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
+variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
+at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
+Default is @code{t}.
@end table
-@node Charsets
-@section Charsets
-@cindex charsets
-
-People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
-charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
-newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
-just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
-help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
-what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
-hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
+@node Viewing Files
+@subsection Viewing Files
+@cindex viewing files
+@cindex pseudo-articles
-@vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
-This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
-variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match group names) and
-default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
+After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
+to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
+viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
+containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
+uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
+This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
+of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
-In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
-aren't. These blitely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
-if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
-@code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
-charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
-on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
-Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
-something some agents insist on having in there.
+Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
+extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
+``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
+will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
-@cindex Russina
-@cindex koi8-r
-@cindex koi8-u
-@cindex iso-8859-5
-@cindex coding system aliases
-@cindex preferred charset
+@vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
+If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
+until the viewing is done before proceeding.
-Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
+@vindex gnus-view-pseudos
+If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
+the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
+immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
+be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
-If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
-charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
+@vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
+If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
+pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
+@code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
+a list of parameters to that command.
-@lisp
-(put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
- 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
-@end lisp
+@vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
+If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
+pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
-This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
-the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
+So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
+@emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
+Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
-If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
-@lisp
-(define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
-@end lisp
+@node Article Treatment
+@section Article Treatment
-This will almost do the right thing.
+Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
+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.
-And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
-something like
+@menu
+* Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
+* Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
+* Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
+* Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
+* Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
+* Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
+* Article Signature:: What is a signature?
+* Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
+@end menu
-@lisp
-(codepage-setup 1251)
-(define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
-@end lisp
+@node Article Highlighting
+@subsection Article Highlighting
+@cindex highlighting
-@node Article Commands
-@section Article Commands
+Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
+you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
@table @kbd
-@item A P
-@cindex PostScript
-@cindex printing
-@kindex A P (Summary)
-@vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
-@findex gnus-summary-print-article
-Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
-(@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
-run just before printing the buffer.
-
-@end table
-
-
-@node Summary Sorting
-@section Summary Sorting
-@cindex summary sorting
-
-You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
-can't really see why you'd want that.
+@item W H a
+@kindex W H a (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-highlight
+@findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
+Do much highlighting of the current article
+(@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
+text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
-@table @kbd
+@item W H h
+@kindex W H h (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
+@vindex gnus-header-face-alist
+Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
+highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
+variable, which is a list where each element has the form
+@code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
+@var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
+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 C-c C-s C-n
-@kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
-Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
+@item W H c
+@kindex W H c (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
+Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
-@item C-c C-s C-a
-@kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
-Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
+Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
-@item C-c C-s C-s
-@kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
-Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
+@table @code
+@vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
-@item C-c C-s C-d
-@kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
-Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
+@item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
+If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
+default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
-@item C-c C-s C-l
-@kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
-Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
+@item gnus-cite-max-prefix
+@vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
+Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
-@item C-c C-s C-c
-@kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
-Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
+@item gnus-cite-face-list
+@vindex gnus-cite-face-list
+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 C-c C-s C-i
-@kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
-Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
-@end table
+@item gnus-supercite-regexp
+@vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
+Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
-These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
-use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
-line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
-root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
-toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
-Commands}).
+@item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
+@vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
+Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
+@item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
+@vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
+Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
+that it's a citation.
-@node Finding the Parent
-@section Finding the Parent
-@cindex parent articles
-@cindex referring articles
+@item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
+@vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
+Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
-@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
-and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
-can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
-(@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
-you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
-summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
+@item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
+@vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
+Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
-If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
-the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
-ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
-grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
-@kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
-article.
+@item gnus-cite-attribution-face
+@vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
+Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
+cited text belonging to the attribution.
-@item A R (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-refer-references
-@kindex A R (Summary)
-Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
-article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
+@end table
-@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 W H s
+@kindex W H s (Summary)
+@vindex gnus-signature-separator
+@vindex gnus-signature-face
+@findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
+Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
+Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
+Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
+highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
+default.
-@item M-^ (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-refer-article
-@kindex M-^ (Summary)
-@cindex Message-ID
-@cindex fetching by Message-ID
-You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
-matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
-(@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
-@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.
+@xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
-@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 one
-updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
-necessary.
-It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
-@code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
-is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
-match.
+@node Article Fontisizing
+@subsection Article Fontisizing
+@cindex emphasis
+@cindex article emphasis
-Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
-then ask Deja if that fails:
+@findex gnus-article-emphasize
+@kindex W e (Summary)
+People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
+like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
+this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
+(@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
+
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
+How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
+@code{gnus-emphasis-alist} 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 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
+highlighting.
@lisp
-(setq gnus-refer-article-method
- '(current
- (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
+(setq gnus-emphasis-alist
+ '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
+ ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
@end lisp
-Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
-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
-consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
+@cindex slash
+@cindex asterisk
+@cindex underline
+@cindex /
+@cindex *
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
+By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
+@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-underline-bold}, and
+@code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
-@node Alternative Approaches
-@section Alternative Approaches
+If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
+customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
+to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
+say something like:
-Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
-Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
+@lisp
+(copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
+@end lisp
-@menu
-* Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
-* Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
-@end menu
+@vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
+If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
+@code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
+syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
+parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
-@node Pick and Read
-@subsection Pick and Read
-@cindex pick and read
+@xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
-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 provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
+@node Article Hiding
+@subsection Article Hiding
+@cindex article hiding
-Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
+Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
+too much cruft in most articles.
@table @kbd
-@item .
-@kindex . (Pick)
-@findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
-Pick the article or thread on the current line
-(@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
-@code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
-entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
-it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
-thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
-at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
-
-@item SPACE
-@kindex SPACE (Pick)
-@findex gnus-pick-next-page
-Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
-at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
-
-@item u
-@kindex u (Pick)
-@findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
-Unpick the thread or article
-(@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
-@code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
-thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
-just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
-the thread or article at that line.
-
-@item RET
-@kindex RET (Pick)
-@findex gnus-pick-start-reading
-@vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
-Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
-given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
-@code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
-will still be visible when you are reading.
-@end table
-
-All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
-pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
-which is mapped to the same function
-@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
+@item W W a
+@kindex W W a (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-hide
+Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
+(@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
+headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
-If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
+@item W W h
+@kindex W W h (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-toggle-headers
+Toggle hiding of headers (@code{gnus-article-toggle-headers}). @xref{Hiding
+Headers}.
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
-@end lisp
+@item W W b
+@kindex W W b (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
+Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
+(@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
-@vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
-@code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
+@item W W s
+@kindex W W s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-hide-signature
+Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
+Signature}.
-@vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
-If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
-all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
+@item W W l
+@kindex W W l (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
+@vindex gnus-list-identifiers
+Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
+are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
+@code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
+@samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
+may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
-@vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
-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
-Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
-@code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
+@table @code
+@item gnus-list-identifiers
+@vindex gnus-list-identifiers
+A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
+subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
-@node Binary Groups
-@subsection Binary Groups
-@cindex binary groups
+@end table
-@findex gnus-binary-mode
-@kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
-If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
-@kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
-is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
-selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
-instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
+@item W W p
+@kindex W W p (Summary)
+@findex 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. For example, to automatically verify
+articles that have signatures in them do:
+@lisp
+;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
-@kindex g (Binary)
-@findex 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}).
+(setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
-@vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
-@code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
+;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
+;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
+(add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
+ (lambda ()
+ (save-excursion
+ (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
+ (mc-verify))))
+@end lisp
-@node Tree Display
-@section Tree Display
-@cindex trees
+@item W W P
+@kindex W W P (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-hide-pem
+Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
+(@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
-@vindex gnus-use-trees
-If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
-@code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
-additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
-in the tree buffer.
+@item W W B
+@kindex W W B (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-strip-banner
+@cindex banner
+@cindex OneList
+@cindex stripping advertisements
+@cindex advertisements
+Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
+(@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
+annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
+groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
+the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
+group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
+which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
+removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
+signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
+corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
+used.
-There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
+@item W W c
+@kindex W W c (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-hide-citation
+Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
+customizing the hiding:
@table @code
-@item gnus-tree-mode-hook
-@vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
-A hook called in all tree 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 (@pxref{Mode
-Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
-of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
-
-@item gnus-selected-tree-face
-@vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
-Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
-default is @code{modeline}.
-@item gnus-tree-line-format
-@vindex gnus-tree-line-format
-A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
-though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
-is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
-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.
-
-Valid specs are:
+@item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
+@itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
+@vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
+@vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
+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 these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
+specs are valid:
@table @samp
+@item b
+Starting point of the hidden text.
+@item e
+Ending point of the hidden text.
+@item l
+Number of characters in the hidden region.
@item n
-The name of the poster.
-@item f
-The @code{From} header.
-@item N
-The number of the article.
-@item [
-The opening bracket.
-@item ]
-The closing bracket.
-@item s
-The subject.
+Number of lines of hidden text.
@end table
-@xref{Formatting Variables}.
+@item gnus-cited-lines-visible
+@vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
+The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
+shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
+and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
-Variables related to the display are:
+@end table
-@table @code
-@item gnus-tree-brackets
-@vindex gnus-tree-brackets
-This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
-``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
-(@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
-default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
+@item W W C-c
+@kindex W W C-c (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
-@item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
-@vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
-This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
-nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
+Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
+following two variables:
+@table @code
+@item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
+@vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
+If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
+50), hide the cited text.
+
+@item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
+@vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
+The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
+is hidden.
@end table
-@item gnus-tree-minimize-window
-@vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
-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}. 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
-@findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
-@findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
-The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
-functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
-@code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
+@item W W C
+@kindex W W C (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
+Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
+(@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
+useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
+have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
@end table
-Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
-
-@example
-@{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
- | \[Jan]
- | \[odd]-[Eri]
- | \(***)-[Eri]
- | \[odd]-[Paa]
- \[Bjo]
- \[Gun]
- \[Gun]-[Jor]
-@end example
-
-Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
-
-@example
-@{***@}
- |--------------------------\-----\-----\
-(***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
- |--\-----\-----\ |
-[odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
- | | |--\
-[Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
- |
- [Paa]
-@end example
+All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
+prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
+hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
-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:
+Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
+citation customization.
-@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{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
+automatically.
-@xref{Windows Configuration}.
+@node Article Washing
+@subsection Article Washing
+@cindex washing
+@cindex article washing
-@node Mail Group Commands
-@section Mail Group Commands
-@cindex mail group commands
+We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
+@kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
-Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
-invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
+@dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
+something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
+Cleaner, perhaps.
-All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
-process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
+articles by default.
@table @kbd
-@item B e
-@kindex B e (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
-Expire all expirable articles in the group
-(@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
+@item C-u g
+This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
+you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
+the server.
-@item B M-C-e
-@kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
-@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 eligible for expiry in the current group will
-disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
+@item W l
+@kindex W l (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
+Remove page breaks from the current article
+(@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
+delimiters.
-@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}).
+@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.)
-@item B m
-@kindex B m (Summary)
-@cindex move mail
-@findex gnus-summary-move-article
-Move the article from one mail group to another
-(@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
+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 rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
-@item B c
-@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}).
+@item W t
+@item t
+@kindex W t (Summary)
+@kindex t (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-toggle-headers
+Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
+(@code{gnus-article-toggle-headers}).
-@item B B
-@kindex B B (Summary)
-@cindex crosspost mail
-@findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
-Crosspost the current article to some other group
-(@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
-the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
-be properly updated.
+@item W v
+@kindex W v (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
+Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
+(@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
-@item B i
-@kindex B i (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-import-article
-Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
-(@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
-name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
+@item W m
+@kindex W m (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
+Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
+(@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
-@item B r
-@kindex B r (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-respool-article
-Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
-@code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
-select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
-which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
+@item W o
+@kindex W o (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
+Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
-@item B w
-@itemx e
-@kindex B w (Summary)
-@kindex e (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-edit-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}). If you give a prefix to the
-@kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
+@item W d
+@kindex W d (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
+@vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
+@cindex Smartquotes
+@cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
+@cindex Latin 1
+Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
+@code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
+(@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
+whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
+interactively.
-@item B q
-@kindex B q (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-respool-query
-If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
-the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
-will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
+Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
+an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
+like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
+apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
-@item B t
-@kindex B t (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
-Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
-when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
+@item W w
+@kindex W w (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
+Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
-@item B p
-@kindex B p (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
-Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
-follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
-@code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
-(@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
-article from your news server (or rather, from
-@code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
-report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
-it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
-propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
-just not have arrived yet.
+You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
+when filling.
-@end table
+@item W Q
+@kindex W Q (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
+Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
-@vindex gnus-move-split-methods
-@cindex moving articles
-If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
-suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
-variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
-(@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
-suggestions you find reasonable.
+@item W C
+@kindex W C (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
+Capitalize the first word in each sentence
+(@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-move-split-methods
- '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
- ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
- (".*" "nnml:misc")))
-@end lisp
+@item W c
+@kindex W c (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-remove-cr
+Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
+(this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
+CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
+(@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
+@item W 6
+@kindex W 6 (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
+Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
+Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
+(i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
+automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
+@code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
+been done.
+If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
+
+@item W Z
+@kindex W Z (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
+Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
+common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
+makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
+
+@item W h
+@kindex W h (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-wash-html
+Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
+Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
+in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
+has been done.
+If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
-@node Various Summary Stuff
-@section Various Summary Stuff
+@item W f
+@kindex W f (Summary)
+@cindex x-face
+@findex gnus-article-display-x-face
+@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
+@c @anchor{X-Face}
+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.
+If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
+sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
+face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
+is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
+The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
+program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
+@code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
+like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
+to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
+support, the default action is to display the face before the
+@code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
+support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
+X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
+external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
+friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
+like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
+want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
+last.
-@menu
-* Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
-* Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
-* Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
-* Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
-@end menu
+@item W b
+@kindex W b (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-add-buttons
+Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
+@xref{Article Buttons}.
-@table @code
-@vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
-@item gnus-summary-mode-hook
-This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
+@item W B
+@kindex W B (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
+Add clickable buttons to the article headers
+(@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
-@vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
-@item gnus-summary-generate-hook
-This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
-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
-have been set.
+@item W p
+@kindex W p (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
+Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
+Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
+usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
+public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
+message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
+@uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
-@vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
-@item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
-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.
+@item W W H
+@kindex W W H (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
+Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
+article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
-@vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
-@item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
-A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
-generated.
+@item W E l
+@kindex W E l (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
+Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
+(@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
-@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.
+@item W E m
+@kindex W E m (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
+Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
+lines with a single empty line.
+(@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
-@end table
+@item W E t
+@kindex W E t (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
+Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
+(@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
+@item W E a
+@kindex W E a (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
+Do all the three commands above
+(@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
-@node Summary Group Information
-@subsection Summary Group Information
+@item W E A
+@kindex W E A (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
+Remove all blank lines
+(@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
-@table @kbd
+@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}).
-@item H f
-@kindex H f (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
-@vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
-Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
-current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
-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} or @code{efs} will probably
-be used for fetching the file.
+@item W E e
+@kindex W E e (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
+Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
+body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
-@item H d
-@kindex H d (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-describe-group
-Give a brief description of the current group
-(@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
-rereading the description from the server.
+@end table
-@item H h
-@kindex H h (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
-Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
-keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
+@xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
-@item H i
-@kindex H i (Summary)
-@findex gnus-info-find-node
-Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
-@end table
+@node Article Buttons
+@subsection Article Buttons
+@cindex buttons
-@node Searching for Articles
-@subsection Searching for Articles
+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 when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
+button on these references.
-@table @kbd
+Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
+Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
+two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
+article heads:
-@item M-s
-@kindex M-s (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
-Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
-(@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
+@table @code
-@item M-r
-@kindex M-r (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
-Search through all previous articles for a regexp
-(@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
+@item gnus-button-alist
+@vindex gnus-button-alist
+This is an alist where each entry has this form:
-@item &
-@kindex & (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}). If given a prefix, search
-backward instead.
+@lisp
+(REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
+@end lisp
-@item M-&
-@kindex M-& (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
-Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
-the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
-@end table
+@table @var
-@node Summary Generation Commands
-@subsection Summary Generation Commands
+@item regexp
+All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
+external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
+@samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
-@table @kbd
+@item button-par
+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 Y g
-@kindex Y g (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-prepare
-Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
+@item use-p
+This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
+this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
+avoid false matches.
-@item Y c
-@kindex Y c (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
-Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
-(@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
+@item function
+This function will be called when you click on this button.
-@end table
+@item data-par
+As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
+says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
+@end table
-@node Really Various Summary Commands
-@subsection Really Various Summary Commands
+So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
-@table @kbd
+@lisp
+("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
+@end lisp
-@item A D
-@itemx C-d
-@kindex C-d (Summary)
-@kindex A D (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
-If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
-a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
-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 of
-some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
-fashion.
+@item gnus-header-button-alist
+@vindex gnus-header-button-alist
+This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
+article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
+used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
-@item M-C-d
-@kindex M-C-d (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-read-document
-This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
-several documents into one biiig group
-(@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
-@code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
-@code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
-command understands the process/prefix convention
-(@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@lisp
+(HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
+@end lisp
-@item C-t
-@kindex C-t (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
-Toggle truncation of summary lines
-(@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
-line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
-to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
+@var{header} is a regular expression.
-@item =
-@kindex = (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-expand-window
-Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
-If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
+@item gnus-button-url-regexp
+@vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
+A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
+default values of the variables above.
-@item M-C-e
-@kindex M-C-e (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
-Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
-group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
+@item gnus-article-button-face
+@vindex gnus-article-button-face
+Face used on buttons.
-@item M-C-g
-@kindex M-C-g (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
-Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
-group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
+@item gnus-article-mouse-face
+@vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
+Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
@end table
+@xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
-@node Exiting the Summary Buffer
-@section Exiting the Summary Buffer
-@cindex summary exit
-@cindex exiting groups
-
-Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
-group and return you to the group buffer.
-
-@table @kbd
-
-@item Z Z
-@itemx q
-@kindex Z Z (Summary)
-@kindex q (Summary)
-@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, which calls
-@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
-@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.
-
-@item Z E
-@itemx Q
-@kindex Z E (Summary)
-@kindex Q (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
-Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
-(@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
-@item Z c
-@itemx c
-@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}).
+@node Article Date
+@subsection Article Date
-@item Z C
-@kindex Z C (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
-Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
-(@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
+The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
+heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
+when the article was sent.
-@item Z n
-@kindex Z n (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
-Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
-(@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
+@table @kbd
-@item Z R
-@kindex Z R (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
-Exit this group, and then enter it again
-(@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
-all articles, both read and unread.
+@item W T u
+@kindex W T u (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-date-ut
+Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
+(@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
-@item Z G
-@itemx M-g
-@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.
+@item W T i
+@kindex W T i (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
+@cindex ISO 8601
+Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
+(@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
-@item Z N
-@kindex Z N (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-next-group
-Exit the group and go to the next group
-(@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
+@item W T l
+@kindex W T l (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-date-local
+Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
-@item Z P
-@kindex Z P (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-prev-group
-Exit the group and go to the previous group
-(@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
+@item W T p
+@kindex W T p (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-date-english
+Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
+(@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
-@item Z s
-@kindex Z s (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
-Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
-and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
-given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
-command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
-@end table
+@item W T s
+@kindex W T s (Summary)
+@vindex gnus-article-time-format
+@findex gnus-article-date-user
+@findex format-time-string
+Display the date using a user-defined format
+(@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 of possible format specs.
-@vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
-@code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
-group.
+@item W T e
+@kindex W T e (Summary)
+@findex 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}). It looks something like:
-@findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
-@findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
-@vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
-If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
-about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
-If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
-(Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
-something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
-called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
-buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
-@code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
-summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
+@example
+X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
+@end example
-There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
+The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
+whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
+replace it.
-@vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
-The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
-read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
-summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
-@code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
-this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
-other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
-neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
-both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
+An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
+into wonderful absurdities.
+If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
-@node Crosspost Handling
-@section Crosspost Handling
+@lisp
+(gnus-start-date-timer)
+@end lisp
-@cindex velveeta
-@cindex spamming
-Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
-read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
-posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
-several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
-by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
-heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
-(@pxref{NoCeM}).
+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.
-Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
-separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
-@dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
-@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
-excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
+@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 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*
-@cindex cross-posting
-@cindex Xref
-@cindex @sc{nov}
-One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
-correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
-(which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
-does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
-Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
-even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
-articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
-them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
-the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
-the cross reference mechanism.
+@end table
-@cindex LIST overview.fmt
-@cindex overview.fmt
-To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
-in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
-@samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
-overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
-get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
-your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
-overview files.
+@xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
+preferred format automatically.
-@vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
-If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
-set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
-considerably.
-C'est la vie.
+@node Article Signature
+@subsection Article Signature
+@cindex signatures
+@cindex article signature
-For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
+@vindex gnus-signature-separator
+Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
+body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
+that says what is to be considered a signature is
+@code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
+@samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
+non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
+of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
+from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-signature-separator
+ '("^-- $" ; The standard
+ "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
+ "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
+ ; line of dashes. Shame!
+ "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
+ "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
+ "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
+@end lisp
-@node Duplicate Suppression
-@section Duplicate Suppression
+The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
+positives.
-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 satisfactory for some users for various
-reasons.
+@vindex gnus-signature-limit
+@code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
+signature when displaying articles.
@enumerate
@item
-The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
-is evil and not very common.
-
-@item
-The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
-@file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
-
+If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
+that integer.
@item
-You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
-different @sc{nntp} servers.
-
+If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
+than that number.
@item
-You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
+If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
+and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
+@item
+If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
+in question is not a signature.
@end enumerate
-I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
-well, but these four are the most common situations.
+This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
+listed above. Here's an example:
-If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
-consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
-will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
-otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
-all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
-mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
-so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
-once.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-signature-limit
+ '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
+@end lisp
-Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
-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 with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
-saw the article in.
+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.
-@table @code
-@item gnus-suppress-duplicates
-@vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
-If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
-@item gnus-save-duplicate-list
-@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 read in a single Gnus
-session are suppressed.
+@node Article Miscellania
+@subsection Article Miscellania
-@item gnus-duplicate-list-length
-@vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
-This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
-suppression list. The default is 10000.
+@table @kbd
+@item A t
+@kindex A t (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-babel
+Translate the article from one language to another
+(@code{gnus-article-babel}).
-@item gnus-duplicate-file
-@vindex gnus-duplicate-file
-The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
-default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
@end table
-If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
-@code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
-you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
-the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
-so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
-@code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
-to you to figure out, I think.
-
-
-@node The Article Buffer
-@chapter The Article Buffer
-@cindex article buffer
-The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
-one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
-tell Gnus otherwise.
+@node MIME Commands
+@section @sc{mime} Commands
+@cindex MIME decoding
+@cindex attachments
+@cindex viewing attachments
-@menu
-* Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
-* Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
-* Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
-* Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
-* Misc Article:: Other stuff.
-@end menu
+The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
+instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
+@table @kbd
+@item b
+@itemx K v
+@kindex b (Summary)
+@kindex K v (Summary)
+View the @sc{mime} part.
-@node Hiding Headers
-@section Hiding Headers
-@cindex hiding headers
-@cindex deleting headers
+@item K o
+@kindex K o (Summary)
+Save the @sc{mime} part.
-The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
-@dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
+@item K c
+@kindex K c (Summary)
+Copy the @sc{mime} part.
-@vindex gnus-show-all-headers
-There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
-who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
-article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
-most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
-through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
-@code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
-of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
-article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
+@item K e
+@kindex K e (Summary)
+View the @sc{mime} part externally.
-Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
+@item K i
+@kindex K i (Summary)
+View the @sc{mime} part internally.
-@table @code
+@item K |
+@kindex K | (Summary)
+Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
+@end table
-@item gnus-visible-headers
-@vindex gnus-visible-headers
-If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
-that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
-headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
+The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
+the same manner:
-For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
-the article and the subject, you'd say:
+@table @kbd
+@item K b
+@kindex K b (Summary)
+Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
+mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
+parts.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
-@end lisp
+@item K m
+@kindex K m (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
+Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
+This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
+be viewed in a more pleasant manner
+(@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
-This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
-remain visible.
+@item X m
+@kindex X m (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-save-parts
+Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
+(@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
+convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@item gnus-ignored-headers
-@vindex gnus-ignored-headers
-This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
-variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
-should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
-hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
+@item M-t
+@kindex M-t (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
+Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
+(@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
-For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
-and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
+@item W M w
+@kindex W M w (Summary)
+Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
+(@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
-@end lisp
+@item W M c
+@kindex W M c (Summary)
+Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
+(@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
-This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
-be removed.
+This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
+charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
+prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
+groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
+MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
+the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
-Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
-variable will have no effect.
+@item W M v
+@kindex W M v (Summary)
+View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
+(@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
@end table
-@vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
-Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
-can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
-variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
-the headers are to be displayed.
-
-For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
-and then the subject, you might say something like:
-
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
-@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 listed in this variable.
-
-@findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
-@vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
-You can hide further boring headers by setting
-@code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-header} to @code{head}. What this function
-does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
-list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
-lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
-from sight.
+Relevant variables:
-These conditions are:
@table @code
-@item empty
-Remove all empty headers.
-@item followup-to
-Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
-@code{Newsgroups} header.
-@item reply-to
-Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
-@code{From} header.
-@item newsgroups
-Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
-name.
-@item date
-Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
-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
+@item gnus-ignored-mime-types
+@vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
+This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
+this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
+@code{nil}.
-To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
+To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-boring-article-headers
- '(empty followup-to reply-to))
+(setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
+ '("text/x-vcard"))
@end lisp
-This is also the default value for this variable.
+@item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
+@vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
+This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
+this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
+displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
+@item gnus-article-mime-part-function
+@vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
+For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
+handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
+users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
+the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
+save all jpegs into some directory).
-@node Using MIME
-@section Using @sc{mime}
-@cindex @sc{mime}
+Here's an example function the does the latter:
-Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
-while people stand around yawning.
+@lisp
+(defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
+ (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
+ (with-temp-buffer
+ (insert (mm-get-part handle))
+ (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
+ (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
+(setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
+ 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
+@end lisp
-@sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
-while all newsreaders die of fear.
+@vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
+@item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
+Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
-@sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
-of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
-other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
+@vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
+@item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
+List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
+Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
+
+Ready-made functions include@*
+@code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
+@code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
+@code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
+@code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
+the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
+whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
+is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
+@findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
+@findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
+@findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
+@findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
+@vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
+
+The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
+@code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
+
+Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
+except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
+such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
-@vindex gnus-display-mime-function
-@findex gnus-display-mime
-Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
-to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
-default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
-display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
+@lisp
+(setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
+ '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
+ mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
+ mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
+@end lisp
-The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
-@sc{mime} button:
+@noindent
+to your @file{.gnus} file.
-@table @kbd
-@findex gnus-article-press-button
-@item RET (Article)
-@itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
-Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
-(@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
-
-@findex gnus-mime-view-part
-@item M-RET (Article)
-@itemx v (Article)
-Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
-method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
-
-@findex gnus-mime-save-part
-@item o (Article)
-Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
-(@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
-
-@findex gnus-mime-copy-part
-@item c (Article)
-Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
-(@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
-
-@findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
-@item t (Article)
-View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
-(@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}.
-
-@findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
-@item | (Article)
-Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
@end table
-Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
-determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
-manual.
-It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
-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 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 decides
-to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
+@node Charsets
+@section Charsets
+@cindex charsets
-Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
+People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
+charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
+newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
+just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
+help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
+what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
+hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
-Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
+@vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
+This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
+variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
+group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
+In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
+aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
+if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
+@code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
+charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
+on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
+Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
+something some agents insist on having in there.
-@node Customizing Articles
-@section Customizing Articles
-@cindex article customization
+@vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
+When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
+determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
+encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
+quoted-printable header encoding.
-A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
-exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
-called automatically when you select the articles.
+This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
+for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
+header body-list}@code{)}, where:
-To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
-``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
-@code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
-be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
+@table @var
+@item test
+is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
+variable to query,
+@item header
+is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
+means encode all charsets),
+@item body-list
+is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
+encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
+encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
+@end table
-Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
-for sensible values.
+@cindex Russian
+@cindex koi8-r
+@cindex koi8-u
+@cindex iso-8859-5
+@cindex coding system aliases
+@cindex preferred charset
-@enumerate
-@item
-@code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
+Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
-@item
-@code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
+If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
+charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
-@item
-@code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
+@lisp
+(put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
+ 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
+@end lisp
-@item
-@code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
+This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
+the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
-@item
-An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
-than this number.
+If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
-@item
-A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
-articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
-regexps in the list.
+@lisp
+(define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
+@end lisp
-@item
-A list where the first element is not a string:
+This will almost do the right thing.
-The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
-predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
-@code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
+And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
+something like
@lisp
-(or last
- (typep "text/x-vcard"))
+(codepage-setup 1251)
+(define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
@end lisp
-@end enumerate
-You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
-to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
-be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
-considered to contain just a single part.
+@node Article Commands
+@section Article Commands
-@vindex gnus-article-treat-types
-Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
-want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
-treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
-variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
-type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
-controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
+@table @kbd
-The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
-customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
-group. Values in brackets are suggested sensible values. Others are possible
-but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
+@item A P
+@cindex PostScript
+@cindex printing
+@kindex A P (Summary)
+@vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
+@findex gnus-summary-print-article
+Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
+(@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
+run just before printing the buffer.
-@table @code
-@item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
-@item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
-@item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
-@item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
-@item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
-@item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
-@item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
-@item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
-@item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
-@item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
-@item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
-@item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
-@item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
-@item gnus-treat-play-sounds
-@item gnus-treat-translate
@end table
-@vindex gnus-part-display-hook
-You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
-@code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
-part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
-information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
-everything.
-
-@node Article Keymap
-@section Article Keymap
-
-Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
-article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
-buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
-buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
-buffer.
+@node Summary Sorting
+@section Summary Sorting
+@cindex summary sorting
-A few additional keystrokes are available:
+You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
+can't really see why you'd want that.
@table @kbd
-@item SPACE
-@kindex SPACE (Article)
-@findex gnus-article-next-page
-Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
-
-@item DEL
-@kindex DEL (Article)
-@findex gnus-article-prev-page
-Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
+@item C-c C-s C-n
+@kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
+Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
-@item C-c ^
-@kindex C-c ^ (Article)
-@findex gnus-article-refer-article
-If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
-@kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
-(@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
+@item C-c C-s C-a
+@kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
+Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
-@item C-c C-m
-@kindex C-c C-m (Article)
-@findex gnus-article-mail
-Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
-given a prefix, include the mail.
+@item C-c C-s C-s
+@kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
+Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
-@item s
-@kindex s (Article)
-@findex gnus-article-show-summary
-Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
-(@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
+@item C-c C-s C-d
+@kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
+Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
-@item ?
-@kindex ? (Article)
-@findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
-Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
-(@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
+@item C-c C-s C-l
+@kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
+Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
-@item TAB
-@kindex TAB (Article)
-@findex gnus-article-next-button
-Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
-only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
+@item C-c C-s C-c
+@kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
+Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
-@item M-TAB
-@kindex M-TAB (Article)
-@findex gnus-article-prev-button
-Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
+@item C-c C-s C-i
+@kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
+Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
+@item C-c C-s C-o
+@kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
+Sort using the default sorting method
+(@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
@end table
+These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
+use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
+line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
+root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
+toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
+Commands}).
-@node Misc Article
-@section Misc Article
-
-@table @code
-@item gnus-single-article-buffer
-@vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
-If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
-(This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
-article buffer.
+@node Finding the Parent
+@section Finding the Parent
+@cindex parent articles
+@cindex referring articles
-@vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
-@item gnus-article-decode-hook
-@cindex MIME
-Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
-@code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
+@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
+and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
+can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
+(@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
+you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
+summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
-@vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
-@item gnus-article-prepare-hook
-This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
-article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
-depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
-the contents of the article buffer.
+If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
+the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
+ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
+grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
+@kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
+article.
-@item gnus-article-mode-hook
-@vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
-Hook called in article mode buffers.
+@item A R (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-refer-references
+@kindex A R (Summary)
+Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
+article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
-@item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
-@vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
-Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
-@code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
+@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-article-mode-line-format
-@item gnus-article-mode-line-format
-This variable is a format string along the same lines as
-@code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
-accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with one
-extension:
+@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.
-@table @samp
-@item w
-The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
-character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
-performed.
-@item m
-The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
+@item M-^ (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-refer-article
+@kindex M-^ (Summary)
+@cindex Message-ID
+@cindex fetching by Message-ID
+You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
+matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
+(@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
+@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
-@vindex gnus-break-pages
+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.
-@item gnus-break-pages
-Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
-is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
-page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
-paging will not be done.
+@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 one
+updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
+necessary.
-@item gnus-page-delimiter
-@vindex gnus-page-delimiter
-This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
-(formfeed).
-@end table
+It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
+@code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
+is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
+match.
+Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
+then ask Deja if that fails:
-@node Composing Messages
-@chapter Composing Messages
-@cindex composing messages
-@cindex messages
-@cindex mail
-@cindex sending mail
-@cindex reply
-@cindex followup
-@cindex post
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-refer-article-method
+ '(current
+ (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
+@end lisp
-@kindex C-c C-c (Post)
-All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
-where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
-by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
-Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
-article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
-to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
+Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
+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
+consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
-@menu
-* Mail:: Mailing and replying.
-* Post:: Posting and following up.
-* 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.
-* Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
-* 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
-remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
+@node Alternative Approaches
+@section Alternative Approaches
+Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
+gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
-@node Mail
-@section Mail
+@menu
+* Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
+* Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
+@end menu
-Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
-@table @code
-@item gnus-uu-digest-headers
-@vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
-List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
-headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
+@node Pick and Read
+@subsection Pick and Read
+@cindex pick and read
-@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}.
+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.
-@end table
+@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 provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
+Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
-@node Post
-@section Post
+@table @kbd
+@item .
+@kindex . (Pick)
+@findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
+Pick the article or thread on the current line
+(@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
+@code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
+entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
+it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
+thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
+at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
-Variables for composing news articles:
+@item SPACE
+@kindex SPACE (Pick)
+@findex gnus-pick-next-page
+Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
+at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
-@table @code
-@item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
-@vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
-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 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
-file.
+@item u
+@kindex u (Pick)
+@findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
+Unpick the thread or article
+(@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
+@code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
+thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
+just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
+the thread or article at that line.
-@item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
-@vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
-This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
-file. It is 1000 by default.
+@item RET
+@kindex RET (Pick)
+@findex gnus-pick-start-reading
+@vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
+Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
+given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
+@code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
+will still be visible when you are reading.
@end table
+All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
+pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
+which is mapped to the same function
+@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
-@node Posting Server
-@section Posting Server
-
-When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
-(extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
-
-Thank you for asking. I hate you.
-
-@vindex gnus-post-method
-
-It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
-server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
-reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
-(extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
-then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
+If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
+(add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
@end lisp
-Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
-this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
-can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
-the ``current'' server for posting.
-
-If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
-Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
+@vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
+@code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
-You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
-If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
-for posting.
+@vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
+If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
+all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
-Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
-you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
-groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
-@code{current}.
+@vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
+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
+Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
+@code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
-@node Mail and Post
-@section Mail and Post
+@node Binary Groups
+@subsection Binary Groups
+@cindex binary groups
-Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
-posting:
+@findex gnus-binary-mode
+@kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
+If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
+@kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
+is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
+selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
+instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
-@table @code
-@item gnus-mailing-list-groups
-@findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
-@cindex mailing lists
+@kindex g (Binary)
+@findex 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}).
-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 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.
+@vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
+@code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
-@end table
-You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
-you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
-spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
+@node Tree Display
+@section Tree Display
+@cindex trees
-@cindex ispell
-@findex ispell-message
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
-@end lisp
+@vindex gnus-use-trees
+If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
+@code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
+additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
+in the tree buffer.
+There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
-@node Archived Messages
-@section Archived Messages
-@cindex archived messages
-@cindex sent messages
+@table @code
+@item gnus-tree-mode-hook
+@vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
+A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
-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.
+@item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
+@vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
+A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
+Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
+of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
-@vindex gnus-message-archive-method
-@code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
-use to store sent messages. The default is:
+@item gnus-selected-tree-face
+@vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
+Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
+default is @code{modeline}.
-@lisp
-(nnfolder "archive"
- (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
- (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
- (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
- (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
-@end lisp
+@item gnus-tree-line-format
+@vindex gnus-tree-line-format
+A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
+though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
+is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
+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.
-You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
-@code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
-for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
-directory chosen, you could say something like:
+Valid specs are:
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-message-archive-method
- '(nnfolder "archive"
- (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
- (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
- (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
-@end lisp
+@table @samp
+@item n
+The name of the poster.
+@item f
+The @code{From} header.
+@item N
+The number of the article.
+@item [
+The opening bracket.
+@item ]
+The closing bracket.
+@item s
+The subject.
+@end table
-@vindex gnus-message-archive-group
-@cindex Gcc
-Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
-to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
-determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
+@xref{Formatting Variables}.
-This variable can be used to do the following:
+Variables related to the display are:
-@itemize @bullet
-@item a string
-Messages will be saved in that group.
-@item a list of strings
-Messages will be saved in all those groups.
-@item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
-When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
-@item @code{nil}
-No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
-@end itemize
+@table @code
+@item gnus-tree-brackets
+@vindex gnus-tree-brackets
+This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
+``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
+(@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
+default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
-Let's illustrate:
+@item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
+@vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
+This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
+nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
-Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
-@end lisp
+@end table
-Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
-@end lisp
+@item gnus-tree-minimize-window
+@vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
+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}. 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.
-Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-message-archive-group
- '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
- ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
- (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
-@end lisp
+@item gnus-generate-tree-function
+@vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
+@findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
+@findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
+The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
+functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
+@code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
-More complex stuff:
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-message-archive-group
- '((if (message-news-p)
- "misc-news"
- "misc-mail")))
-@end lisp
+@end table
-How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
-messages in one file per month:
+Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
+
+@example
+@{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
+ | \[Jan]
+ | \[odd]-[Eri]
+ | \(***)-[Eri]
+ | \[odd]-[Paa]
+ \[Bjo]
+ \[Gun]
+ \[Gun]-[Jor]
+@end example
+
+Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
+
+@example
+@{***@}
+ |--------------------------\-----\-----\
+(***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
+ |--\-----\-----\ |
+[odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
+ | | |--\
+[Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
+ |
+ [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-message-archive-group
- '((if (message-news-p)
- "misc-news"
- (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
+(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
-(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.)
+@xref{Windows Configuration}.
-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
-archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
-Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
-enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
-group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
-if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
-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 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.
+@node Mail Group Commands
+@section Mail Group Commands
+@cindex mail group commands
-@table @code
-@item gnus-outgoing-message-group
-@vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
-All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
-all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
-you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
-group names.
+Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
+invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
-If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
-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).
+All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
+process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
-but the latter is the preferred method.
-@end table
+@table @kbd
+@item B e
+@kindex B e (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
+Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
+process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
+expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
+(@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
-@node Posting Styles
-@section Posting Styles
-@cindex posting styles
-@cindex styles
+@item B M-C-e
+@kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
+@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 eligible for expiry in the current group will
+disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
-All them variables, they make my head swim.
+@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}).
-So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
-on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
-and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
-on?
+@item B m
+@kindex B m (Summary)
+@cindex move mail
+@findex gnus-summary-move-article
+@vindex gnus-preserve-marks
+Move the article from one mail group to another
+(@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
+@var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
-@vindex gnus-posting-styles
-One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
-variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
-came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
-a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
-variable:
+@item B c
+@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}). Marks will be preserved if
+@var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
-@lisp
-((".*"
- (signature "Peace and happiness")
- (organization "What me?"))
- ("^comp"
- (signature "Death to everybody"))
- ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
- (organization "Emacs is it")))
-@end lisp
+@item B B
+@kindex B B (Summary)
+@cindex crosspost mail
+@findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
+Crosspost the current article to some other group
+(@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
+the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
+be properly updated.
-As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
-@dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
-``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
-over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
-applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
-the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
-@samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
-signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
+@item B i
+@kindex B i (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-import-article
+Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
+(@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
+name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
-The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
-string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
-If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header that
-match the next element in the match, and compare that to the last header
-in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function will be called
-with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
-referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
-any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
-to @dfn{match}.
+@item B r
+@kindex B r (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-respool-article
+Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
+@code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
+select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
+which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
+Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
+(which is the default).
-Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
-attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} . @var{value})} pair. The
-attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
-@code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
-attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
-a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
-article. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated,
-and the result is thrown away.
+@item B w
+@itemx e
+@kindex B w (Summary)
+@kindex e (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-edit-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}). If you give a prefix to the
+@kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
-The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
-zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
-will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
-will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
-message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
-are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
+@item B q
+@kindex B q (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-respool-query
+If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
+the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
+will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
-If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
-meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
-of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
+@item B t
+@kindex B t (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
+Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
+when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
-@findex message-mail-p
-@findex message-news-p
+@item B p
+@kindex B p (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
+Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
+follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
+@code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
+(@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
+article from your news server (or rather, from
+@code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
+report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
+it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
+propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
+just not have arrived yet.
-So here's a new example:
+@end table
+
+@vindex gnus-move-split-methods
+@cindex moving articles
+If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
+suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
+variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
+(@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
+suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
+@code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
+@code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
@lisp
-(setq gnus-posting-styles
- '((".*"
- (signature-file "~/.signature")
- (name "User Name")
- ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
- (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
- ("^rec.humor"
- (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
- ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
- (signature my-quote-randomizer))
- ((message-news-p)
- (signature my-news-signature))
- ((header "From.*To" "larsi.*org")
- (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
- ((posting-from-work-p)
- (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
- (address "user@@bar.foo")
- (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
- (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
- ("^nn.+:"
- (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
+(setq gnus-move-split-methods
+ '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
+ ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
+ (".*" "nnml:misc")))
@end lisp
-@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.)
+@node Various Summary Stuff
+@section Various Summary Stuff
-@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.
+@menu
+* Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
+* Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
+* Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
+* Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
+@end menu
-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.
+@table @code
+@vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
+@item gnus-summary-mode-hook
+This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
-@c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
-@c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
-@c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
-@c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
-@c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
-@c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
-@c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
-@c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
-@c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
-@c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
-@c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
-@c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
-@c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
-@c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
-@c
-@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.
+@vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
+@item gnus-summary-generate-hook
+This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
+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
+have been set.
-@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.
+@vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
+@item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
+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.
-Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
-Articles}).
+@vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
+@item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
+A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
+generated.
-@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.
+@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.
-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.
+@vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
+@item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
+This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
+of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
+list of articles to be selected.
+For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
+the list in one particular group:
-@node Rejected Articles
-@section Rejected Articles
-@cindex rejected articles
+@lisp
+(defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
+ (if (string= group "some.group")
+ (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
+ articles))
+@end lisp
-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.
+@end table
-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 Summary Group Information
+@subsection Summary Group Information
+@table @kbd
-@node Select Methods
-@chapter Select Methods
-@cindex foreign groups
-@cindex select methods
+@item H f
+@kindex H f (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
+@vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
+Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
+current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
+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} or @code{efs} will probably
+be used for fetching the file.
-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.
+@item H d
+@kindex H d (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-describe-group
+Give a brief description of the current group
+(@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
+rereading the description from the server.
-A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
-a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
-list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
-@code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
-name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
-value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
+@item H h
+@kindex H h (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
+Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
+keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
-One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
-we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
+@item H i
+@kindex H i (Summary)
+@findex gnus-info-find-node
+Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
+@end table
-The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
-group as.
-For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
-@samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
-method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
-@samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
-backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
+@node Searching for Articles
+@subsection Searching for Articles
-The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
+@table @kbd
-@menu
-* The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
-* Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
-* Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
-* Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
-* Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
-* Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
-* Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
-@end menu
+@item M-s
+@kindex M-s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
+Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
+(@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
+@item M-r
+@kindex M-r (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
+Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
+(@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
-@node The Server Buffer
-@section The Server Buffer
+@item &
+@kindex & (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-execute-command
+This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
+on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
+(@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
+string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
+search backward instead.
-Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
-one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
-connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
-one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
-the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
-backend represents a virtual server.
+For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
+all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
-For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
-different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
-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}.
+@item M-&
+@kindex M-& (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
+Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
+the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
+@end table
-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.
-Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
-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.
+@node Summary Generation Commands
+@subsection Summary Generation Commands
-To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
-(@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
+@table @kbd
-@menu
-* Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
-* Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
-* Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
-* Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
-* Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
-* Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
-* Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
-@end menu
+@item Y g
+@kindex Y g (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-prepare
+Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
-@vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
-@code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
+@item Y c
+@kindex Y c (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
+Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
+(@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
+@end table
-@node Server Buffer Format
-@subsection Server Buffer Format
-@cindex server buffer format
-@vindex gnus-server-line-format
-You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
-@code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
-variable, with some simple extensions:
+@node Really Various Summary Commands
+@subsection Really Various Summary Commands
-@table @samp
+@table @kbd
-@item h
-How the news is fetched---the backend name.
+@item A D
+@itemx C-d
+@kindex C-d (Summary)
+@kindex A D (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
+If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
+a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
+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 of
+some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
+fashion.
-@item n
-The name of this server.
+@item M-C-d
+@kindex M-C-d (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-read-document
+This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
+several documents into one biiig group
+(@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
+@code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
+@code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
+command understands the process/prefix convention
+(@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@item w
-Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
+@item C-t
+@kindex C-t (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
+Toggle truncation of summary lines
+(@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
+line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
+to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
-@item s
-The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
-@end table
+@item =
+@kindex = (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-expand-window
+Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
+If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
-@vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
-The mode line can also be customized by using the
-@code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
-Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
+@item M-C-e
+@kindex M-C-e (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
+Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
+group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
-@table @samp
-@item S
-Server name.
+@item M-C-a
+@kindex M-C-a (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
+Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
+group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
-@item M
-Server method.
@end table
-Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
+@node Exiting the Summary Buffer
+@section Exiting the Summary Buffer
+@cindex summary exit
+@cindex exiting groups
-@node Server Commands
-@subsection Server Commands
-@cindex server commands
+Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
+group and return you to the group buffer.
@table @kbd
-@item a
-@kindex a (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-add-server
-Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
+@item Z Z
+@itemx q
+@kindex Z Z (Summary)
+@kindex q (Summary)
+@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, which calls
+@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
+@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.
-@item e
-@kindex e (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-edit-server
-Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
-
-@item SPACE
-@kindex SPACE (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-read-server
-Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
+@item Z E
+@itemx Q
+@kindex Z E (Summary)
+@kindex Q (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
+Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
+(@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
-@item q
-@kindex q (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-exit
-Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
+@item Z c
+@itemx c
+@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}).
-@item k
-@kindex k (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-kill-server
-Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
+@item Z C
+@kindex Z C (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
+Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
+(@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
-@item y
-@kindex y (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-yank-server
-Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
+@item Z n
+@kindex Z n (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
+Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
+(@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
-@item c
-@kindex c (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-copy-server
-Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
+@item Z R
+@kindex Z R (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
+Exit this group, and then enter it again
+(@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
+all articles, both read and unread.
-@item l
-@kindex l (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-list-servers
-List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
+@item Z G
+@itemx M-g
+@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.
-@item s
-@kindex s (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-scan-server
-Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
-(@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
-servers.
+@item Z N
+@kindex Z N (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-next-group
+Exit the group and go to the next group
+(@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
-@item g
-@kindex g (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
-Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
-(@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
-a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
+@item Z P
+@kindex Z P (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-prev-group
+Exit the group and go to the previous group
+(@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
+@item Z s
+@kindex Z s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
+Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
+and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
+given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
+command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
@end table
+@vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
+@code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
+with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
+(@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
-@node Example Methods
-@subsection Example Methods
-
-Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
+@findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
+@findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
+@vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
+If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
+about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
+If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
+(Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
+something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
+called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
+buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
+@code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
+summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
-@lisp
-(nntp "news.funet.fi")
-@end lisp
+There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
-Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
+@vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
+The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
+read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
+summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
+@code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
+this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
+other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
+neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
+both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
-@lisp
-(nnspool "")
-@end lisp
-As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
-backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
-will.
+@node Crosspost Handling
+@section Crosspost Handling
-After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
-@code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
+@cindex velveeta
+@cindex spamming
+Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
+read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
+posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
+several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
+by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
+heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
+(@pxref{NoCeM}).
-To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
-port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
-look like then:
+Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
+separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
+@dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
+@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
+excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
-@lisp
-(nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
-@end lisp
+@cindex cross-posting
+@cindex Xref
+@cindex @sc{nov}
+One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
+correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
+(which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
+does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
+Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
+even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
+articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
+them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
+the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
+the cross reference mechanism.
-You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
-variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
+@cindex LIST overview.fmt
+@cindex overview.fmt
+To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
+in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
+@samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
+overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
+get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
+your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
+overview files.
-@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
-your private mail:
+@vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
+If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
+set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
+considerably.
-@lisp
-(nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
-@end lisp
+C'est la vie.
-(This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
-that.)
+For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
-Here's the method for a public spool:
-@lisp
-(nnmh "public"
- (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
- (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
-@end lisp
+@node Duplicate Suppression
+@section Duplicate Suppression
-If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
-server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
-on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
-Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
-should probably look something like this:
+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 satisfactory for some users for various
+reasons.
-@lisp
-(nntp "firewall"
- (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
- (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
- (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
- (nntp-rlogin-parameters
- ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
-@end lisp
+@enumerate
+@item
+The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
+is evil and not very common.
-If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
-compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
-server that would look something like this:
+@item
+The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
+@file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
-@lisp
-(nntp "news"
- (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
- (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
- (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
- (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
- (nntp-rlogin-parameters
- ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
-@end lisp
+@item
+You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
+different @sc{nntp} servers.
-This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
-provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
-connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
-@code{ssh} @file{config} file.
+@item
+You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
+@end enumerate
+I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
+well, but these four are the most common situations.
-@node Creating a Virtual Server
-@subsection Creating a Virtual Server
+If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
+consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
+will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
+otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
+all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
+mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
+so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
+once.
-If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
-articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
+Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
+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 with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
+saw the article in.
-First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
-would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
-could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
+@table @code
+@item gnus-suppress-duplicates
+@vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
+If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
-Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
+@item gnus-save-duplicate-list
+@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 read in a single gnus
+session are suppressed.
-You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
-@samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
-Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
-will contain the following:
+@item gnus-duplicate-list-length
+@vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
+This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
+suppression list. The default is 10000.
-@lisp
-(nnspool "cache")
-@end lisp
+@item gnus-duplicate-file
+@vindex gnus-duplicate-file
+The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
+default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
+@end table
-Change that to:
+If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
+@code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
+you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
+the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
+so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
+@code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
+to you to figure out, I think.
-@lisp
-(nnspool "cache"
- (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
- (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
- (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
-@end lisp
+@node Security
+@section Security
-Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
-@kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
-buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
+Gnus is able to verify PGP or S/MIME signed messages or decrypt PGP
+encrypted messages.
+@enumerate
+@item
+To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
+gpg.el.
-@node Server Variables
-@subsection Server Variables
+@end enumerate
-One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
-in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
-variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
-change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
-won't change the "derived" variables.
+@table @code
+@item mm-verify-option
+@vindex mm-verify-option
+Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
+@code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
+protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
+
+@item mm-decrypt-option
+@vindex mm-decrypt-option
+Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
+@code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
+protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
-This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
-@code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
-directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
-@code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
-new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
-@code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
-variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
-variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
-manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
+@end table
-@lisp
-(nnml "public"
- (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
- (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
- (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
-@end lisp
+@node Article Buffer
+@chapter Article Buffer
+@cindex article buffer
+The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
+one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
+tell gnus otherwise.
-@node Servers and Methods
-@subsection Servers and Methods
+@menu
+* Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
+* Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
+* Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
+* Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
+* Misc Article:: Other stuff.
+@end menu
-Wherever you would normally use a select method
-(e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
-when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
-instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
-over.
+@node Hiding Headers
+@section Hiding Headers
+@cindex hiding headers
+@cindex deleting headers
-@node Unavailable Servers
-@subsection Unavailable Servers
+The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
+@dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
-If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
-@code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
-with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
-will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
-actually the case or not.
+@vindex gnus-show-all-headers
+There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
+who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
+article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
+most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
+through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
+@code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
+of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
+article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
-That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
-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''.
+Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
-So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
-How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
+@table @code
-You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
-with the following commands:
+@item gnus-visible-headers
+@vindex gnus-visible-headers
+If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
+that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
+headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
-@table @kbd
+For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
+the article and the subject, you'd say:
-@item O
-@kindex O (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-open-server
-Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
-(@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
+@end lisp
-@item C
-@kindex C (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-close-server
-Close the connection (if any) to the server
-(@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
+This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
+remain visible.
-@item D
-@kindex D (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-deny-server
-Mark the current server as unreachable
-(@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
+@item gnus-ignored-headers
+@vindex gnus-ignored-headers
+This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
+variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
+should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
+hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
-@item M-o
-@kindex M-o (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
-Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
-(@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
+For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
+and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
-@item M-c
-@kindex M-c (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
-Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
-(@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
+@end lisp
-@item R
-@kindex R (Server)
-@findex gnus-server-remove-denials
-Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
-(@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
+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
+variable will have no effect.
@end table
+@vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
+Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
+can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
+variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
+the headers are to be displayed.
-@node Getting News
-@section Getting News
-@cindex reading news
-@cindex news backends
+For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
+and then the subject, you might say something like:
-A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
-only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
-or it can read from a local spool.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
+@end lisp
-@menu
-* NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
-* News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
-@end menu
+Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
+variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
+@findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
+@vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
+You can hide further boring headers by setting
+@code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
+does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
+list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
+lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
+from sight.
-@node NNTP
-@subsection @sc{nntp}
-@cindex nntp
+These conditions are:
+@table @code
+@item empty
+Remove all empty headers.
+@item followup-to
+Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
+@code{Newsgroups} header.
+@item reply-to
+Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
+@code{From} header.
+@item newsgroups
+Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
+name.
+@item to-address
+Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
+the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
+@item date
+Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
+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
-Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
-You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
-server as the, uhm, address.
+To include these three elements, you could say something like;
-If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
-third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
-to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
-that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-boring-article-headers
+ '(empty followup-to reply-to))
+@end lisp
-The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
-fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
-you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
+This is also the default value for this variable.
-The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
-server:
-@table @code
+@node Using MIME
+@section Using @sc{mime}
+@cindex @sc{mime}
-@item nntp-server-opened-hook
-@vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
-@cindex @sc{mode reader}
-@cindex authinfo
-@cindex authentification
-@cindex nntp authentification
-@findex nntp-send-authinfo
-@findex nntp-send-mode-reader
-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
-@findex nntp-send-authinfo
-@vindex nntp-authinfo-file
-This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
-server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
-through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
-@code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
-are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
-format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
-@code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
-manual page, but here are the salient facts:
+Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
+while people stand around yawning.
-@enumerate
-@item
-The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
+@sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
+while all newsreaders die of fear.
-@item
-Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
-valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
-@samp{default} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid
-@file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is the only way the
-@file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
-format.)
+@sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
+of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
+other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
-@end enumerate
+@vindex gnus-show-mime
+@vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
+@vindex gnus-strict-mime
+@findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
+Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
+@code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
+@code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
+calls the SEMI MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
+information on SEMI MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is not
+existed yet, sorry).
+
+Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
+@sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
+non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
+@sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
+set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
+buffer. These can't be avoided.
+
+In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
+from the summary 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 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 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
+rather stupid.)
-Here's an example file:
+Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
-@example
-machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
-machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
-@end example
+To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
+@code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
+non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
+buffer when there are nobody else.
-The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
-have to be first, for instance.
+Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
-In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
-former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
-user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
-@samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
-@var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
-@samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
-until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
-You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
-that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
+@node Customizing Articles
+@section Customizing Articles
+@cindex article customization
-@example
-default force yes
-@end example
+A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
+exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
+called automatically when you select the articles.
-This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
-previously mentioned.
+To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
+``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
+@code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
+be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
-Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
+Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
+for sensible values.
-@item nntp-server-action-alist
-@vindex nntp-server-action-alist
-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:
+@enumerate
+@item
+@code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
-@lisp
-(setq nntp-server-action-alist
- '(("innd" (ding))))
-@end lisp
+@item
+@code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
-You probably don't want to do that, though.
+@item
+@code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
-The default value is
+@item
+@code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
-@lisp
-'(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
- (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
-@end lisp
+@item
+An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
+than this number.
-This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
-nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
+@item
+A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
+articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
+regexps in the list.
-@item nntp-maximum-request
-@vindex nntp-maximum-request
-If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
-will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
-speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
-waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
-by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
-your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
+@item
+A list where the first element is not a string:
-@item nntp-connection-timeout
-@vindex nntp-connection-timeout
-If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
-regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
-responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
-time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
-somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
-that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
-connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
-no timeouts are done.
+The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
+predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
+@code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
-@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.
+@lisp
+(or last
+ (typep "text/x-vcard"))
+@end lisp
-@item nntp-server-hook
-@vindex nntp-server-hook
-This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
-server.
+@item
+@code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
+non-nil.
-@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. Four pre-made
-functions are supplied:
+@end enumerate
-@table @code
-@item nntp-open-network-stream
-This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
-remote system.
+You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
+to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
+be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
+considered to contain just a single part.
-@item nntp-open-rlogin
-Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
-remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
-available there.
+@vindex gnus-article-treat-types
+Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
+want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
+treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
+variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
+type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
+controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
-@code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
+The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
+customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
+group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
+possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
@table @code
+@item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
+@item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
+@item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
+@item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
+@item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
+@item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
+@item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
+@item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
+@item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
+@item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
+@item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
+@item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
+@item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
+@item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
+@item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
+@item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
+@item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
+@item gnus-treat-play-sounds
+@item gnus-treat-translate
+@item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset
+@end table
-@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.
+@vindex gnus-part-display-hook
+You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
+@code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
+part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
+information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
+everything.
-@item nntp-rlogin-parameters
-@vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
-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.
+@node Article Keymap
+@section Article Keymap
-@end table
+Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
+article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
+buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
+buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
+buffer.
-@item nntp-open-telnet
-Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
-to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
+A few additional keystrokes are available:
-@code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
+@table @kbd
-@table @code
-@item nntp-telnet-command
-@vindex nntp-telnet-command
-Command used to start @code{telnet}.
+@item SPACE
+@kindex SPACE (Article)
+@findex gnus-article-next-page
+Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
-@item nntp-telnet-switches
-@vindex nntp-telnet-switches
-List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
+@item DEL
+@kindex DEL (Article)
+@findex gnus-article-prev-page
+Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
-@item nntp-telnet-user-name
-@vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
-User name for log in on the remote system.
+@item C-c ^
+@kindex C-c ^ (Article)
+@findex gnus-article-refer-article
+If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
+@kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
+(@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
-@item nntp-telnet-passwd
-@vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
-Password to use when logging in.
+@item C-c C-m
+@kindex C-c C-m (Article)
+@findex gnus-article-mail
+Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
+given a prefix, include the mail.
-@item nntp-telnet-parameters
-@vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
-A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
-via @code{telnet}.
+@item s
+@kindex s (Article)
+@findex gnus-article-show-summary
+Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
+(@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
-@item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
-@vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
-Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
-@samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
+@item ?
+@kindex ? (Article)
+@findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
+Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
+(@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
-@item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
-@vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
-If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
-will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
-This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
+@item TAB
+@kindex TAB (Article)
+@findex gnus-article-next-button
+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}).
@end table
-@findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
-@item nntp-open-ssl-stream
-Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
-you must have SSLay installed
-(@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
-@file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
-define a server as follows:
-@lisp
-;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
-;;
-;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
-;;
-(nntp "snews.bar.com"
- (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
- (nntp-port-number "snews")
- (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
-@end lisp
+@node Misc Article
+@section Misc Article
-@end table
+@table @code
-@item nntp-end-of-line
-@vindex nntp-end-of-line
-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 gnus-single-article-buffer
+@vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
+If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
+(This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
+article buffer.
-@item nntp-rlogin-user-name
-@vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
-User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
-function.
+@vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
+@item gnus-article-decode-hook
+@cindex MIME
+Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
+@code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
-@item nntp-address
-@vindex nntp-address
-The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
+@vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
+@item gnus-article-prepare-hook
+This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
+article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
+depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
+the contents of the article buffer.
-@item nntp-port-number
-@vindex nntp-port-number
-Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
-connect function.
+@item gnus-article-mode-hook
+@vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
+Hook called in article mode buffers.
-@item nntp-buggy-select
-@vindex nntp-buggy-select
-Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
+@item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
+@vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
+Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
+@code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
-@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 automatically whether @sc{nov}
-can be used.
+@vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
+@item gnus-article-mode-line-format
+This variable is a format string along the same lines as
+@code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
+accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
+extensions:
-@item nntp-xover-commands
-@vindex nntp-xover-commands
-@cindex nov
-@cindex XOVER
-List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
-server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
-"XOVERVIEW")}.
+@table @samp
+@item w
+The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
+character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
+performed.
+@item m
+The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
+@end table
-@item nntp-nov-gap
-@vindex nntp-nov-gap
-@code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
-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 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. The default is 5.
+@vindex gnus-break-pages
-@item nntp-prepare-server-hook
-@vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
-A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
+@item gnus-break-pages
+Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
+is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
+page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
+paging will not be done.
-@item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
-@vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
-If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
-server closes connection.
+@item gnus-page-delimiter
+@vindex gnus-page-delimiter
+This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
+(formfeed).
+@end table
-@item nntp-record-commands
-@vindex nntp-record-commands
-If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
-@sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
-buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
-that doesn't seem to work.
-@end table
+@node Composing Messages
+@chapter Composing Messages
+@cindex composing messages
+@cindex messages
+@cindex mail
+@cindex sending mail
+@cindex reply
+@cindex followup
+@cindex post
+@cindex using gpg
+@kindex C-c C-c (Post)
+All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
+where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
+article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
+Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
+on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
-@node News Spool
-@subsection News Spool
-@cindex nnspool
-@cindex news spool
+@menu
+* Mail:: Mailing and replying.
+* 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.
+* Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
+* Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
+* Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
+* Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
+@end menu
-Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
-and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
-contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
-instance.
+Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
+remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
-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
-native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
-than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
-You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
+@node Mail
+@section Mail
+
+Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
@table @code
+@item gnus-uu-digest-headers
+@vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
+List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
+headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
-@item nnspool-inews-program
-@vindex nnspool-inews-program
-Program used to post an article.
+@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}.
-@item nnspool-inews-switches
-@vindex nnspool-inews-switches
-Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
+@end table
-@item nnspool-spool-directory
-@vindex nnspool-spool-directory
-Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
-@file{/usr/spool/news/}.
-@item nnspool-nov-directory
-@vindex nnspool-nov-directory
-Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
-@file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
+@node Posting Server
+@section Posting Server
-@item nnspool-lib-dir
-@vindex nnspool-lib-dir
-Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
+When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
+(extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
-@item nnspool-active-file
-@vindex nnspool-active-file
-The path to the active file.
+Thank you for asking. I hate you.
-@item nnspool-newsgroups-file
-@vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
-The path to the group descriptions file.
+@vindex gnus-post-method
-@item nnspool-history-file
-@vindex nnspool-history-file
-The path to the news history file.
+It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will post using the same
+select method as you're reading from (which might be convenient if
+you're reading lots of groups from different private servers).
+However. If the server you're reading from doesn't allow posting,
+just reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
+(extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
+then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
-@item nnspool-active-times-file
-@vindex nnspool-active-times-file
-The path to the active date file.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
+@end lisp
-@item nnspool-nov-is-evil
-@vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
-If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
-that it finds.
+Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
+this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
+can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
+the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
-@item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
-@vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
-@cindex sed
-If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
-relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
-load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
+If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
+gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
-@end table
+You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
+If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
+for posting.
+Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
+you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
-@node Getting Mail
-@section Getting Mail
-@cindex reading mail
-@cindex mail
-Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
-course.
+@node Mail and Post
+@section Mail and Post
-@menu
-* Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
-* Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
-* Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
-* Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
-* Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
-* Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
-* Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
-* Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
-* Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
-* Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
-* Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
-* Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
-* Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
-@end menu
+Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
+posting:
+@table @code
+@item gnus-mailing-list-groups
+@findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
+@cindex mailing lists
-@node Mail in a Newsreader
-@subsection Mail in a Newsreader
+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 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.
-If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
-to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
-of a culture shock.
+@end table
-Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
-it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
+You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
+you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
+spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
-Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
-approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
-messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
-you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
+@cindex ispell
+@findex ispell-message
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
+@end lisp
-In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
+If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
+you're in, you could say something like the following:
-Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
-deleted? How awful!
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
+ (lambda ()
+ (cond
+ ((string-match
+ "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
+ (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
+ (t
+ (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
+@end lisp
-But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
-scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
-the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
-you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
-Mail}.
+Modify to suit your needs.
-What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
-mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
-they want to treat a message.
-Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
-via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
-answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
-need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
-archived somewhere else.
+@node Archived Messages
+@section Archived Messages
+@cindex archived messages
+@cindex sent messages
-Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
-These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
-to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
-order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
-to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
+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.
-The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
-but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
-or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
+@vindex gnus-message-archive-method
+@code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
+use to store sent messages. The default is:
-Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
-like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
-differently.
+@lisp
+(nnfolder "archive"
+ (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
+ (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
+ (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
+ (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
+@end lisp
-Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
-that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
-to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
-not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
-instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
+You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
+@code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
+for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
+directory chosen, you could say something like:
-I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
-may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
-you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
-guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
-Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
-Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
-You Do.)
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-message-archive-method
+ '(nnfolder "archive"
+ (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
+ (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
+ (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
+@end lisp
+@vindex gnus-message-archive-group
+@cindex Gcc
+Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
+to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
+determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
-@node Getting Started Reading Mail
-@subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
+This variable can be used to do the following:
-It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
-mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
-and things will happen automatically.
+@itemize @bullet
+@item a string
+Messages will be saved in that group.
-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:
+Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
+message will not be stored in the select method given by
+@code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
+by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
+has the default value shown above. Then setting
+@code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
+messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
+value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
+@samp{nnml:foo}.
+@item a list of strings
+Messages will be saved in all those groups.
+@item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
+When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
+@item @code{nil}
+No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
+@end itemize
+Let's illustrate:
+
+Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
- '((nnml "private")))
+(setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
@end lisp
-Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
-articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
-directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
-be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
-like any other group.
-
-You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
-
+Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
@lisp
-(setq nnmail-split-methods
- '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
- ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
- ("other" "")))
+(setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
@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
-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}.
-
-
-@node Splitting Mail
-@subsection Splitting Mail
-@cindex splitting mail
-@cindex mail splitting
-
-@vindex nnmail-split-methods
-The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
-to be split into groups.
+Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-message-archive-group
+ '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
+ ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
+ (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
+@end lisp
+More complex stuff:
@lisp
-(setq nnmail-split-methods
- '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
- ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
- ("mail.other" "")))
+(setq gnus-message-archive-group
+ '((if (message-news-p)
+ "misc-news"
+ "misc-mail")))
@end lisp
-This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
-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. 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:
+How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
+messages in one file per month:
@lisp
-("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
+(setq gnus-message-archive-group
+ '((if (message-news-p)
+ "misc-news"
+ (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
@end lisp
-The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
-called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
-argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
-mail belongs in that group.
+(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.)
-The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
-expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
-that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
-processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
-rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
-In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
+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
+archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
+gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
+enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
+group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
+if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
+nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
+continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
-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 group names that it
-thinks should carry this mail message.
+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.
-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.
+@table @code
+@item gnus-outgoing-message-group
+@vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
+All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
+all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
+you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
+group names.
-@vindex nnmail-crosspost
-The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
-the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
-@code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
-that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
+If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
+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).
-@vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
-@cindex crosspost
-@cindex links
-@code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
-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.)
+This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
+but the latter is the preferred method.
-@kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
-@kindex nnmail-split-history
-If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
-can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
+@item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
+@vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
+If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
-Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
-yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
-all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
-unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
-boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
-that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
-come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
-you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
-month's rent money.
-
-
-@node Mail Sources
-@subsection Mail Sources
-
-Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
-POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
-instance.
+@end table
-@menu
-* Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
-* Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
-* Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
-@end menu
+@node Posting Styles
+@section Posting Styles
+@cindex posting styles
+@cindex styles
-@node Mail Source Specifiers
-@subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
-@cindex POP
-@cindex mail server
-@cindex procmail
-@cindex mail spool
-@cindex mail source
+All them variables, they make my head swim.
-You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
-(@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
+So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
+on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
+and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
+on?
-Here's an example:
+@vindex gnus-posting-styles
+One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
+variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
+came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
+a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
+variable:
@lisp
-(pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
+((".*"
+ (signature "Peace and happiness")
+ (organization "What me?"))
+ ("^comp"
+ (signature "Death to everybody"))
+ ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
+ (organization "Emacs is it")))
@end lisp
-As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
-element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
-@dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
-default values.
-
-The following mail source types are available:
+As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
+@dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
+``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
+over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
+applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
+the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
+@samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
+signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
-@table @code
-@item file
-Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
+The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
+string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
+If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header (the
+next element in the match) in the original article , and compare that to
+the last regexp in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function
+will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the
+variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be
+@code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value,
+then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
-Keywords:
+Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
+attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
+attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
+@code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
+attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
+a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
+article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
+If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
+result is thrown away.
-@table @code
-@item :path
-The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
-environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
-@end table
+The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
+zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
+will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
+will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
+message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
+are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
-An example file mail source:
+If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
+meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
+of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
-@lisp
-(file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
-@end lisp
+@findex message-mail-p
+@findex message-news-p
-Or using the default path:
+So here's a new example:
@lisp
-(file)
+(setq gnus-posting-styles
+ '((".*"
+ (signature-file "~/.signature")
+ (name "User Name")
+ ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
+ (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
+ ("^rec.humor"
+ (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
+ ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
+ (signature my-quote-randomizer))
+ ((message-news-p)
+ (signature my-news-signature))
+ (header "to" "larsi.*org"
+ (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
+ ((posting-from-work-p)
+ (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
+ (address "user@@bar.foo")
+ (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
+ (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
+ ("nnml:.*"
+ (From (save-excursion
+ (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
+ (message-fetch-field "to"))))
+ ("^nn.+:"
+ (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
@end lisp
-If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
-use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not you ange-ftp
-file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
-mail.
-
-If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
+The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
+@code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
+if you fill many roles.
-@lisp
-(setq mail-sources
- '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
-@end lisp
-The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
+@node Drafts
+@section Drafts
+@cindex drafts
-@example
-#!/bin/sh
-# getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
-# flu@@iki.fi
+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.
-MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
-TMP=~/Mail/tmp
-rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
-@end example
+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.)
-Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
+@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.
-@item directory
-Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
-you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
+@c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
+@c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
+@c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
+@c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
+@c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
+@c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
+@c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
+@c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
+@c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
+@c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
+@c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
+@c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
+@c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
+@c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
+@c
+@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.
-Keywords:
+@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.
-@table @code
-@item :path
-The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
-value.
+Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
+Articles}).
-@item :suffix
-Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
-@samp{.spool}.
+@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.
-@item :predicate
-Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
-The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
-filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
-predicate are considered.
+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.
-@item :prescript
-@itemx :postscript
-Script run before/after fetching mail.
-@end table
+@node Rejected Articles
+@section Rejected Articles
+@cindex rejected articles
-An example directory mail source:
+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.
-@lisp
-(directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
- :suffix ".prcml")
-@end lisp
+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.
-@item pop
-Get mail from a POP server.
+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.
-Keywords:
+@node Using GPG
+@section Using GPG
+@cindex using gpg
-@table @code
-@item :server
-The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
-@code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
+Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el}. See
+@code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} to enable Gnus to
+verify or decrypt messages accordingly.
-@item :port
-The port number of the POP server. The default is @samp{pop3}.
+To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
+@file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
-@item :user
-The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
-name.
+@lisp
+(require 'gpg)
+(setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
+(setq gpg-temp-directory (expand-file-name "~/.gnupg/tmp"))
+@end lisp
-@item :password
-The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
-prompted.
+The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
+to 700, for your own safety.
-@item :program
-The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This is should be
-a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
+If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
+@file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
@example
-fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
+#!/bin/sh
+exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
@end example
-The valid format specifier characters are:
+If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
+your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
-@table @samp
-@item t
-The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
-included in this string.
-
-@item s
-The name of the server.
+@lisp
+(setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
+@end lisp
-@item P
-The port number of the server.
+To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security
+menu or @kbd{C-c C-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME, @kbd{C-c
+C-m s s} to sign your message using S/MIME. There's also @kbd{C-c C-m c
+p} to encrypt your message with PGP/MIME and @kbd{C-c C-m c s} to
+encrypt using S/MIME.
-@item u
-The user name to use.
+Gnus will ask for your passphrase and then it will send your message, if
+you've typed it correctly.
-@item p
-The password to use.
-@end table
+@node Select Methods
+@chapter Select Methods
+@cindex foreign groups
+@cindex select methods
-The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
-corresponding keywords.
+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.
-@item :prescript
-A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
-the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
+A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
+a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
+list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
+@code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
+name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
+value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
-@item :postscript
-A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
-the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
+One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
+we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
-@item :function
-The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
-called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
-be moved to.
+The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
+group as.
-@item :authentication
-This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
-and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
-@code{password}.
+For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
+@samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
+method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
+@samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
+backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
-@end table
+The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
-If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
-@code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
+@menu
+* Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
+* Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
+* Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
+* Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
+* Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
+* Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
+* Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
+@end menu
-Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
-default user name, and default fetcher:
-@lisp
-(pop)
-@end lisp
+@node Server Buffer
+@section Server Buffer
-Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
+Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
+one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
+connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
+one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
+the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
+backend represents a virtual server.
-@lisp
-(pop :server "my.pop.server"
- :user "user-name" :password "secret")
-@end lisp
+For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
+different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
+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}.
-Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
+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.
+Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
+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.
-@lisp
-(pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
-@end lisp
+To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
+(@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
-@item maildir
-Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
-at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
-contains exactly one mail.
+@menu
+* Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
+* Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
+* Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
+* Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
+* Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
+* Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
+* Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
+@end menu
-Keywords:
+@vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
+@code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
-@table @code
-@item :path
-The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
-@samp{~/Maildir/new}.
-If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
-them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
-@code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
-below.
+@node Server Buffer Format
+@subsection Server Buffer Format
+@cindex server buffer format
-You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
-from locking problems).
+@vindex gnus-server-line-format
+You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
+@code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
+variable, with some simple extensions:
-@end table
+@table @samp
-Two example maildir mail sources:
+@item h
+How the news is fetched---the backend name.
-@lisp
-(maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/cur")
-@end lisp
+@item n
+The name of this server.
-@lisp
-(maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/new")
-@end lisp
+@item w
+Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
-@item imap
-Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap} as intended,
-as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for some reason or
-other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server and fetches
-articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox.
+@item s
+The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
+@end table
-Keywords:
+@vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
+The mode line can also be customized by using the
+@code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
+Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
-@table @code
-@item :server
-The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
-@code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
+@table @samp
+@item S
+Server name.
-@item :port
-The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
-@samp{993} for SSL connections.
+@item M
+Server method.
+@end table
-@item :user
-The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
-name.
+Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
-@item :password
-The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
-prompted.
-@item :stream
-What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
-symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
-@samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
+@node Server Commands
+@subsection Server Commands
+@cindex server commands
-@item :authenticator
-Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
-of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this means
-@samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
-@samp{login}.
+@table @kbd
-@item :mailbox
-The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
-which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
+@item a
+@kindex a (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-add-server
+Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
-@item :predicate
-The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default,
-@samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people,
-but if you sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark
-some articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to
-@samp{nil}. Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter
-what. For a complete list of predicates, see RFC2060 §6.4.4.
+@item e
+@kindex e (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-edit-server
+Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
-@item :fetchflag
-How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
-will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
-would simply mark them as read. Theese are the two most likely choices,
-but more flags are defined in RFC2060 §2.3.2.
+@item SPACE
+@kindex SPACE (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-read-server
+Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
-@item :dontexpunge
-If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
-after finishing the fetch.
+@item q
+@kindex q (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-exit
+Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
-@end table
+@item k
+@kindex k (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-kill-server
+Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
-An example @sc{imap} mail source:
+@item y
+@kindex y (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-yank-server
+Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
-@lisp
-(imap :server "mail.mycorp.com" :stream kerberos4)
-@end lisp
+@item c
+@kindex c (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-copy-server
+Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
-@item webmail
-Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
-mail.yahoo.com, and www.netaddress.com.
+@item l
+@kindex l (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-list-servers
+List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
-NOTE: Webmail largely depends on w3 (url) package, whose version of "WWW
-4.0pre.46 1999/10/01" or previous ones may not work.
+@item s
+@kindex s (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-scan-server
+Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
+(@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
+servers.
-WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
+@item g
+@kindex g (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
+Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
+(@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
+a mail backend that has gotten out of sync.
-Keywords:
+@end table
-@table @code
-@item :subtype
-The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
-alternatives are @code{yahoo}, @code{netaddress}.
-@item :user
-The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
-name.
+@node Example Methods
+@subsection Example Methods
-@item :password
-The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
-prompted.
+Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
-@end table
+@lisp
+(nntp "news.funet.fi")
+@end lisp
-An example webmail source:
+Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
@lisp
-(webmail :subtype 'yahoo :user "user-name" :password "secret")
+(nnspool "")
@end lisp
-@end table
+As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
+backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
+will.
-@node Mail Source Customization
-@subsubsection Mail Source Customization
-
-The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
-fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
-variables.
+After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
+@code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
-@table @code
-@item mail-source-crash-box
-@vindex mail-source-crash-box
-File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
-@file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
+To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
+port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
+look like then:
-@item mail-source-delete-incoming
-@vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
-If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
+@lisp
+(nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
+@end lisp
-@item mail-source-directory
-@vindex mail-source-directory
-Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
-@file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
-where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
-@code{nil}.
+You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
+variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
-@item mail-source-default-file-modes
-@vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
-All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
+@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
+your private mail:
-@end table
+@lisp
+(nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
+@end lisp
+(This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
+that.)
-@node Fetching Mail
-@subsubsection Fetching Mail
+Here's the method for a public spool:
-@vindex mail-sources
-@vindex nnmail-spool-file
-The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
-@code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
-(@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
+@lisp
+(nnmh "public"
+ (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
+ (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
+@end lisp
-If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
-@code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
-themselves.
+@cindex proxy
+@cindex firewall
-If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
-mail server, you'd say something like:
+If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
+server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
+on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
+Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
+should probably look something like this:
@lisp
-(setq mail-sources
- '((file)
- (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
- :password "secret")))
+(nntp "firewall"
+ (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
+ (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
+ (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
+ (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
@end lisp
-Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
+If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
+compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
+configuration to the example above:
@lisp
-(setq mail-sources
- '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
- (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
- :user "user-name"
- :port "pop3"
- :password "secret")))
+ (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
@end lisp
+If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
+through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
+telnet connection to the news server as follows:
-When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
-inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
-mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
-invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
-pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
-shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
+@lisp
+(nntp "outside"
+ (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
+ (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
+ (nntp-address "the.news.server")
+ (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
+@end lisp
+This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
+provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
+connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
+@code{ssh} @file{config} file.
-@node Mail Backend Variables
-@subsection Mail Backend Variables
+@node Creating a Virtual Server
+@subsection Creating a Virtual Server
-These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
-mail backends.
+If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
+articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
-@table @code
-@vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
-@item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
-The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
-use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
+First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
+would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
+could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
-@vindex nnmail-split-hook
-@item nnmail-split-hook
-@findex article-decode-encoded-words
-@findex RFC1522 decoding
-@findex RFC2047 decoding
-Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
-just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
-free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
-is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
-in the buffer will show up in any files.
-@code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
-to this hook.
+Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
-@vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
-@vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
-@item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
-@itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
-These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
-mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
-starting to handle the new mail) and
-@code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
-is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
-default file modes the new mail files get:
+You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
+@samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
+Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
+will contain the following:
@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
- (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
-
-(add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
- (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
+(nnspool "cache")
@end lisp
-@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
-(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.
+Change that to:
-@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}.
+@lisp
+(nnspool "cache"
+ (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
+ (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
+ (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
+@end lisp
-@end table
+Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
+@kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
+buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
-@node Fancy Mail Splitting
-@subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
-@cindex mail splitting
-@cindex fancy mail splitting
+@node Server Variables
+@subsection Server Variables
-@vindex nnmail-split-fancy
-@findex nnmail-split-fancy
-If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
-doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
-@code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
-play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
+One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
+in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
+variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
+change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
+won't change the "derived" variables.
-Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
+This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
+@code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
+directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
+@code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
+new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
+@code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
+variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
+variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
+manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
@lisp
-;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
-;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
-;; from real errors.
-(| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
- "mail.misc"))
- ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
- ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
- ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
- (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
- ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
- ;; Other mailing lists...
- (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
- (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
- ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
- ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
- ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
- ;; message was really cross-posted.
- (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
- (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
- ;; People...
- (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
- ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
- "misc.misc")
+(nnml "public"
+ (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
+ (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
+ (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
@end lisp
-This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
-recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
-the five possible split syntaxes:
-
-@enumerate
-@item
-@samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
-name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
-examples.
+@node Servers and Methods
+@subsection Servers and Methods
-@item
-@code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict} @code{[-} @var{restrict} @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]]}
-@var{split})}: If the split is a list, the first element of which is a
-string, then store the message as specified by @var{split}, if header
-@var{field} (a regexp) contains @var{value} (also a regexp). If
-@var{restrict} (yet another regexp) matches some string after
-@var{field} and before the end of the matched @var{value}, the
-@var{split} is ignored. If none of the @var{restrict} clauses match,
-@var{split} is processed.
+Wherever you would normally use a select method
+(e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
+when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
+instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
+over.
-@item
-@code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
-element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
-one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
-the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
-@item
-@code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
-element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
+@node Unavailable Servers
+@subsection Unavailable Servers
-@item
-@code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
-this message. Use with extreme caution.
+If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
+@code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
+with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
+will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
+actually the case or not.
-@item
-@code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
-a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
-be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
-function should return a @var{split}.
+That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
+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''.
-@item
-@code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
-element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
-called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
-return a split.
+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
-@code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
+You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
+with the following commands:
-@end enumerate
+@table @kbd
-In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
-@var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
-syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
-field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
-@samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
+@item O
+@kindex O (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-open-server
+Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
+(@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
-@vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
-@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 @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
-value.
+@item C
+@kindex C (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-close-server
+Close the connection (if any) to the server
+(@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
-@vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
-@code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
-when all this splitting is performed.
+@item D
+@kindex D (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-deny-server
+Mark the current server as unreachable
+(@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
-If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
-information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
-substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
+@item M-o
+@kindex M-o (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
+Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
+(@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
-@example
-(any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
-@end example
+@item M-c
+@kindex M-c (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
+Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
+(@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
-In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
-will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
+@item R
+@kindex R (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-remove-denials
+Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
+(@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
-If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
-matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
-up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
-groupings 1 through 9.
+@end table
-@node Group Mail Splitting
-@subsection Group Mail Splitting
-@cindex mail splitting
-@cindex group mail splitting
+@node Getting News
+@section Getting News
+@cindex reading news
+@cindex news backends
-@findex gnus-group-split
-If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
-maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
-You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
-parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
-@code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
-for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
-from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
-@var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
+A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
+only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
+or it can read from a local spool.
-Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
-splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
-parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
-rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
+@menu
+* NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
+* News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
+@end menu
-All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
-@code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
-the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
-@var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
-matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
-group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
-@var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
-If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
-parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
-parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
-this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
-@code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
-@code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
-@code{gnus-group-split}.
+@node NNTP
+@subsection @sc{nntp}
+@cindex nntp
-@vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
-@code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
-by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
-group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
-group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
-some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
-that group is used as the catch-all group. Note that, in this case,
-there's no cross-posting, as a @code{|} fancy split encloses the
-@code{&} split and the catch-all group.
+Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
+You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
+server as the, uhm, address.
-It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
-been defined:
+If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
+third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
+to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
+that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
-@example
-nnml:mail.bar:
-((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
- (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
-nnml:mail.foo:
-((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
- (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
- (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
- (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
-nnml:mail.others:
-((split-spec . catch-all))
-@end example
+The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
+fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
+you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
-Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
-behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
-@code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
+The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
+server:
-@lisp
-(| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
- (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
- - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
- "mail.others")
-@end lisp
+@table @code
-@findex gnus-group-split-fancy
-If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
-may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
-splits like this:
+@item nntp-server-opened-hook
+@vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
+@cindex @sc{mode reader}
+@cindex authinfo
+@cindex authentification
+@cindex nntp authentification
+@findex nntp-send-authinfo
+@findex nntp-send-mode-reader
+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.
-@lisp
-(: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
-@end lisp
+@item nntp-authinfo-function
+@vindex nntp-authinfo-function
+@findex nntp-send-authinfo
+@vindex nntp-authinfo-file
+This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
+server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
+through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
+@code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
+are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
+format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
+@code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
+manual page, but here are the salient facts:
-@var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
-parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
-@var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
-single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} may be the name
-of a group to be used as the default catch-all group. If
-@var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
-empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
-Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
-this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
+@enumerate
+@item
+The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
-@findex gnus-group-split-setup
-Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
-slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
-But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
-used to select @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
-sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
-@code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
-@code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
-scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
+@item
+Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
-@findex gnus-group-split-update
-However, if you change group parameters, you have to update
-@code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
-@code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
-automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
-you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
+The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
+@samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
+in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
+@samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
+deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
+indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
+@samp{force} is explained below.
-@lisp
-(gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
-@end lisp
+@end enumerate
-If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
-will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
-have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
-don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional),
-@code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
-value.
+Here's an example file:
-@vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
-Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
-by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
-@code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
+@example
+machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
+machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
+@end example
-@node Incorporating Old Mail
-@subsection Incorporating Old Mail
+The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
+have to be first, for instance.
-Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
-you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
-backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
-your mail groups.
+In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
+former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
+user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
+@samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
+@var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
+@samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
+until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
-Doing so can be quite easy.
+You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
+that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
-To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
-(@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
-satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
-file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
-your @code{nnml} groups.
+@example
+default force yes
+@end example
-Here's how:
+This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
+previously mentioned.
-@enumerate
-@item
-Go to the group buffer.
+Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
-@item
-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 nntp-server-action-alist
+@vindex nntp-server-action-alist
+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:
-@item
-Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
+@lisp
+(setq nntp-server-action-alist
+ '(("innd" (ding))))
+@end lisp
-@item
-Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
-(@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
+You probably don't want to do that, though.
-@item
-Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
-@samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
-@end enumerate
+The default value is
-All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
-all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
-have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
-deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
-sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
+@lisp
+'(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
+ (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
+ 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
+@end lisp
-Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
-backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
-using the new mail backend.
+This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
+nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
+@item nntp-maximum-request
+@vindex nntp-maximum-request
+If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
+will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
+speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
+waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
+by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
+your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
-@node Expiring Mail
-@subsection Expiring Mail
-@cindex article expiry
+@item nntp-connection-timeout
+@vindex nntp-connection-timeout
+If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
+regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
+responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
+time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
+somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
+that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
+connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
+no timeouts are done.
-Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
-you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
-different approach to mail reading.
+@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.
-Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
-a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
-actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
-mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
-fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
-Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
-course.
+@item nntp-server-hook
+@vindex nntp-server-hook
+This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
+server.
-To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
-articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
-disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
-deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
-more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
-will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
-repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
-NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
+@item nntp-buggy-select
+@vindex nntp-buggy-select
+Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
-@vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
-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 marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
-column in the summary buffer.
+@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 automatically whether @sc{nov}
+can be used.
-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:
+@item nntp-xover-commands
+@vindex nntp-xover-commands
+@cindex nov
+@cindex XOVER
+List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
+server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
+"XOVERVIEW")}.
+
+@item nntp-nov-gap
+@vindex nntp-nov-gap
+@code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
+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 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. The default is 5.
+
+@item nntp-prepare-server-hook
+@vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
+A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
+
+@item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
+@vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
+If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
+server closes connection.
+
+@item nntp-record-commands
+@vindex nntp-record-commands
+If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
+@sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
+buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
+that doesn't seem to work.
+
+@item nntp-open-connection-function
+@vindex nntp-open-connection-function
+It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
+be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
+parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
+Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
+two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
+indirect ones (two pre-made).
+
+@item nntp-list-options
+@vindex nntp-list-options
+List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
+the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
+can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
+etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
+probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
+follows:
-@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)
+(setq gnus-select-method
+ '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
+ (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
@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.
+@item nntp-options-subscribe
+@vindex nntp-options-subscribe
+Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
+unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
+It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
+server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
+command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
-Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
-articles you have read to disappear after a while:
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-select-method
+ '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
+ (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
+@end lisp
+
+@item nntp-options-not-subscribe
+@vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
+Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
+unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
+It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
+server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
+command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
- "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
+(setq gnus-select-method
+ '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
+ (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
@end lisp
+@end table
-Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
-@code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
+@menu
+* Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
+* Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
+* Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
+@end menu
-If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
-auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
-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. Gnus starts counting days from when the
-message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
-days.
+@node Direct Functions
+@subsubsection Direct Functions
+@cindex direct connection functions
-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
-have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
-expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
-everywhere else:
+These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
+between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
+functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
+(@pxref{Common Variables}).
+
+@table @code
+@findex nntp-open-network-stream
+@item nntp-open-network-stream
+This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
+remote system.
+
+@findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
+@item nntp-open-ssl-stream
+Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
+you must have SSLay installed
+(@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
+@file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
+define a server as follows:
-@vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
@lisp
-(setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
- (lambda (group)
- (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
- 31)
- ((string= group "mail.junk")
- 1)
- ((string= group "important")
- 'never)
- (t
- 6))))
+;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
+;;
+;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
+;;
+(nntp "snews.bar.com"
+ (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
+ (nntp-port-number "snews")
+ (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
@end lisp
-The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
-names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
+@findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
+@item nntp-open-telnet-stream
+Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
+it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
+default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
+of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
+connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
+@code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
-The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
-@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}.
+@lisp
+(nntp "socksified"
+ (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
+ (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
+ (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
+@end lisp
-You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
-change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
+With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
+session, which is not a good idea.
+@end table
-@vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
-If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
-expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
-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
-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
-@code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
-this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
-which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
-will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
-crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
-wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
-@emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
-with! So there!
-
-Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
+@node Indirect Functions
+@subsubsection Indirect Functions
+@cindex indirect connection functions
-@vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
-If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
-commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
-auto-expire turned on.
+These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
+intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
+All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
+the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
+things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
+commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
+@table @code
+@item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
+@findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
+Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
+to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
+you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
-@node Washing Mail
-@subsection Washing Mail
-@cindex mail washing
-@cindex list server brain damage
-@cindex incoming mail treatment
-
-Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
-really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
-prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
-end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
-Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
-considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
+@code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
-Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
-} to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
-be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
-laugh.
+@table @code
+@item nntp-via-rlogin-command
+@vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
+Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
+@samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
+@end table
-Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
-displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
-storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
-various functions that can be put in these hooks.
+@item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
+@findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
+Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
+@samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
-@table @code
-@item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
-@vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
-This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
-grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
-the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
+@code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
@table @code
-@item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
-@findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
-Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
-Emacs running on MS machines.
+@item nntp-via-telnet-command
+@vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
+Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
+@samp{telnet}.
+
+@item nntp-via-telnet-switches
+@vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
+List of strings to be used as the switches to the
+@code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
+
+@item nntp-via-user-password
+@vindex nntp-via-user-password
+Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
+
+@item nntp-via-envuser
+@vindex nntp-via-envuser
+If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
+server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
+login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
+
+@item nntp-via-shell-prompt
+@vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
+Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
+is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
@end table
-@item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
-@vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
-This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
-cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
+@end table
-@table @code
-@item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
-@findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
-Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
-headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
-@item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
-@findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
-Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
-beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
-people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
-strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
-also be a list of regexp.
+Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
+functions:
-For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
-@samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
+@table @code
-@lisp
-(setq nnmail-list-identifiers
- '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
-@end lisp
+@item nntp-via-user-name
+@vindex nntp-via-user-name
+User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
-This can also be done non-destructively with
-@code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
+@item nntp-via-address
+@vindex nntp-via-address
+Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
-@item nnmail-remove-tabs
-@findex nnmail-remove-tabs
-Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
+@end table
-@item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
-@findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
-@cindex Eudora
-Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
-@code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
-@code{References} headers.
-@end table
+@node Common Variables
+@subsubsection Common Variables
-@item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
-@vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
-This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
-include:
+The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
+pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
+affected.
@table @code
-@item article-de-quoted-unreadable
-@findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
-Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
-
-@end table
-@end table
+@item nntp-pre-command
+@vindex nntp-pre-command
+A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
+function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
+@code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
+wrapper for instance.
-@node Duplicates
-@subsection Duplicates
+@item nntp-address
+@vindex nntp-address
+The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
-@vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
-@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 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---
-@code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
-default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
-there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
-variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
-stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
-@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 insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
-that this is a duplicate of a different message.
+@item nntp-port-number
+@vindex nntp-port-number
+Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
-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
-the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
-@code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
+@item nntp-end-of-line
+@vindex nntp-end-of-line
+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 a non native connection function.
-You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
-@code{nil}.
+@item nntp-telnet-command
+@vindex nntp-telnet-command
+Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
+@samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
+the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
-If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
-@dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
-methods:
+@item nntp-telnet-switches
+@vindex nntp-telnet-switches
+A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
+is @samp{("-8")}.
-@lisp
-(setq nnmail-split-fancy
- '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
- ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
- ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
- (any mail "mail.misc")
- ;; Other rules.
- [ ... ] ))
-@end lisp
+@end table
-Or something like:
-@lisp
-(setq nnmail-split-methods
- '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
- ;; Other rules.
- [...]))
-@end lisp
-Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
-with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
-@code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
-using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
-received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
+@node News Spool
+@subsection News Spool
+@cindex nnspool
+@cindex news spool
+Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
+and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
+contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
+instance.
-@node Not Reading Mail
-@subsection Not Reading Mail
+Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
+anything else) as the address.
-If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
-habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
-be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
+If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
+native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
+than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
+You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
-If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
-@code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
-mail, which should help.
+@table @code
-@vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
-@vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
-@vindex nnml-get-new-mail
-@vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
-@vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
-This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
-happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
-file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
-variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
-the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
-group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
+@item nnspool-inews-program
+@vindex nnspool-inews-program
+Program used to post an article.
-All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
-narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
-incoming mail.
+@item nnspool-inews-switches
+@vindex nnspool-inews-switches
+Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
+@item nnspool-spool-directory
+@vindex nnspool-spool-directory
+Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
+@file{/usr/spool/news/}.
-@node Choosing a Mail Backend
-@subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
+@item nnspool-nov-directory
+@vindex nnspool-nov-directory
+Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
+@file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
-Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
-file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
-depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
+@item nnspool-lib-dir
+@vindex nnspool-lib-dir
+Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
-There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
-backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
-(because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
-(@pxref{Mail Spool}).
+@item nnspool-active-file
+@vindex nnspool-active-file
+The path to the active file.
-@menu
-* Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
-* Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
-* Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
-* MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
-* Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
-* Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
-@end menu
+@item nnspool-newsgroups-file
+@vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
+The path to the group descriptions file.
+@item nnspool-history-file
+@vindex nnspool-history-file
+The path to the news history file.
-@node Unix Mail Box
-@subsubsection Unix Mail Box
-@cindex nnmbox
-@cindex unix mail box
+@item nnspool-active-times-file
+@vindex nnspool-active-times-file
+The path to the active date file.
-@vindex nnmbox-active-file
-@vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
-The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
-mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
-which group it belongs in.
+@item nnspool-nov-is-evil
+@vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
+If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
+that it finds.
-Virtual server settings:
+@item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
+@vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
+@cindex sed
+If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
+relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
+load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
-@table @code
-@item nnmbox-mbox-file
-@vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
-The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
+@end table
-@item nnmbox-active-file
-@vindex nnmbox-active-file
-The name of the active file for the mail box.
-@item nnmbox-get-new-mail
-@vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
-If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
-into groups.
-@end table
-
-
-@node Rmail Babyl
-@subsubsection Rmail Babyl
-@cindex nnbabyl
-@cindex rmail mbox
+@node Getting Mail
+@section Getting Mail
+@cindex reading mail
+@cindex mail
-@vindex nnbabyl-active-file
-@vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
-The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
-mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
-article to say which group it belongs in.
+Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
+course.
-Virtual server settings:
+@menu
+* Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
+* Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
+* Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
+* Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
+* Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
+* Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
+* Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
+* Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
+* Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
+* Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
+* Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
+* Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
+* Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
+@end menu
-@table @code
-@item nnbabyl-mbox-file
-@vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
-The name of the rmail mbox file.
-@item nnbabyl-active-file
-@vindex nnbabyl-active-file
-The name of the active file for the rmail box.
+@node Mail in a Newsreader
+@subsection Mail in a Newsreader
-@item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
-@vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
-If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
-@end table
+If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
+to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
+of a culture shock.
+Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
+it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
-@node Mail Spool
-@subsubsection Mail Spool
-@cindex nnml
-@cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
+Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
+approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
+messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
+you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
-The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
-format. It should be used with some caution.
+In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
-@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 corresponding
-directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
-variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
+Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
+deleted? How awful!
-You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
-care of all that.
+But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
+scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
+the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
+you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
+Mail}.
-If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
-in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
-own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
-weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
-having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
-shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
-know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
-to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
+What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
+mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
+they want to treat a message.
-@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 it the fastest
-backend when it comes to reading mail.
+Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
+via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
+answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
+need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
+archived somewhere else.
-Virtual server settings:
+Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
+These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
+to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
+order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
+to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
-@table @code
-@item nnml-directory
-@vindex nnml-directory
-All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
+The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
+but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
+or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
-@item nnml-active-file
-@vindex nnml-active-file
-The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
+Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
+like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
+differently.
-@item nnml-newsgroups-file
-@vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
-The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
-Format}.
+Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
+that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
+to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
+not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
+instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
-@item nnml-get-new-mail
-@vindex nnml-get-new-mail
-If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
+I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
+may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
+you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
+guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
+Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
+Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
+You Do.)
-@item nnml-nov-is-evil
-@vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
-If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
-@item nnml-nov-file-name
-@vindex nnml-nov-file-name
-The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
+@node Getting Started Reading Mail
+@subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
-@item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
-@vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
-Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
+It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
+mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
+and things will happen automatically.
-@end table
+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:
-@findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
-If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
-you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
-nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
-entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
-might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
-functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
-Commands}).
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
+ '((nnml "private")))
+@end lisp
+Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
+articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
+directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
+be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
+like any other group.
-@node MH Spool
-@subsubsection MH Spool
-@cindex nnmh
-@cindex mh-e mail spool
+You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
-@code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
-@sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
-@code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
-makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
+@lisp
+(setq nnmail-split-methods
+ '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
+ ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
+ ("other" "")))
+@end lisp
-Virtual server settings:
+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
+last group.
-@table @code
-@item nnmh-directory
-@vindex nnmh-directory
-All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
+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}.
-@item nnmh-get-new-mail
-@vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
-If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
-@item nnmh-be-safe
-@vindex nnmh-be-safe
-If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
-sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
-are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
-setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
-use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
-to set this variable to @code{t}.
-@end table
+@node Splitting Mail
+@subsection Splitting Mail
+@cindex splitting mail
+@cindex mail splitting
+@vindex nnmail-split-methods
+The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
+to be split into groups.
-@node Mail Folders
-@subsubsection Mail Folders
-@cindex nnfolder
-@cindex mbox folders
-@cindex mail folders
+@lisp
+(setq nnmail-split-methods
+ '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
+ ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
+ ("mail.other" "")))
+@end lisp
-@code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
-file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
-will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
-dates.
+This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
+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. 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:
-Virtual server settings:
+@lisp
+("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
+@end lisp
-@table @code
-@item nnfolder-directory
-@vindex nnfolder-directory
-All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
+The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
+called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
+argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
+mail belongs in that group.
-@item nnfolder-active-file
-@vindex nnfolder-active-file
-The name of the active file.
+The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
+expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
+that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
+processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
+rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
+In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
-@item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
-@vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
-The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
+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 group names that it
+thinks should carry this mail message.
-@item nnfolder-get-new-mail
-@vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
-If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
+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.
-@item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
-@vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
-@cindex backup files
-Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
-backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
-wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
-your @file{.emacs} file:
-
-@lisp
-(defun turn-off-backup ()
- (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
-
-(add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
-@end lisp
+@vindex nnmail-crosspost
+The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
+the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
+@code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
+that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
-@item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
-@vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
-Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
-This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
-extract some information from it before removing it.
+@vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
+@cindex crosspost
+@cindex links
+@code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
+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.)
-@end table
+@kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
+@kindex nnmail-split-history
+If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
+can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
+where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
+@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
+Group Commands}).
+Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
+yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
+all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
+unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
+boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
+that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
+come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
+you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
+month's rent money.
-@findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
-@kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
-If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
-@code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
-command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
-@code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
-though.
-@node Comparing Mail Backends
-@subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
+@node Mail Sources
+@subsection Mail Sources
-First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
-low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
-is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
-and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
-mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
+Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
+POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
+instance.
-The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
-typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
-in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
-articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
-access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
-area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
-@code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
-actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
-via NFS).
+@menu
+* Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
+* Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
+* Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
+@end menu
-The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
-simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
-format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
-future. Here are some high and low points on each:
-@table @code
-@item nnmbox
+@node Mail Source Specifiers
+@subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
+@cindex POP
+@cindex mail server
+@cindex procmail
+@cindex mail spool
+@cindex mail source
-UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
-defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
-they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
-@samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
-to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
-@samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
-historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
-mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
-this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
-area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
-(appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
-to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
-fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
-what's where.
+You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
+(@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
-@item nnbabyl
+Here's an example:
-Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
-systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
-reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
-was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
-format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
-spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
-headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
-RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
-and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
-to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
-VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
-perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
-headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
-course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
+@lisp
+(pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
+@end lisp
-Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
-filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
-look at your mail.
+As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
+element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
+@dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
+default values.
-@item nnml
+The following mail source types are available:
-@code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
-actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
-fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
-lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
-and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
-Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
-CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
-or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
-@dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
-@sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
-due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
-file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
-extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
-provided by the active file and overviews.
+@table @code
+@item file
+Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
-@code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
-resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
-files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
-tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
-the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
-wins big.
+Keywords:
-It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
-FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
-tiny files.
+@table @code
+@item :path
+The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
+environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
+@end table
-@item nnmh
+An example file mail source:
-The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
-long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
-individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
-is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
-active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
-one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
-slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
+@lisp
+(file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
+@end lisp
-@item nnfolder
+Or using the default path:
-Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
-method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
-itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
-little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
-a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
-can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
-format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
-it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
-out how many messages there are in each separate group.
+@lisp
+(file)
+@end lisp
-If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
-messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
-only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
-friendly mail backend all over.
+If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
+use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
+file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
+mail.
-@end table
+If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
+@lisp
+(setq mail-sources
+ '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
+@end lisp
-@node Browsing the Web
-@section Browsing the Web
-@cindex web
-@cindex browsing the web
-@cindex www
-@cindex http
+The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
-Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
-subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
-eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
-is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
-and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
-go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
-even know what a news group is.
+@example
+#!/bin/sh
+# getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
+# flu@@iki.fi
-The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
-being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
-they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
-not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
-you mad in the end.
+MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
+TMP=$HOME/Mail/tmp
+rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
+@end example
-So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
-to do it instead?
+Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
-Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
-interfaces to these sources.
-@menu
-* Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
-* Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
-* Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
-* Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
-@end menu
+@item directory
+Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
+you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
+@code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
+scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
+to scan mail groups at a specified level.
-The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
-work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
-is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
-will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
-though, you should be ok.
+Keywords:
-One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
-are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
-cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
-Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
-leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
+@table @code
+@item :path
+The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
+value.
+@item :suffix
+Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
+@samp{.spool}.
-@node Web Searches
-@subsection Web Searches
-@cindex nnweb
-@cindex DejaNews
-@cindex Alta Vista
-@cindex InReference
-@cindex Usenet searches
-@cindex searching the Usenet
+@item :predicate
+Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
+The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
+filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
+predicate are considered.
-It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
-string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
-those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
-the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
-searches without having to use a browser.
+@item :prescript
+@itemx :postscript
+Script run before/after fetching mail.
-The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
-engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
-then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
-group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
-Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
+@end table
-@code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
-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 (@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 posted before the last date you read the
-group as read.
+An example directory mail source:
-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
-providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
-make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
-community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
-might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
+@lisp
+(directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
+ :suffix ".prcml")
+@end lisp
-You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
-to use @code{nnweb}.
+@item pop
+Get mail from a POP server.
-Virtual server variables:
+Keywords:
@table @code
-@item nnweb-type
-@vindex nnweb-type
-What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
-are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
-@code{reference}.
+@item :server
+The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
+@code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
-@item nnweb-search
-@vindex nnweb-search
-The search string to feed to the search engine.
+@item :port
+The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
+@samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
+string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
+Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
+need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
-@item nnweb-max-hits
-@vindex nnweb-max-hits
-Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
-100.
+@item :user
+The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
+name.
-@item nnweb-type-definition
-@vindex nnweb-type-definition
-Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
-with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
-present:
+@item :password
+The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
+prompted.
-@table @code
-@item article
-Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
-understands.
+@item :program
+The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
+a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
-@item map
-Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
+@example
+fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
+@end example
-@item search
-Function to send the search string to the search engine.
+The valid format specifier characters are:
-@item address
-The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
-to.
+@table @samp
+@item t
+The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
+included in this string.
-@item id
-Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
-@end table
+@item s
+The name of the server.
+
+@item P
+The port number of the server.
+
+@item u
+The user name to use.
+@item p
+The password to use.
@end table
+The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
+corresponding keywords.
-@node Slashdot
-@subsection Slashdot
-@cindex Slashdot
-@cindex nnslashdot
+@item :prescript
+A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
+the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
-Slashdot (@file{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
-lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
-let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
+@item :postscript
+A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
+the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
-The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
-following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
+@item :function
+The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
+called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
+be moved to.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
- '((nnslashdot "")))
-@end lisp
+@item :authentication
+This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
+and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
+@code{password}.
-This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
-and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
-a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
-groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
-groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
-Methods}).
+@end table
-When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
-comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
-particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
-@code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
-the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
-directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
-@sc{html} forms.
+If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
+@code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
-The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
+Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
+default user name, and default fetcher:
-@table @code
-@item nnslashdot-threaded
-Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
-default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
-has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
-threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
-the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
-but much, much slower than untreaded.
+@lisp
+(pop)
+@end lisp
-@item nnslashdot-login-name
-@vindex nnslashdot-login-name
-The login name to use when posting.
+Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
-@item nnslashdot-password
-@vindex nnslashdot-password
-The password to use when posting.
+@lisp
+(pop :server "my.pop.server"
+ :user "user-name" :password "secret")
+@end lisp
-@item nnslashdot-directory
-@vindex nnslashdot-directory
-Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default value is
-@samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
+Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
-@item nnslashdot-active-url
-@vindex nnslashdot-active-url
-The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
-news articles and comments. The default is
-@samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
+@lisp
+(pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
+@end lisp
-@item nnslashdot-comments-url
-@vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
-The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
-default is
-@samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
+@item maildir
+Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
+at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
+contains exactly one mail.
-@item nnslashdot-article-url
-@vindex nnslashdot-article-url
-The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
-default is
-@samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
+Keywords:
-@item nnslashdot-threshold
-@vindex nnslashdot-threshold
-The score threshold. The default is -1.
+@table @code
+@item :path
+The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
+taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
+@samp{~/Maildir/}.
+@item :subdirs
+The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
+@samp{("new" "cur")}.
-@item nnslashdot-group-number
-@vindex nnslashdot-group-number
-The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
-updated. The default is 0.
+@c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
+@c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
+@c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
+@c below.
-@end table
+You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
+from locking problems).
+@end table
+Two example maildir mail sources:
-@node Ultimate
-@subsection Ultimate
-@cindex nnultimate
-@cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
+@lisp
+(maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
+ :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
+@end lisp
-The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@file{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
-probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
-quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
-information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
+@lisp
+(maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
+ :subdirs ("new"))
+@end lisp
-The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
-something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
-http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
-(not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
-you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
-site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
-server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
+@item imap
+Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
+as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
+some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
+and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
+more information.
-The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
+Keywords:
@table @code
-@item nnultimate-directory
-@vindex nnultimate-directory
-The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
-@samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
-@end table
+@item :server
+The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
+@code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
-@node Web Archive
-@subsection Web Archive
-@cindex nnwarchive
-@cindex Web Archive
-
-Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
-(@file{http://www.egroups.com/}). It has a quite regular and nice
-interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
-groups updated.
+@item :port
+The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
+@samp{993} for SSL connections.
-The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
-something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
-gnus-group-make-nnwarchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
-www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
-@sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
-@sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.)
+@item :user
+The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
+name.
-The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
+@item :password
+The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
+prompted.
-@table @code
-@item nnwarchive-directory
-@vindex nnwarchive-directory
-The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
-@samp{~/News/warchive/}.
+@item :stream
+What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
+symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
+@samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
-@item nnwarchive-login
-@vindex nnwarchive-login
-The account name on the web server.
+@item :authentication
+Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
+of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
+means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
+@samp{login}.
-@item nnwarchive-passwd
-@vindex nnwarchive-passwd
-The password for your account on the web server.
-@end table
+@item :program
+When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
+mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
+@code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
-@node Other Sources
-@section Other Sources
+@example
+ssh %s imapd
+@end example
-Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
-below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
-newsgroups.
+The valid format specifier characters are:
-@menu
-* Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
-* Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
-* Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
-* SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
-* Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
-* IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
-@end menu
+@table @samp
+@item s
+The name of the server.
+@item l
+User name from `imap-default-user'.
-@node Directory Groups
-@subsection Directory Groups
-@cindex nndir
-@cindex directory groups
+@item p
+The port number of the server.
+@end table
-If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
-it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
-names, of course.
+The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
+corresponding keywords.
-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.
+@item :mailbox
+The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
+which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
-@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 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!
+@item :predicate
+The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
+UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
+sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
+articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
+Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
+complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
-@code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
+@item :fetchflag
+How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
+will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
+would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
+but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
-@code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
-articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
-whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
-methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
+@item :dontexpunge
+If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
+after finishing the fetch.
+@end table
-@node Anything Groups
-@subsection Anything Groups
-@cindex nneething
+An example @sc{imap} mail source:
-From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
-directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
-pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
-true.
+@lisp
+(imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
+ :stream kerberos4
+ :fetchflag "\\Seen")
+@end lisp
-When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
-directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
-a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
-After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
-forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
-snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
-the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
-If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
-file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
-will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
-elements.
+@item webmail
+Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
+webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
-All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
-with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
-newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
-in the article buffer, just as usual.
+NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
+is suggested.
-If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
-a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
-traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
-Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
+NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
+required for url "4.0pre.46".
-There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
-doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
-will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
-are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
-normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
-article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
-other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
-be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
+WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
-Some variables:
+Keywords:
@table @code
-@item nneething-map-file-directory
-@vindex nneething-map-file-directory
-All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
-in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
+@item :subtype
+The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
+alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
-@item nneething-exclude-files
-@vindex nneething-exclude-files
-All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
-auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
+@item :user
+The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
+name.
-@item nneething-include-files
-@vindex nneething-include-files
-Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
-non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
+@item :password
+The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
+prompted.
+
+@item :dontexpunge
+If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
+folder after finishing the fetch.
-@item nneething-map-file
-@vindex nneething-map-file
-Name of the map files.
@end table
+An example webmail source:
-@node Document Groups
-@subsection Document Groups
-@cindex nndoc
-@cindex documentation group
-@cindex help group
+@lisp
+(webmail :subtype 'hotmail
+ :user "user-name"
+ :password "secret")
+@end lisp
+@end table
-@code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
-as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
+@table @dfn
+@item Common Keywords
+Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
+
+Keywords:
@table @code
-@cindex babyl
-@cindex rmail mbox
+@item :plugged
+If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
+directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
-@item babyl
-The babyl (rmail) mail box.
-@cindex mbox
-@cindex Unix mbox
+@lisp
+(setq mail-sources
+ '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
+ :suffix ""
+ :plugged t)))
+@end lisp
-@item mbox
-The standard Unix mbox file.
+Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
+useful when you use local mail and news.
-@cindex MMDF mail box
-@item mmdf
-The MMDF mail box format.
+@end table
+@end table
-@item news
-Several news articles appended into a file.
+@subsubsection Function Interface
-@item rnews
-@cindex rnews batch files
-The rnews batch transport format.
-@cindex forwarded messages
+Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
+For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
+the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
+consider the following mail-source setting:
-@item forward
-Forwarded articles.
+@lisp
+(setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
+ :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
+@end lisp
-@item nsmail
-Netscape mail boxes.
+While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
+is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
+@code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
+@code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
+and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
-@item mime-parts
-MIME multipart messages.
+See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
-@item standard-digest
-The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
-@item slack-digest
-Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
-@end table
+@node Mail Source Customization
+@subsubsection Mail Source Customization
-You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
-that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
-@code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
-file is.
+The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
+fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
+variables.
-@code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
-it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
-group. And that's it.
+@table @code
+@item mail-source-crash-box
+@vindex mail-source-crash-box
+File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
+@file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
-If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
-new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
-that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
-to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
-@code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
-(@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
-the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
-using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
-file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
-delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
+@item mail-source-delete-incoming
+@vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
+If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
-Virtual server variables:
+@item mail-source-directory
+@vindex mail-source-directory
+Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
+@file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
+where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
+@code{nil}.
-@table @code
-@item nndoc-article-type
-@vindex nndoc-article-type
-This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
-@code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
-@code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
-@code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
+@item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
+@vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
+Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
+@file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
+@file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
+relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
-@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 valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
-and @code{news}.
-@end table
+@item mail-source-default-file-modes
+@vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
+All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
-@menu
-* Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
-@end menu
+@end table
-@node Document Server Internals
-@subsubsection Document Server Internals
+@node Fetching Mail
+@subsubsection Fetching Mail
-Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
-difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
-looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
-and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
+@vindex mail-sources
+@vindex nnmail-spool-file
+The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
+@code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
+(@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
-First, here's an example document type definition:
+If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
+@code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
+themselves.
-@example
-(mmdf
- (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
- (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
-@end example
+If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
+mail server, you'd say something like:
-The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
-regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
-variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
-types can be defined with very few settings:
+@lisp
+(setq mail-sources
+ '((file)
+ (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
+ :password "secret")))
+@end lisp
-@table @code
-@item first-article
-If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
-something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
-totally ignored.
+Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
-@item article-begin
-This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
-says what the beginning of each article looks like.
+@lisp
+(setq mail-sources
+ '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
+ (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
+ :user "user-name"
+ :port "pop3"
+ :password "secret")))
+@end lisp
-@item head-begin-function
-If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
-the article.
-@item nndoc-head-begin
-If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
-article.
+When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
+inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
+mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
+invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
+pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
+shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
-@item nndoc-head-end
-This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
-@samp{^$}---the empty line.
-@item body-begin-function
-If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
-of the article.
-@item body-begin
-This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
-to @samp{^\n}.
+@node Mail Backend Variables
+@subsection Mail Backend Variables
-@item body-end-function
-If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
-the article.
+These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
+mail backends.
-@item body-end
-If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
+@table @code
+@vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
+@item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
+The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
+use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
-@item file-end
-If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
-regexp will be totally ignored.
+@vindex nnmail-split-hook
+@item nnmail-split-hook
+@findex article-decode-encoded-words
+@findex RFC 1522 decoding
+@findex RFC 2047 decoding
+Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
+just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
+free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
+is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
+in the buffer will show up in any files.
+@code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
+to this hook.
-@end table
+@vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
+@vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
+@item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
+@itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
+These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
+mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
+starting to handle the new mail) and
+@code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
+is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
+default file modes the new mail files get:
-So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
-file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
-few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
-news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
-something that's palatable for Gnus:
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
+ (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
-@table @code
-@item prepare-body-function
-If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
-will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
-document has encoded some parts of its contents.
+(add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
+ (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
+@end lisp
-@item article-transform-function
-If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
-meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
-body of the article.
+@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
+(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 generate-head-function
-If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
-understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
-expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
-called when requesting the headers of all articles.
+@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
-Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
-digests:
-@example
-(standard-digest
- (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
- (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
- (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
- (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
- (head-end . "^ ?$")
- (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
- (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
- (subtype digest guess))
-@end example
+@node Fancy Mail Splitting
+@subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
+@cindex mail splitting
+@cindex fancy mail splitting
-We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
-text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
-each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
-the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
-run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
+@vindex nnmail-split-fancy
+@findex nnmail-split-fancy
+If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
+doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
+@code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
+play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
-To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
-@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 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 valid number.
+Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
+@lisp
+;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
+;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
+;; from real errors.
+(| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
+ "mail.misc"))
+ ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
+ ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
+ ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
+ (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
+ ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
+ ;; Other mailing lists...
+ (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
+ (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
+ ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
+ ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
+ ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
+ ;; message was really cross-posted.
+ (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
+ (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
+ ;; People...
+ (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
+ ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
+ "misc.misc")
+@end lisp
-@node SOUP
-@subsection SOUP
-@cindex SOUP
-@cindex offline
+This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
+recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
+the five possible split syntaxes:
-In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
-are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
-With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
+@enumerate
-Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
-@code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
-transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
-newsreaders.
+@item
+@samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
+name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
+examples.
-However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
-easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
-that interested in doing things properly.
+@item
+@code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
+@code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
+first element of which is a string, then store the message as
+specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
+@var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
+matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
+matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
+@var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
-A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
-and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
-fiddly.
+@item
+@code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
+element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
+one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
+the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
-First some terminology:
+@item
+@code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
+element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
-@table @dfn
+@item
+@code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
+this message. Use with extreme caution.
-@item server
-This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
-get news and/or mail from.
+@item
+@code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
+a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
+be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
+function should return a @var{split}.
-@item home machine
-This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
-on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
+@cindex body split
+For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
+body of the messages:
-@item packet
-Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
-of packets:
+@lisp
+(defun split-on-body ()
+ (save-excursion
+ (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
+ (goto-char (point-min))
+ (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
+ "string.group")))
+@end lisp
-@table @dfn
-@item message packets
-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.
+The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
+when the @code{:} function is run.
-@item response packets
-These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
-replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
-default, where @var{x} is a number.
+@item
+@code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
+element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
+called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
+return a split.
-@end table
+@item
+@code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
-@end table
+@end enumerate
+In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
+@var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
+syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
+field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
+@samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
-@enumerate
+@vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
+@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 @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
+value.
-@item
-You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
-use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
-can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
-s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
+@vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
+@code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
+when all this splitting is performed.
-@item
-You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
+If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
+information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
+substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
-@item
-You put the packet in your home directory.
+@example
+(any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
+@end example
-@item
-You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
-the native or secondary server.
+In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
+will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
-@item
-You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
-want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
+If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
+matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
+up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
+groupings 1 through 9.
-@item
-You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
-packet.
+@findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
+@code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
+split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
+you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
+boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
+working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
+string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
+messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
+it once per thread.
+
+To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to a
+non-nil value. And then you can include
+@code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon feature, like so:
+@lisp
+(setq nnmail-split-fancy
+ '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
+ ;; other splits go here
+ ))
+@end lisp
-@item
-You transfer this packet to the server.
+This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
+non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
+file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
+together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
+messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
+@code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
+In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
+specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
+When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name. It
+is recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
+somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
+still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300
+kBytes in size.)
+@vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
+When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
+also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
+messages goes into the new group.
-@item
-You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
-@item
-You then repeat until you die.
+@node Group Mail Splitting
+@subsection Group Mail Splitting
+@cindex mail splitting
+@cindex group mail splitting
-@end enumerate
+@findex gnus-group-split
+If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
+maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
+You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
+parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
+@code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
+for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
+from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
+@var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
-So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
-reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
+Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
+splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
+parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
+rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
-@menu
-* SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
-* SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
-* SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
-@end menu
+All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
+@code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
+the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
+@var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
+matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
+group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
+@var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
+If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
+parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
+parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
+this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
+@code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
+@code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
+@code{gnus-group-split}.
-@node SOUP Commands
-@subsubsection SOUP Commands
+@vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
+@code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
+by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
+group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
+group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
+some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
+that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
+often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
+complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
+may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
+personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
+element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
+with the rules extracted from group parameters.
-These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
+It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
+been defined:
-@table @kbd
-@item G s b
-@kindex G s b (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-brew-soup
-Pack all unread articles in the current group
-(@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
-process/prefix convention.
+@example
+nnml:mail.bar:
+((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
+ (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
+nnml:mail.foo:
+((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
+ (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
+ (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
+ (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
+nnml:mail.others:
+((split-spec . catch-all))
+@end example
-@item G s w
-@kindex G s w (Group)
-@findex gnus-soup-save-areas
-Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
+Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
+behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
+@code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
-@item G s s
-@kindex G s s (Group)
-@findex gnus-soup-send-replies
-Send all replies from the replies packet
-(@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
+@lisp
+(| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
+ (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
+ - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
+ "mail.others")
+@end lisp
-@item G s p
-@kindex G s p (Group)
-@findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
-Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
+@findex gnus-group-split-fancy
+If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
+may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
+splits like this:
-@item G s r
-@kindex G s r (Group)
-@findex nnsoup-pack-replies
-Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
+@lisp
+(: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
+@end lisp
-@item O s
-@kindex O s (Summary)
-@findex gnus-soup-add-article
-This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
-(@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
-convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
+parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
+@var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
+single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
+fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
+If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
+empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
+Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
+this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
-@end table
+@findex gnus-group-split-setup
+Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
+slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
+But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
+used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
+sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
+@code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
+@code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
+scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
+@findex gnus-group-split-update
+However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
+@code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
+@code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
+automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
+you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
-There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
-thingies:
+@lisp
+(gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
+@end lisp
-@table @code
+If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
+will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
+have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
+don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
+@code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
+value.
-@item gnus-soup-directory
-@vindex gnus-soup-directory
-Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
-@sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
+@vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
+Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
+by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
+@code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
-@item gnus-soup-replies-directory
-@vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
-This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
-reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
+@node Incorporating Old Mail
+@subsection Incorporating Old Mail
+@cindex incorporating old mail
+@cindex import old mail
-@item gnus-soup-prefix-file
-@vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
-Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
-@samp{gnus-prefix}.
+Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
+you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
+backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
+your mail groups.
-@item gnus-soup-packer
-@vindex gnus-soup-packer
-A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
-@samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
+Doing so can be quite easy.
-@item gnus-soup-unpacker
-@vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
-Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
-@samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
-
-@item gnus-soup-packet-directory
-@vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
-Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
-
-@item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
-@vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
-Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
-@code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
+To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
+(@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
+satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
+file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
+your @code{nnml} groups.
-@end table
+Here's how:
+@enumerate
+@item
+Go to the group buffer.
-@node SOUP Groups
-@subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
-@cindex nnsoup
+@item
+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}).
-@code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
-read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
-you can read them at leisure.
+@item
+Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
-These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
+@item
+Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
+(@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
-@table @code
+@item
+Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
+@samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
+@end enumerate
-@item nnsoup-tmp-directory
-@vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
-When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
-directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
+All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
+all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
+have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
+deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
+sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
-@item nnsoup-directory
-@vindex nnsoup-directory
-@code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
-The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
+Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
+backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
+using the new mail backend.
-@item nnsoup-replies-directory
-@vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
-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
-@vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
-The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
-(rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
-shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
+@node Expiring Mail
+@subsection Expiring Mail
+@cindex article expiry
-@item nnsoup-replies-index-type
-@vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
-The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
-means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
+Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
+you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
+different approach to mail reading.
-@item nnsoup-active-file
-@vindex nnsoup-active-file
-Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
-file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
-this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
-@file{~/SOUP/active}.
+Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
+a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
+actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
+mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
+fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
+Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
+course.
-@item nnsoup-packer
-@vindex nnsoup-packer
-Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
-is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
+To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
+articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
+disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
+deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
+more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
+will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
+repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
+NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
-@item nnsoup-unpacker
-@vindex nnsoup-unpacker
-Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
-default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
+@vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
+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 marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
+column in the summary buffer.
-@item nnsoup-packet-directory
-@vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
-Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
-@file{~/}.
+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:
-@item nnsoup-packet-regexp
-@vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
-Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
-@samp{Soupout}.
+@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
-@item nnsoup-always-save
-@vindex nnsoup-always-save
-If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
+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
+articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
+mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
-@end table
+Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
+articles you have read to disappear after a while:
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
+ "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
+@end lisp
-@node SOUP Replies
-@subsubsection SOUP Replies
+Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
+@code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
-Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
-up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
-more for that to happen.
+If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
+auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
+don't really mix very well.
-@findex nnsoup-set-variables
-The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
-variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
-@sc{soup} system.
+@vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
+The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
+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.
-In specific, this is what it does:
+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
+have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
+expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
+everywhere else:
+@vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
@lisp
-(setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
-(setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
+(setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
+ (lambda (group)
+ (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
+ 31)
+ ((string= group "mail.junk")
+ 1)
+ ((string= group "important")
+ 'never)
+ (t
+ 6))))
@end lisp
-And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
-system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
-@sc{soup}ed you use the second.
-
+The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
+names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
-@node Mail-To-News Gateways
-@subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
-@cindex mail-to-news gateways
-@cindex gateways
+The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
+@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}.
-If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
-or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
-The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
+You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
+change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
-Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
-used to post with.
+@vindex nnmail-expiry-target
+The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
+However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
+other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
+(and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
+variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
+overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
+default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
+should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
+function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
+question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
+parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
+@code{delete}.
+
+Here's an example for specifying a group name:
+@lisp
+(setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
+@end lisp
-Server variables:
-@table @code
-@item nngateway-address
-@vindex nngateway-address
-This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
+@vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
+If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
+expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
+easier for procmail users.
-@item nngateway-header-transformation
-@vindex nngateway-header-transformation
-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
-narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
-gateway address.
+@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
+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
+@code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
+this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
+which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
+will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
+crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
+wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
+@emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
+with! So there!
-This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
-@code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
-For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
+Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
-@example
-Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
-@end example
+@vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
+If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
+commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
+auto-expire turned on.
-will get this @code{From} header inserted:
-@example
-To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
-@end example
+@node Washing Mail
+@subsection Washing Mail
+@cindex mail washing
+@cindex list server brain damage
+@cindex incoming mail treatment
-The following pre-defined functions exist:
-
-@findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
-@table @code
-
-@item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
-Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
-@var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
+Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
+really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
+prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
+end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
+Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
+considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
-@findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
+Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
+} to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
+be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
+laugh.
-@item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
-Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
-@code{nngateway-address}.
+Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
+displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
+storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
+various functions that can be put in these hooks.
-Here's an example:
+@table @code
+@item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
+@vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
+This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
+grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
+the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-post-method
- '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
- (nngateway-header-transformation
- nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
-@end lisp
+@table @code
+@item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
+@findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
+Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
+Emacs running on MS machines.
@end table
+@item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
+@vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
+This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
+cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
-@end table
+@table @code
+@item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
+@findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
+Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
+headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
-So, to use this, simply say something like:
+@item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
+@findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
+Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
+beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
+people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
+strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
+also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
+@code{\\(..\\)}.
+
+For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
+@samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
+(setq nnmail-list-identifiers
+ '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
@end lisp
+This can also be done non-destructively with
+@code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
+@item nnmail-remove-tabs
+@findex nnmail-remove-tabs
+Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
-@node IMAP
-@subsection @sc{imap}
-@cindex nnimap
-@cindex @sc{imap}
+@item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
+@findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
+@cindex Eudora
+Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
+@code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
+@code{References} headers.
-@sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...), think of
-it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap} server is much similar to
-connecting to a news server, you just specify the network address of the
-server.
+@end table
-The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
-server:
+@item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
+@vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
+This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
+include:
@table @code
+@item article-de-quoted-unreadable
+@findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
+Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
-@item nnimap-address
-@vindex nnimap-address
+@end table
+@end table
-The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual server
-name if not specified.
-@item nnimap-server-port
-@vindex nnimap-server-port
-Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
+@node Duplicates
+@subsection Duplicates
-@item nnimap-list-pattern
-@vindex nnimap-list-pattern
-String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups
-to. This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
-interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via @sc{imap},
-you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in @file{~/Mail/*}
-then.
+@vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
+@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 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---
+@code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
+default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
+there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
+variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
+stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
+@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 insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
+that this is a duplicate of a different message.
-The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
-REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
-Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
-mailbox.
+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
+the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
+@code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
-Example:
+You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
+@code{nil}.
+
+If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
+@dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
+methods:
@lisp
-("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*" ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))
+(setq nnmail-split-fancy
+ '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
+ ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
+ ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
+ (any mail "mail.misc")
+ ;; Other rules.
+ [ ... ] ))
@end lisp
-@item nnimap-stream
-@vindex nnimap-stream
-The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
-will use the most secure stream your server is capable of.
+Or something like:
+@lisp
+(setq nnmail-split-methods
+ '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
+ ;; Other rules.
+ [...]))
+@end lisp
-@itemize @bullet
-@item
-@dfn{kerberos4:} Uses the `imtest' program.
-@item
-@dfn{ssl:} Uses OpenSSL or SSLeay.
-@item
-@dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
-@end itemize
+Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
+with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
+@code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
+using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
+received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
-@item nnimap-authenticator
-@vindex nnimap-authenticator
-The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap will
-use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
+@node Not Reading Mail
+@subsection Not Reading Mail
-@itemize @bullet
-@item
-@dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication.
-@item
-@dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
-@item
-@dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
-@item
-@dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
-@end itemize
+If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
+habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
+be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
-@item nnimap-expunge-on-close
-@cindex Expunging
-@vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
-Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
-doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has this
-concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually delete
-them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what nnimap
-does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or similair).
+If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
+@code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
+mail, which should help.
-Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
-@code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
-running in circles yet?
+@vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
+@vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
+@vindex nnml-get-new-mail
+@vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
+@vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
+This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
+happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
+file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
+variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
+the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
+group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
-Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
-when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
-variable.
+All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
+narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
+incoming mail.
-The possible options are:
-@table @code
+@node Choosing a Mail Backend
+@subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
-@item always
-The default behaviour, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
-closing a mailbox.
-@item never
-Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing the
-articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients may allow
-you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command manually,
-@xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
-@item ask
-When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
-articles or not.
-@end table
+Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
+file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
+depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
-@end table
+There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
+backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
+(because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
+(@pxref{Mail Spool}).
@menu
-* Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
-* Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
-* Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
+* Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
+* Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
+* Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
+* MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
+* Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
+* Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
@end menu
+@node Unix Mail Box
+@subsubsection Unix Mail Box
+@cindex nnmbox
+@cindex unix mail box
-@node Splitting in IMAP
-@subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
-@cindex splitting imap mail
-
-Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
-the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many @sc{imap}
-server has server side splitting and those that have splitting seem to
-use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap} support for Gnus
-has to do it's own splitting.
-
-And it does.
+@vindex nnmbox-active-file
+@vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
+The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
+mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
+which group it belongs in.
-There are three variables of interest:
+Virtual server settings:
@table @code
+@item nnmbox-mbox-file
+@vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
+The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
+@file{~/mbox}.
-@item nnimap-split-crosspost
-@cindex splitting, crosspost
-@cindex crosspost
-@vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
+@item nnmbox-active-file
+@vindex nnmbox-active-file
+The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
+@file{~/.mbox-active}.
-If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
-nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
+@item nnmbox-get-new-mail
+@vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
+If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
+into groups. Default is @code{t}.
+@end table
-Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
-@item nnimap-split-inbox
-@cindex splitting, inbox
-@cindex inbox
-@vindex nnimap-split-inbox
+@node Rmail Babyl
+@subsubsection Rmail Babyl
+@cindex nnbabyl
+@cindex rmail mbox
-A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap} mailboxes
-to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is disabled!
+@vindex nnbabyl-active-file
+@vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
+The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
+mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
+mail article to say which group it belongs in.
-@lisp
-(setq nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
-@end lisp
+Virtual server settings:
-No nnmail equivalent.
+@table @code
+@item nnbabyl-mbox-file
+@vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
+The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
-@item nnimap-split-rule
-@cindex Splitting, rules
-@vindex nnimap-split-rule
+@item nnbabyl-active-file
+@vindex nnbabyl-active-file
+The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
+@file{~/.rmail-active}
-New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
-this variable.
+@item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
+@vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
+If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
+@code{t}
+@end table
-This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
-sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles matching the
-regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that? Neither did I, we
-need examples.
-@lisp
-(setq nnimap-split-rule
- '(("INBOX.nnimap" "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
- ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
- ("INBOX.private" "")))
-@end lisp
+@node Mail Spool
+@subsubsection Mail Spool
+@cindex nnml
+@cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
-This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
-INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
-into INBOX.spam and everything else in INBOX.private.
+The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
+format. It should be used with some caution.
-The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
-replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
-instance:
+@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 corresponding
+directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
+variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
-@lisp
-("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
-@end lisp
+You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
+care of all that.
-The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
-called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
-containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
-if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
+If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
+in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
+own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
+weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
+having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
+shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
+know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
+to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
-Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
-match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
-nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
-of your inbox. (This might might affect performance if you keep lots of
-unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
-them every time you fetch new 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 it the fastest
+backend when it comes to reading mail.
-These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
-end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
-crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
+Virtual server settings:
-The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
+@table @code
+@item nnml-directory
+@vindex nnml-directory
+All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
+The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
+@file{~/Mail})
-Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
+@item nnml-active-file
+@vindex nnml-active-file
+The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
+@file{~/Mail/active"}.
-@end table
+@item nnml-newsgroups-file
+@vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
+The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
+Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
-@node Editing IMAP ACLs
-@subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
-@cindex editing imap acls
-@cindex Access Control Lists
-@cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
-@kindex G l
-@findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
+@item nnml-get-new-mail
+@vindex nnml-get-new-mail
+If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
+@code{t}
-ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for limiting
-(or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all @sc{imap}
-servers support this, this function will give an error if it doesn't.
+@item nnml-nov-is-evil
+@vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
+If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
+default is @code{nil}
-To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
-(@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
-editing window with detailed instructions.
+@item nnml-nov-file-name
+@vindex nnml-nov-file-name
+The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
-Some possible uses:
+@item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
+@vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
+Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
-@itemize @bullet
-@item
-Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
-on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
-follow the list without subscribing to it.
-@item
-At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
-"anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
-mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
-INBOX.mailbox).
-@end itemize
+@end table
-@node Expunging mailboxes
-@subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
-@cindex expunging
+@findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
+If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
+you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
+nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
+entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
+might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
+functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
+Commands}).
-@cindex Expunge
-@cindex Manual expunging
-@kindex G x
-@findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
-If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-close},
-you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
-manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
+@node MH Spool
+@subsubsection MH Spool
+@cindex nnmh
+@cindex mh-e mail spool
-Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
-delete them.
+@code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
+@sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
+@code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
+makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
+Virtual server settings:
+@table @code
+@item nnmh-directory
+@vindex nnmh-directory
+All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
+default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
+@file{~/Mail})
-@node Combined Groups
-@section Combined Groups
+@item nnmh-get-new-mail
+@vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
+If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
+@code{t}.
-Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
-groups.
+@item nnmh-be-safe
+@vindex nnmh-be-safe
+If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
+sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
+are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
+setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
+use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
+to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
+@end table
-@menu
-* Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
-* Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
-@end menu
+@node Mail Folders
+@subsubsection Mail Folders
+@cindex nnfolder
+@cindex mbox folders
+@cindex mail folders
-@node Virtual Groups
-@subsection Virtual Groups
-@cindex nnvirtual
-@cindex virtual groups
-@cindex merging groups
+@code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
+file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
+will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
+dates.
-An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
-other groups.
+Virtual server settings:
-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!
+@table @code
+@item nnfolder-directory
+@vindex nnfolder-directory
+All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
+The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
+@file{~/Mail})
-You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
-regexp to match component groups.
+@item nnfolder-active-file
+@vindex nnfolder-active-file
+The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
-All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
-component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
-article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
-(And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
-the virtual group.)
+@item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
+@vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
+The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
+Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
-Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
-newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
+@item nnfolder-get-new-mail
+@vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
+If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
+is @code{t}
+
+@item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
+@vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
+@cindex backup files
+Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
+backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
+wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
+your @file{.emacs} file:
@lisp
-(nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
+(defun turn-off-backup ()
+ (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
+
+(add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
@end lisp
-The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
-smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
+@item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
+@vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
+Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
+This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
+extract some information from it before removing it.
-Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
-idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
-If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
-and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
+@item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
+@vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
+If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
+default is @code{nil}.
-@example
-"^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
-@end example
+@end table
-(Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
-shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
-characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
-This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
-end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
-the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
-sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
-(@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
+@findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
+@kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
+If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
+@code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
+command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
+@code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
+though.
-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.
+@node Comparing Mail Backends
+@subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
-@vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
-If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
-@code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
-entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
-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 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.
-
-@code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
-When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
-has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
-whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
-there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
-and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
-not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
-
-@kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
-line from the article you respond to in these cases.
+First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
+low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
+is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
+and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
+mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
+The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
+typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
+in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
+articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
+access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
+area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
+@code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
+actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
+via NFS).
+The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
+simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
+format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
+future. Here are some high and low points on each:
-@node Kibozed Groups
-@subsection Kibozed Groups
-@cindex nnkiboze
-@cindex kibozing
+@table @code
+@item nnmbox
-@dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
-the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
-you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
-with useless requests! Oh happiness!
+UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
+defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
+they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
+@samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
+to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
+@samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
+historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
+mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
+this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
+area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
+(appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
+to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
+fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
+what's where.
-@kindex G k (Group)
-To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
-buffer.
+@item nnbabyl
-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. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
-and @code{nnvirtual} end.
+Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
+systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
+reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
+was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
+format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
+spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
+headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
+RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
+and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
+to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
+VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
+perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
+headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
+course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
-In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
-must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
-the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
+Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
+filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
+look at your mail.
-@kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
-@findex 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 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.
+@item nnml
-Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
-regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
-@sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
-Stranger things have happened.
+@code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
+actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
+fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
+lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
+and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
+Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
+CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
+or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
+@dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
+@sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
+due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
+file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
+extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
+provided by the active file and overviews.
-@code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
-and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
+@code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
+resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
+files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
+tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
+the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
+wins big.
-@vindex nnkiboze-directory
-The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
-@code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
-contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
-and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
-on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
+It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
+FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
+tiny files.
-Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
-their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
+@item nnmh
+The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
+long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
+individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
+is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
+active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
+one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
+slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
-@node Gnus Unplugged
-@section Gnus Unplugged
-@cindex offline
-@cindex unplugged
-@cindex Agent
-@cindex Gnus Agent
-@cindex Gnus Unplugged
+@item nnfolder
-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.
+Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
+method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
+itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
+little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
+a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
+can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
+format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
+it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
+out how many messages there are in each separate group.
-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.
+If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
+messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
+only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
+friendly mail backend all over.
-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.
+@end table
-Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
-@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.
+@node Browsing the Web
+@section Browsing the Web
+@cindex web
+@cindex browsing the web
+@cindex www
+@cindex http
-@item
-Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
-@file{.gnus.el} file:
+Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
+subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
+eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
+is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
+and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
+go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
+even know what a news group is.
-@lisp
-(gnus-agentize)
-@end lisp
-@end itemize
+The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
+being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
+they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
+not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
+you mad in the end.
-That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
+So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
+to do it instead?
-Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
+Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
+interfaces to these sources.
@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.
-* Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
-* 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.
-* Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
-* Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
+* Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
+* Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
+* Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
+* Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
+* RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
+* Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
@end menu
+All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
-@node Agent Basics
-@subsection Agent Basics
-
-First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
-
-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}.
+The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
+work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
+is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
+will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
+though, you should be ok.
-The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
-connected to the net continuously.
+One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
+are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
+cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
+Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
+leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
-@dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
-machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
-Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
+@node Web Searches
+@subsection Web Searches
+@cindex nnweb
+@cindex DejaNews
+@cindex Alta Vista
+@cindex InReference
+@cindex Usenet searches
+@cindex searching the Usenet
-@itemize @bullet
+It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
+string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
+those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
+the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
+searches without having to use a browser.
-@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.
+The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
+engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
+then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
+group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
+Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
-@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}.
+@code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
+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 (@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 posted before the last date you read the
+group as read.
-@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}.)
+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
+providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
+make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
+community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
+might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
-@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.
+You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
+to use @code{nnweb}.
-@item
-And then you go to step 2.
-@end itemize
+Virtual server variables:
-Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
-the Agent.
+@table @code
+@item nnweb-type
+@vindex nnweb-type
+What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
+are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
+@code{reference}.
-@itemize @bullet
+@item nnweb-search
+@vindex nnweb-search
+The search string to feed to the search engine.
-@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 nnweb-max-hits
+@vindex nnweb-max-hits
+Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
+100.
-@item
-Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
+@item nnweb-type-definition
+@vindex nnweb-type-definition
+Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
+with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
+present:
-@item
-Uhm... that's it.
-@end itemize
+@table @code
+@item article
+Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
+understands.
+@item map
+Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
-@node Agent Categories
-@subsection Agent Categories
+@item search
+Function to send the search string to the search engine.
-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 address
+The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
+to.
-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.
-Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
-@code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
-managing categories.
+@item id
+Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
+@end table
-@menu
-* Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
-* The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
-* Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
-@end menu
+@end table
-@node Category Syntax
-@subsubsection Category Syntax
+@node Slashdot
+@subsection Slashdot
+@cindex Slashdot
+@cindex nnslashdot
-A category consists of two things.
+Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
+lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
+let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
-@enumerate
-@item
-A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
-are eligible for downloading; and
+The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
+following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
-@item
-a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
-deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
-score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
-@end enumerate
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
+ '((nnslashdot "")))
+@end lisp
-A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
-@code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
-article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
-predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
+This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
+and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
+a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
+groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
+groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
+Methods}).
-Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
-their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
-@code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
+If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
+command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
-To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
-download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
-operators sprinkled in between.
+When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
+comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
+particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
+@code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
+the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
+directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
+@sc{html} forms.
-Perhaps some examples are in order.
+The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
-Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
-for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
+@table @code
+@item nnslashdot-threaded
+Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
+default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
+has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
+threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
+the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
+but much, much slower than untreaded.
-@lisp
-short
-@end lisp
+@item nnslashdot-login-name
+@vindex nnslashdot-login-name
+The login name to use when posting.
-Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
-short (for some value of ``short'').
+@item nnslashdot-password
+@vindex nnslashdot-password
+The password to use when posting.
-Here's a more complex predicate:
+@item nnslashdot-directory
+@vindex nnslashdot-directory
+Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
+@samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
-@lisp
-(or high
- (and
- (not low)
- (not long)))
-@end lisp
+@item nnslashdot-active-url
+@vindex nnslashdot-active-url
+The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
+news articles and comments. The default is
+@samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
-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 nnslashdot-comments-url
+@vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
+The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
+default is
+@samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
-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 nnslashdot-article-url
+@vindex nnslashdot-article-url
+The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
+default is
+@samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
-The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
-you want to do, you can write your own.
+@item nnslashdot-threshold
+@vindex nnslashdot-threshold
+The score threshold. The default is -1.
-@table @code
-@item short
-True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
-lines; default 100.
+@item nnslashdot-group-number
+@vindex nnslashdot-group-number
+The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
+updated. The default is 0.
-@item long
-True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
-lines; default 200.
+@end table
-@item low
-True iff the article has a download score less than
-@code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
-@item high
-True iff the article has a download score greater than
-@code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
-@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.
+@node Ultimate
+@subsection Ultimate
+@cindex nnultimate
+@cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
-@item true
-Always true.
+The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
+probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
+quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
+information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
-@item false
-Always false.
-@end table
+The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
+something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
+http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
+(not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
+you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
+site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
+server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
-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.
+The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
-For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
-that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
-more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
-something along the lines of the following:
-
-@lisp
-(defun my-article-old-p ()
- "Say whether an article is old."
- (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
- (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
-@end lisp
-
-with the predicate then defined as:
+@table @code
+@item nnultimate-directory
+@vindex nnultimate-directory
+The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
+@samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
+@end table
-@lisp
-(not my-article-old-p)
-@end lisp
-or you could append your predicate to the predefined
-@code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
-wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
-@code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
+@node Web Archive
+@subsection Web Archive
+@cindex nnwarchive
+@cindex Web Archive
-@lisp
-(defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
- (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
- '((old . my-article-old-p))))
-@end lisp
+Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
+@uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
+@uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
+interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
+groups updated.
-and simply specify your predicate as:
+The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
+something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
+gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
+www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
+@sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
+@sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
+backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
-@lisp
-(not old)
-@end lisp
+The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
-If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
-misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
-always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
-just don't give a damm.
+@table @code
+@item nnwarchive-directory
+@vindex nnwarchive-directory
+The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
+@samp{~/News/warchive/}.
+@item nnwarchive-login
+@vindex nnwarchive-login
+The account name on the web server.
-The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
-category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
-individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
-new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
-parameters like so:
+@item nnwarchive-passwd
+@vindex nnwarchive-passwd
+The password for your account on the web server.
+@end table
-@lisp
-(agent-predicate . short)
-@end lisp
+@node RSS
+@subsection RSS
+@cindex nnrss
+@cindex RSS
-This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category
-default. Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this,
-the @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair
-notation.
+Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
+@uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
+interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
+groups updated.
-The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
+The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
+like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
+subscribe groups.
-@lisp
-(agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
-@end lisp
+The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
-The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
-entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
-predicate is assumed to be a list.
+@table @code
+@item nnrss-directory
+@vindex nnrss-directory
+The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
+@samp{~/News/rss/}.
+@end table
-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{Subject}, @code{From},
-@code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
-@code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
+The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
+the summary buffer.
-As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
-to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
-it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
-if it's to be specific to that group.
+@lisp
+(add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
+(setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
-In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
-three forms:
+(defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
+ (let ((descr
+ (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
+ (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
+@end lisp
-@enumerate
-@item
-Score rule
+The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
+summary buffer.
+@lisp
+(require 'browse-url)
+
+(defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
+ (interactive "p")
+ (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
+ (mail-header-extra
+ (gnus-data-header
+ (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
+ gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
+ (if url
+ (browse-url (cdr url))
+ (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
+
+(eval-after-load "gnus"
+ #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
+ (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
+(add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
+@end lisp
-This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
-subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
+@node Customizing w3
+@subsection Customizing w3
+@cindex w3
+@cindex html
+@cindex url
+@cindex Netscape
-example:
+Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
+pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
+things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
-@itemize @bullet
-@item
-Category specification
+For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
+using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
+browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
@lisp
-(("from"
- ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
-("lines"
- (500 -100 nil <)))
+(eval-after-load "w3"
+ '(progn
+ (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
+ (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
+ (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
+ (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
+ (browse-url url)
+ (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
@end lisp
-@item
-Group Parameter specification
-
-@lisp
-(agent-score ("from"
- ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
- ("lines"
- (500 -100 nil <)))
-@end lisp
+Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
+@sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
+follow the link.
-Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
-@end itemize
-@item
-Agent score file
+@node Other Sources
+@section Other Sources
-These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
-stated above.
+Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
+below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
+newsgroups.
-example:
+@menu
+* Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
+* Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
+* Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
+* SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
+* Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
+* IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
+@end menu
-@itemize @bullet
-@item
-Category specification
-@lisp
-("~/News/agent.SCORE")
-@end lisp
+@node Directory Groups
+@subsection Directory Groups
+@cindex nndir
+@cindex directory groups
-or perhaps
+If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
+it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
+names, of course.
-@lisp
-("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
-@end lisp
+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.
-@item
-Group Parameter specification
+@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 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!
-@lisp
-(agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
-@end lisp
+@code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
-Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
-about parenthesis.
-@end itemize
+@code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
+articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
+whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
+methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
-@item
-Use @code{normal} score files
-If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
-your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
-@code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
-@code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
+@node Anything Groups
+@subsection Anything Groups
+@cindex nneething
-These directives in either the category definition or a group's
-parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
-files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
-relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
+From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
+directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
+pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
+true.
-@itemize @bullet
-@item
-Category Specification
+When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
+directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
+a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
+After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
+@code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
+file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
+few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
+just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
+@code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
+file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
+elements.
-@lisp
-file
-@end lisp
+All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
+with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
+newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
+in the article buffer, just as usual.
-@item
-Group Parameter specification
+If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
+a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
+traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
+Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
-@lisp
-(agent-score . file)
-@end lisp
-@end itemize
-@end enumerate
+There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
+doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
+will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
+are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
+normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
+article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
+other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
+be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
-@node The Category Buffer
-@subsubsection The Category Buffer
+Some variables:
-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.
+@table @code
+@item nneething-map-file-directory
+@vindex nneething-map-file-directory
+All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
+in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
-The following commands are available in this buffer:
+@item nneething-exclude-files
+@vindex nneething-exclude-files
+All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
+auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
-@table @kbd
-@item q
-@kindex q (Category)
-@findex gnus-category-exit
-Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
+@item nneething-include-files
+@vindex nneething-include-files
+Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
+non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
-@item k
-@kindex k (Category)
-@findex gnus-category-kill
-Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
+@item nneething-map-file
+@vindex nneething-map-file
+Name of the map files.
+@end table
-@item c
-@kindex c (Category)
-@findex gnus-category-copy
-Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
-@item a
-@kindex a (Category)
-@findex gnus-category-add
-Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
+@node Document Groups
+@subsection Document Groups
+@cindex nndoc
+@cindex documentation group
+@cindex help group
-@item p
-@kindex p (Category)
-@findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
-Edit the predicate of the current category
-(@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
+@code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
+as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
-@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}).
+@table @code
+@cindex babyl
+@cindex rmail mbox
-@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 babyl
+The babyl (rmail) mail box.
+@cindex mbox
+@cindex Unix mbox
-@item l
-@kindex l (Category)
-@findex gnus-category-list
-List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
-@end table
+@item mbox
+The standard Unix mbox file.
+@cindex MMDF mail box
+@item mmdf
+The MMDF mail box format.
-@node Category Variables
-@subsubsection Category Variables
+@item news
+Several news articles appended into a file.
-@table @code
-@item gnus-category-mode-hook
-@vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
-Hook run in category buffers.
+@item rnews
+@cindex rnews batch files
+The rnews batch transport format.
+@cindex forwarded messages
-@item gnus-category-line-format
-@vindex gnus-category-line-format
-Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
-Variables}). Valid elements are:
+@item forward
+Forwarded articles.
-@table @samp
-@item c
-The name of the category.
+@item nsmail
+Netscape mail boxes.
-@item g
-The number of groups in the category.
+@item mime-parts
+MIME multipart messages.
+
+@item standard-digest
+The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
+
+@item slack-digest
+Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
@end table
-@item gnus-category-mode-line-format
-@vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
-Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
+You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
+that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
+@code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
+file is.
-@item gnus-agent-short-article
-@vindex gnus-agent-short-article
-Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
+@code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
+it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
+group. And that's it.
-@item gnus-agent-long-article
-@vindex gnus-agent-long-article
-Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
+If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
+new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
+that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
+to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
+@code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
+(@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
+the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
+using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
+file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
+delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
-@item gnus-agent-low-score
-@vindex gnus-agent-low-score
-Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
-0.
+Virtual server variables:
-@item gnus-agent-high-score
-@vindex gnus-agent-high-score
-Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
-0.
+@table @code
+@item nndoc-article-type
+@vindex nndoc-article-type
+This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
+@code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
+@code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
+@code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} 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 valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
+and @code{news}.
@end table
+@menu
+* Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
+@end menu
-@node Agent Commands
-@subsection Agent Commands
-
-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.
+@node Document Server Internals
+@subsubsection Document Server Internals
-@menu
-* Group Agent Commands::
-* Summary Agent Commands::
-* Server Agent Commands::
-@end menu
+Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
+difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
+looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
+and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
-You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
-following incantation:
+First, here's an example document type definition:
-@cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
@example
-$ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
+(mmdf
+ (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
+ (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
@end example
+The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
+regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
+variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
+types can be defined with very few settings:
+@table @code
+@item first-article
+If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
+something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
+totally ignored.
-@node Group Agent Commands
-@subsubsection Group Agent Commands
+@item article-begin
+This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
+says what the beginning of each article looks like.
-@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 head-begin-function
+If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
+the article.
-@item J c
-@kindex J c (Agent Group)
-@findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
-Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
+@item nndoc-head-begin
+If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
+article.
-@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 nndoc-head-end
+This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
+@samp{^$}---the empty line.
-@item J S
-@kindex J S (Agent Group)
-@findex gnus-group-send-drafts
-Send all sendable messages in the draft group
-(@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
+@item body-begin-function
+If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
+of the article.
-@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}). This command understands the
-process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@item body-begin
+This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
+to @samp{^\n}.
-@item J r
-@kindex J r (Agent Group)
-@findex gnus-agent-remove-group
-Remove the current group from its category, if any
-(@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
-process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@item body-end-function
+If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
+the article.
-@end table
+@item body-end
+If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
+@item file-end
+If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
+regexp will be totally ignored.
-@node Summary Agent Commands
-@subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
+@end table
-@table @kbd
-@item J #
-@kindex J # (Agent Summary)
-@findex gnus-agent-mark-article
-Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
+So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
+file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
+few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
+news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
+something that's palatable for Gnus:
-@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}).
+@table @code
+@item prepare-body-function
+If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
+will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
+document has encoded some parts of its contents.
-@item @@
-@kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
-@findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
-Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
+@item article-transform-function
+If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
+meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
+body of the article.
-@item J c
-@kindex J c (Agent Summary)
-@findex gnus-agent-catchup
-Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
+@item generate-head-function
+If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
+understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
+expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
+called when requesting the headers of all articles.
@end table
+Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
+digests:
-@node Server Agent Commands
-@subsubsection Server Agent Commands
+@example
+(standard-digest
+ (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
+ (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
+ (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
+ (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
+ (head-end . "^ ?$")
+ (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
+ (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
+ (subtype digest guess))
+@end example
-@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}).
+We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
+text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
+each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
+the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
+run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
-@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}).
+To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
+@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 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 valid number.
-@end table
+@node SOUP
+@subsection SOUP
+@cindex SOUP
+@cindex offline
-@node Agent Expiry
-@subsection Agent Expiry
+In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
+are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
+With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
-@vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
-@findex gnus-agent-expire
-@kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
-@cindex Agent expiry
-@cindex Gnus Agent expiry
-@cindex expiry
+Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
+@code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
+transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
+newsreaders.
-@code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
-@code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
-are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
-whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
-particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
-interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
+However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
+easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
+that interested in doing things properly.
-@vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
-if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
-expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
-(which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
-unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
+A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
+and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
+fiddly.
+First some terminology:
-@node Outgoing Messages
-@subsection Outgoing Messages
+@table @dfn
-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 server
+This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
+get news and/or mail from.
-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 home machine
+This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
+on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
+@item packet
+Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
+of packets:
+@table @dfn
+@item message packets
+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.
-@node Agent Variables
-@subsection Agent Variables
+@item response packets
+These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
+replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
+default, where @var{x} is a number.
-@table @code
-@item gnus-agent-directory
-@vindex gnus-agent-directory
-Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
-@file{~/News/agent/}.
+@end table
-@item gnus-agent-handle-level
-@vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
-Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
-be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
-which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
-by default.
+@end table
-@item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
-@vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
-Hook run when connecting to the network.
-@item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
-@vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
-Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
+@enumerate
-@end table
+@item
+You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
+use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
+can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
+s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
+@item
+You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
-@node Example Setup
-@subsection Example Setup
+@item
+You put the packet in your home directory.
-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
+You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
+the native or secondary server.
-@lisp
-;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
-;;; from your ISP's server.
-(setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
+@item
+You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
+want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
-;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
-;;; your ISP's POP server.
-(setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
+@item
+You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
+packet.
-;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
-(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
+@item
+You transfer this packet to the server.
-;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
-(gnus-agentize)
-@end lisp
+@item
+You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
-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}.
+@item
+You then repeat until you die.
-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.
+@end enumerate
-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.)
+So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
+reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
-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.
+@menu
+* SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
+* SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
+* SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
+@end menu
-@node Batching Agents
-@subsection Batching Agents
+@node SOUP Commands
+@subsubsection SOUP Commands
-Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
-written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
-following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
+These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
-@example
-#!/bin/sh
-emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
-@end example
+@table @kbd
+@item G s b
+@kindex G s b (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-brew-soup
+Pack all unread articles in the current group
+(@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
+process/prefix convention.
+@item G s w
+@kindex G s w (Group)
+@findex gnus-soup-save-areas
+Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
-@node Agent Caveats
-@subsection Agent Caveats
+@item G s s
+@kindex G s s (Group)
+@findex gnus-soup-send-replies
+Send all replies from the replies packet
+(@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
-The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
-newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
-may ask:
+@item G s p
+@kindex G s p (Group)
+@findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
+Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
-@table @dfn
-@item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
-Agent?
+@item G s r
+@kindex G s r (Group)
+@findex nnsoup-pack-replies
+Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
-@strong{No.}
+@item O s
+@kindex O s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-soup-add-article
+This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
+(@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
+convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
-in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
+@end table
-@strong{Yes.}
-@end table
+There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
+thingies:
-In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
-articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
+@table @code
+@item gnus-soup-directory
+@vindex gnus-soup-directory
+Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
+@sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
-@node Scoring
-@chapter Scoring
-@cindex scoring
+@item gnus-soup-replies-directory
+@vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
+This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
+reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
-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!
+@item gnus-soup-prefix-file
+@vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
+Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
+@samp{gnus-prefix}.
-@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 gnus-soup-packer
+@vindex gnus-soup-packer
+A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
+@samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
-Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
-before generating the summary buffer.
+@item gnus-soup-unpacker
+@vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
+Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
+@samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
-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 gnus-soup-packet-directory
+@vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
+Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
-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 gnus-soup-packet-regexp
+@vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
+Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
+@code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
-@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
+@end table
-@node Summary Score Commands
-@section Summary Score Commands
-@cindex score commands
+@node SOUP Groups
+@subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
+@cindex nnsoup
-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.
+@code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
+read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
+you can read them at leisure.
-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.
+These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
-General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
+@table @code
-@table @kbd
+@item nnsoup-tmp-directory
+@vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
+When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
+directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
-@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 nnsoup-directory
+@vindex nnsoup-directory
+@code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
+The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
-@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 nnsoup-replies-directory
+@vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
+All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
+reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
-@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 nnsoup-replies-format-type
+@vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
+The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
+(rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
+shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
-@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 nnsoup-replies-index-type
+@vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
+The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
+means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
-@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 nnsoup-active-file
+@vindex nnsoup-active-file
+Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
+file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
+this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
+@file{~/SOUP/active}.
-@item 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 nnsoup-packer
+@vindex nnsoup-packer
+Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
+is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
-@item 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 nnsoup-unpacker
+@vindex nnsoup-unpacker
+Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
+default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
-@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 nnsoup-packet-directory
+@vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
+Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
+@file{~/}.
-@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 nnsoup-packet-regexp
+@vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
+Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
+@samp{Soupout}.
-@end table
+@item nnsoup-always-save
+@vindex nnsoup-always-save
+If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
-The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
+@end table
-@table @kbd
-@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}).
+@node SOUP Replies
+@subsubsection SOUP Replies
-@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
+Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
+up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
+more for that to happen.
-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.)
+@findex nnsoup-set-variables
+The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
+variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
+@sc{soup} system.
-@findex gnus-summary-increase-score
-@findex gnus-summary-lower-score
+In specific, this is what it does:
-@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
+@lisp
+(setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
+(setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
+@end lisp
-@item a
-Score on the author name.
+And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
+system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
+@sc{soup}ed you use the second.
-@item s
-Score on the subject line.
-@item x
-Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
+@node Mail-To-News Gateways
+@subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
+@cindex mail-to-news gateways
+@cindex gateways
-@item r
-Score on the @code{References} line.
+If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
+or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
+The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
-@item d
-Score on the date.
+Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
+used to post with.
-@item l
-Score on the number of lines.
+Server variables:
-@item i
-Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
+@table @code
+@item nngateway-address
+@vindex nngateway-address
+This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
-@item f
-Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
-the followups to this author.
+@item nngateway-header-transformation
+@vindex nngateway-header-transformation
+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
+narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
+gateway address.
-@item b
-Score on the body.
+This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
+@code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
+For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
-@item h
-Score on the head.
+@example
+Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
+@end example
-@item t
-Score on thread.
+will get this @code{From} header inserted:
-@end table
+@example
+To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
+@end example
-@item
-The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
-what headers you are scoring on.
+The following pre-defined functions exist:
+@findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
@table @code
-@item strings
+@item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
+Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
+@var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
-@table @kbd
+@findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
-@item e
-Exact matching.
+@item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
+Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
+@code{nngateway-address}.
-@item s
-Substring matching.
+Here's an example:
-@item f
-Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-post-method
+ '(nngateway
+ "mail2news@@replay.com"
+ (nngateway-header-transformation
+ nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
+@end lisp
-@item r
-Regexp matching
@end table
-@item date
-@table @kbd
-
-@item b
-Before date.
-
-@item a
-After date.
-@item n
-This date.
@end table
-@item number
-@table @kbd
+So, to use this, simply say something like:
-@item <
-Less than number.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
+@end lisp
-@item =
-Equal to number.
-@item >
-Greater than number.
-@end table
-@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
+@node IMAP
+@subsection @sc{imap}
+@cindex nnimap
+@cindex @sc{imap}
-@item t
-Temporary score entry.
+@sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
+think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
+server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
+specify the network address of the server.
-@item p
-Permanent score entry.
+@sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
+POP can, it can hence be viewed as POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
+mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
+protocol. (@sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp} because news
+is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.)
-@item i
-Immediately scoring.
-@end table
+If you want to use @sc{imap} as POP++, use an imap entry in
+mail-sources. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the @sc{imap}
+server and store them on the local disk. This is not the usage
+described in this section. @xref{Mail Sources}.
-@end enumerate
+If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
+entry in gnus-secondary-select-methods. With this, Gnus will
+manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
+usage explained in this section.
-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.
+A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
+might look something like this:
-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}.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
+ '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
+ ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
+ (nnimap "dolk"
+ (nnimap-address "localhost")
+ (nnimap-server-port 1430))
+ ; a UW server running on localhost
+ (nnimap "barbar"
+ (nnimap-server-port 143)
+ (nnimap-address "localhost")
+ (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
+ ; anonymous public cyrus server:
+ (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
+ (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
+ (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
+ (nnimap-stream network))
+ ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
+ (nnimap "vic20"
+ (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
+ (nnimap-server-port 9930)
+ (nnimap-stream ssl))))
+@end lisp
-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.
+The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
+server:
-@vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
-The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
-pretend they are keymaps or not.
+@table @code
+@item nnimap-address
+@vindex nnimap-address
-@node Group Score Commands
-@section Group Score Commands
-@cindex group score commands
+The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
+server name if not specified.
-There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
+@item nnimap-server-port
+@vindex nnimap-server-port
+Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
-@table @kbd
+Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
-@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}).
+@lisp
+(nnimap "mail.server.com"
+ (nnimap-server-port 4711))
+@end lisp
-@end table
+@item nnimap-list-pattern
+@vindex nnimap-list-pattern
+String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
+This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
+interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
+@sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
+@file{~/Mail/*} then.
-You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
+The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
+REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
+Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
+mailbox.
-@findex gnus-batch-score
-@cindex batch scoring
-@example
-$ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
-@end example
+Example server specification:
+@lisp
+(nnimap "mail.server.com"
+ (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
+ ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
+@end lisp
-@node Score Variables
-@section Score Variables
-@cindex score variables
+@item nnimap-stream
+@vindex nnimap-stream
+The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
+will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
+of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
+detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
-@table @code
+Example server specification:
-@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.
+@lisp
+(nnimap "mail.server.com"
+ (nnimap-stream ssl))
+@end lisp
-@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.)
+Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
-@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.
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+@dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Requires the
+@samp{imtest} program.
+@item
+@dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
+@item
+@dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
+SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
+@samp{starttls}.
+@item
+@dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the
+program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
+@item
+@dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
+@item
+@dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
+@end itemize
-@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.)
+@vindex imap-kerberos4-program
+The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
+using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
+1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
+to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
+with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
+restrictions on IMAP commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
+indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
+@code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
+program.
+
+@vindex imap-ssl-program
+For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
+@uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
+and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
+SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
+useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
+work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
+to OpenSSL/SSLeay.
+
+@vindex imap-shell-program
+@vindex imap-shell-host
+For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
+@code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
-@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 your 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.
+@item nnimap-authenticator
+@vindex nnimap-authenticator
-@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.
+The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
+will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
-If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
-with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
-across group visits.
+Example server specification:
-@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.
+@lisp
+(nnimap "mail.server.com"
+ (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
+@end lisp
-@item gnus-summary-default-score
-@vindex gnus-summary-default-score
-Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
+Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
-@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}.
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+@dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
+external program @code{imtest}.
+@item
+@dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
+@code{imtest}.
+@item
+@dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
+external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
+@item
+@dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
+@item
+@dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
+@item
+@dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
+@end itemize
-@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 nnimap-expunge-on-close
+@cindex Expunging
+@vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
+Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
+doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
+this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
+delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
+nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
+similar).
-@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{-}.
+Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
+@code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
+running in circles yet?
-@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.
+Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
+when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
+variable.
+
+The possible options are:
-Predefined functions available are:
@table @code
-@item gnus-score-find-single
-@findex gnus-score-find-single
-Only apply the group's own score file.
+@item always
+The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
+closing a mailbox.
+@item never
+Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
+the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
+may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
+manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
+@item ask
+When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
+articles or not.
-@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.
+@end table
-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.
+@item nnimap-importantize-dormant
+@vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
-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.
+If non-nil, marks dormant articles as ticked (as well), for other IMAP
+clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will naturally still (only) be
+marked as ticked. This is to make dormant articles stand out, just
+like ticked articles, in other IMAP clients. (In other words, Gnus has
+two ``Tick'' marks and IMAP has only one.)
-@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}.
+Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
+enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
-@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.
+@lisp
+(setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
+ (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
+(setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
+ (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
+@end lisp
-@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.
+In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
+as ticked for other users.
-@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.
+@item nnimap-expunge-search-string
+@cindex Expunging
+@vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
-@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.
+This variable contain the IMAP search command sent to server when
+searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
+@code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
+UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
-@item gnus-score-thread-simplify
-@vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
-If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
-for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
-threading---according to the current value of
-gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
-@code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
-simplified in this manner.
+Probably the only useful value to change this to is
+@code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
+messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
+RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
-@end table
+@item nnimap-authinfo-file
+@vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
+A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
+(almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
+variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
+@ref{NNTP}.
-@node Score File Format
-@section Score File Format
-@cindex score file format
+@end table
-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.
+@menu
+* Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
+* Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
+* Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
+@end menu
-Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
-@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 most score file elements. For a different
-approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
+@node Splitting in IMAP
+@subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
+@cindex splitting imap mail
-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.
+Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
+the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
+@sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
+seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
+support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
-Six keys are supported by this alist:
+And it does.
+
+Here are the variables of interest:
@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.
+@item nnimap-split-crosspost
+@cindex splitting, crosspost
+@cindex crosspost
+@vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
-Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
-score entry has one to four elements.
-@enumerate
+If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
+nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
-@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.
+Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
-@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.
+@item nnimap-split-inbox
+@cindex splitting, inbox
+@cindex inbox
+@vindex nnimap-split-inbox
-@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.
+A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
+mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
+disabled!
-@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
+@lisp
+(setq nnimap-split-inbox
+ '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
+@end lisp
-@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.
+No nnmail equivalent.
-@item Lines, Chars
-These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
-@code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
+@item nnimap-split-rule
+@cindex Splitting, rules
+@vindex nnimap-split-rule
-These predicates are true if
+New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
+this variable.
-@example
-(PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
-@end example
+This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
+sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
+matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
+Neither did I, we need examples.
-evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
-@code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
-following form:
+@lisp
+(setq nnimap-split-rule
+ '(("INBOX.nnimap"
+ "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
+ ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
+ ("INBOX.private" "")))
+@end lisp
+
+This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
+INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
+into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
+
+The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
+replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
+instance:
@lisp
-(< header-value 4)
+("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
@end lisp
-Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
-the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
-(It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
-it's not. I think.)
+The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
+called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
+containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
+if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
-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.
+Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
+match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
+nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
+of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
+unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
+them every time you fetch new mail.)
-@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.)
+These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
+end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
+crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
-@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?)
+This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
+be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
+thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
-@item Head, Body, All
-These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
-header uses.
+The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
-@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.)
+To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
+even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
+the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
-@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
+@lisp
+(setq nnimap-split-rule
+ '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
+ ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
+ ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
+ ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
+ ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
+@end lisp
-@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.
+The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
+may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
+@code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
+Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
+rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
+group/function elements.
-@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.
+Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
-@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 nnimap-split-predicate
+@cindex splitting
+@vindex nnimap-split-predicate
-@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.
+Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
+split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
-@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.
+This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
+your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
+regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
+@samp{UNDELETED}.
-@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 nnimap-split-fancy
+@cindex splitting, fancy
+@findex nnimap-split-fancy
+@vindex nnimap-split-fancy
-@item eval
-The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
-ignored when handling global score files.
+It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
+@code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
+splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
-@item read-only
-Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
-should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
-@dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
-apply-to-all-groups score files.)
+However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
+nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
+@code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
+rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
-@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.
+Example:
-You can do this with the following two score file entries:
+@lisp
+(setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
+ nnimap-split-fancy ...)
+@end lisp
-@example
- (orphan -500)
- (mark-and-expunge -100)
-@end example
+Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
-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.
+@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.
+@node Editing IMAP ACLs
+@subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
+@cindex editing imap acls
+@cindex Access Control Lists
+@cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
+@kindex G l
+@findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
-@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.
+ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
+limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
+@sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
+doesn't.
-@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.
+To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
+(@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
+editing window with detailed instructions.
-@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
+Some possible uses:
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
+on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
+follow the list without subscribing to it.
+@item
+At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
+"anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
+mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
+INBOX.mailbox).
+@end itemize
-@node Score File Editing
-@section Score File Editing
+@node Expunging mailboxes
+@subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
+@cindex expunging
-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.
+@cindex Expunge
+@cindex Manual expunging
+@kindex G x
+@findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
-It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
-additional commands:
+If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
+you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
+manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
-@table @kbd
+Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
+delete them.
-@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 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 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.
+@node Combined Groups
+@section Combined Groups
-@end table
+Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
+groups.
-Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
+@menu
+* Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
+* Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
+@end menu
-@vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
-@code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
-In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
-e} to begin editing score files.
+@node Virtual Groups
+@subsection Virtual Groups
+@cindex nnvirtual
+@cindex virtual groups
+@cindex merging groups
+An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
+other groups.
-@node Adaptive Scoring
-@section Adaptive Scoring
-@cindex adaptive scoring
+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!
-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.
+You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
+regexp to match component groups.
-@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)}.
+All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
+component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
+article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
+(And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
+the virtual group.)
-@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:
+Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
+newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
@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))))
+(nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
@end lisp
-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.
+The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
+smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
-Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
-will be applied to each article.
+Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
+idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
+If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
+and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
-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.
+@example
+"^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
+@end example
-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.
+(Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
+shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
+characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
-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.
+This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
+end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
+the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
+sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
+(@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
-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.
-
-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.)
+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.
-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.
+@vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
+If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
+@code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
+entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
+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 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.
-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.
+@code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
+When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
+has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
+whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
+there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
+and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
+not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
-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.
+@kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
+line from the article you respond to in these cases.
-@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}.
-@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.
-@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.
+@node Kibozed Groups
+@subsection Kibozed Groups
+@cindex nnkiboze
+@cindex kibozing
-@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
+@dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
+the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
+you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
+with useless requests! Oh happiness!
-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.
+@kindex G k (Group)
+To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
+buffer.
-@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.
+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. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
+and @code{nnvirtual} end.
-@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.
+In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
+must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
+the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
-@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}.
+@kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
+@findex 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 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.
-@vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
-If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
-won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
-for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
-lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
+Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
+regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
+@sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
+Stranger things have happened.
-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.
+@code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
+and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
-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.
+@vindex nnkiboze-directory
+The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
+@code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
+contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
+and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
+on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
+Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
+their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
-@node Home Score File
-@section Home Score File
-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}.
+@node Gnus Unplugged
+@section Gnus Unplugged
+@cindex offline
+@cindex unplugged
+@cindex Agent
+@cindex Gnus Agent
+@cindex Gnus Unplugged
-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.
+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.
-@vindex gnus-home-score-file
-The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
-be:
+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.
-@enumerate
-@item
-A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
-groups.
+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.
-@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.
+Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
+@itemize @bullet
@item
-A list. The elements in this list can be:
+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.
-@enumerate
@item
-@code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
-group name, the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
+Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
+@file{.gnus.el} file:
-@item
-A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
-the home score file.
+@lisp
+(gnus-agentize)
+@end lisp
+@end itemize
-@item
-A string. Use the string as the home score file.
-@end enumerate
+That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
-The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
-for matches.
+Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
-@end enumerate
+@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.
+* Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
+* Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
+* 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.
+* Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
+* Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
+@end menu
-So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-home-score-file
- "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
-@end lisp
+@node Agent Basics
+@subsection Agent Basics
-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:
+First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
-@findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-home-score-file
- 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
-@end lisp
+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}.
-This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
-Other functions include
+The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
+connected to the net continuously.
-@table @code
-@item gnus-current-home-score-file
-@findex gnus-current-home-score-file
-Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
-commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
+@dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
+machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
-@end table
+Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
-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:
+@itemize @bullet
-@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
+@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.
-@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
+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} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
+as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
+Source Specifiers}).
-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
+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{g}
+to check if there are any new news and then @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
+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.
-@node Followups To Yourself
-@section Followups To Yourself
+@item
+And then you go to step 2.
+@end itemize
-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.
+Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
+the Agent.
-@table @code
+@itemize @bullet
-@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
+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 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
+@item
+Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
-@vindex message-sent-hook
-These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
-@code{message-sent-hook}.
+@item
+Uhm... that's it.
+@end itemize
-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:
-@example
-<x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
-<x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
-@end example
+@node Agent Categories
+@subsection Agent Categories
-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:
+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.
-@lisp
-("references"
- ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
- 1000 nil r))
-@end lisp
+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.
+Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
+@code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
+managing categories.
-Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
-is system-dependent.
+@menu
+* Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
+* Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
+* Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
+@end menu
-@node Scoring Tips
-@section Scoring Tips
-@cindex scoring tips
+@node Category Syntax
+@subsubsection Category Syntax
-@table @dfn
+A category consists of two things.
-@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
+@enumerate
+@item
+A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
+are eligible for downloading; and
+
+@item
+a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
+deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
+score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
+@end enumerate
+
+A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
+@code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
+article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
+predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
+
+Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
+their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
+@code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
+
+To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
+download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
+operators sprinkled in between.
+
+Perhaps some examples are in order.
+
+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 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))
+short
@end lisp
-@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.
+Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
+short (for some value of ``short'').
+
+Here's a more complex predicate:
-@item Marking as read
-You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
-number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
-in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
@lisp
-((mark -100))
+(or high
+ (and
+ (not low)
+ (not long)))
@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
+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.
+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.)
-@node Reverse Scoring
-@section Reverse Scoring
-@cindex reverse scoring
+The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
+you want to do, you can write your own.
-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:
+@table @code
+@item short
+True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
+lines; default 100.
-@lisp
-(("subject"
- ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
- (mark 1)
- (expunge 1))
-@end lisp
+@item long
+True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
+lines; default 200.
-So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
-rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
+@item low
+True iff the article has a download score less than
+@code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
+@item high
+True iff the article has a download score greater than
+@code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
-@node Global Score Files
-@section Global Score Files
-@cindex global score files
+@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.
-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 true
+Always true.
-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 false
+Always false.
+@end table
-@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.
+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.
-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:
+For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
+that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
+more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
+something along the lines of the following:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-global-score-files
- '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
- "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
+(defun my-article-old-p ()
+ "Say whether an article is old."
+ (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
+ (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
@end lisp
-@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.)
+with the predicate then defined as:
-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!
+@lisp
+(not my-article-old-p)
+@end lisp
-Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
-head:
-
-@itemize @bullet
-
-@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.
+or you could append your predicate to the predefined
+@code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
+wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
+@code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
-@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
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
+ (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
+ '((old . my-article-old-p))))
+@end lisp
-... 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?
+and simply specify your predicate as:
+@lisp
+(not old)
+@end lisp
-@node Kill Files
-@section Kill Files
-@cindex kill files
+If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
+misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
+always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
+just don't give a damn.
-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.
+The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
+category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
+individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
+new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
+parameters like so:
-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.
+@lisp
+(agent-predicate . short)
+@end lisp
-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.
+This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
+Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
+@code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
-Normal kill files look like this:
+The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
@lisp
-(gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
-(gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
-(gnus-expunge "X")
+(agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
@end lisp
-This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
-marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
+The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
+entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
+predicate is assumed to be a list.
-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.
-Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
+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{Subject}, @code{From},
+@code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
+@code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
-@table @kbd
+As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
+to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
+it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
+if it's to be specific to that group.
-@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}).
+In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
+three forms:
-@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
+@enumerate
+@item
+Score rule
-Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
+This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
+subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
-@table @kbd
+example:
-@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}).
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+Category specification
-@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
+@lisp
+(("from"
+ ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
+("lines"
+ (500 -100 nil <)))
+@end lisp
-Kill file variables:
+@item
+Group Parameter specification
-@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}.
+@lisp
+(agent-score ("from"
+ ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
+ ("lines"
+ (500 -100 nil <)))
+@end lisp
-@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.
+Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
+@end itemize
-@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
+Agent score file
-@item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
-@vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
-A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
+These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
+stated above.
-@end table
+example:
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+Category specification
-@node Converting Kill Files
-@section Converting Kill Files
-@cindex kill files
-@cindex converting kill files
+@lisp
+("~/News/agent.SCORE")
+@end lisp
-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.
+or perhaps
-The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
-You can fetch it from
-@file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
+@lisp
+("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
+@end lisp
-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.
+@item
+Group Parameter specification
+@lisp
+(agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
+@end lisp
-@node GroupLens
-@section GroupLens
-@cindex GroupLens
+Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
+about parenthesis?
+@end itemize
-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
+Use @code{normal} score files
-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.
+If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
+your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
+@code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
+@code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
-@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
+These directives in either the category definition or a group's
+parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
+files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
+relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+Category Specification
-@node Using GroupLens
-@subsection Using GroupLens
+@lisp
+file
+@end lisp
-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.
+@item
+Group Parameter specification
-Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
+@lisp
+(agent-score . file)
+@end lisp
+@end itemize
+@end enumerate
-@table @code
+@node Category Buffer
+@subsubsection Category Buffer
-@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.
+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.
-@item grouplens-pseudonym
-@vindex grouplens-pseudonym
-This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
-with the Better Bit Bureau.
+The following commands are available in this buffer:
-@item grouplens-newsgroups
-@vindex grouplens-newsgroups
-A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
+@table @kbd
+@item q
+@kindex q (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-exit
+Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
-@end table
+@item k
+@kindex k (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-kill
+Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
-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.
+@item c
+@kindex c (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-copy
+Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
+@item a
+@kindex a (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-add
+Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
-@node Rating Articles
-@subsection Rating Articles
+@item p
+@kindex p (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
+Edit the predicate of the current category
+(@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
-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?"
+@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}).
-There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
+@item s
+@kindex s (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-edit-score
+Edit the download score rule of the current category
+(@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
-@table @kbd
+@item l
+@kindex l (Category)
+@findex gnus-category-list
+List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
+@end table
-@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 Category Variables
+@subsubsection Category Variables
+
+@table @code
+@item gnus-category-mode-hook
+@vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
+Hook run in category buffers.
+
+@item gnus-category-line-format
+@vindex gnus-category-line-format
+Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
+Variables}). Valid elements are:
+
+@table @samp
+@item c
+The name of the category.
+@item g
+The number of groups in the category.
@end table
-The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
-the score of the article you're reading.
+@item gnus-category-mode-line-format
+@vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
+Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
-@table @kbd
+@item gnus-agent-short-article
+@vindex gnus-agent-short-article
+Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
-@item 1-5 n
-@kindex n (GroupLens)
-@findex grouplens-next-unread-article
-Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
+@item gnus-agent-long-article
+@vindex gnus-agent-long-article
+Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
-@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 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.
@end table
-If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
-next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
+@node Agent Commands
+@subsection Agent Commands
-@node Displaying Predictions
-@subsection Displaying Predictions
+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.
-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}.
-@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}.
+@menu
+* Group Agent Commands::
+* Summary Agent Commands::
+* Server Agent Commands::
+@end menu
-@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.
+You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
+following incantation:
-The following are valid values for that variable.
+@cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
+@example
+$ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
+@end example
-@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.
-@item prediction-bar
-The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
+@node Group Agent Commands
+@subsubsection Group Agent Commands
-@item confidence-bar
-Numerical confidence.
+@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 confidence-spot
-The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
+@item J c
+@kindex J c (Agent Group)
+@findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
+Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
-@item prediction-num
-Plain-old numeric value.
+@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 confidence-plus-minus
-Prediction +/- confidence.
+@item J S
+@kindex J S (Agent Group)
+@findex gnus-group-send-drafts
+Send all sendable messages in the draft group
+(@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
-@end table
+@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}). This command understands the
+process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@item J r
+@kindex J r (Agent Group)
+@findex gnus-agent-remove-group
+Remove the current group from its category, if any
+(@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
+process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@node GroupLens Variables
-@subsection GroupLens Variables
+@item J Y
+@kindex J Y (Agent Group)
+@findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
+Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
-@table @code
-@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}.
+@end table
-@item grouplens-bbb-host
-Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
-default.
-@item grouplens-bbb-port
-Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
+@node Summary Agent Commands
+@subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
-@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 @kbd
+@item J #
+@kindex J # (Agent Summary)
+@findex gnus-agent-mark-article
+Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
-@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 J M-#
+@kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
+@findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
+Remove the downloading mark from the article
+(@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
-@end table
+@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}).
-@node Advanced Scoring
-@section Advanced Scoring
+@end table
-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?
-By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
-scoring patterns.
-
-@menu
-* Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
-* Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
-* Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
-@end menu
+@node Server Agent Commands
+@subsubsection Server Agent Commands
+@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}).
-@node Advanced Scoring Syntax
-@subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
+@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}).
-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.
+@end table
-These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
-operator, and various match operators.
-Logical operators:
+@node Agent Expiry
+@subsection Agent Expiry
-@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}.
+@vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
+@findex gnus-agent-expire
+@kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
+@cindex Agent expiry
+@cindex Gnus Agent expiry
+@cindex expiry
-@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}.
+@code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
+@code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
+are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
+whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
+particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
+interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
-@item !
-@itemx not
-@itemx ¬
-This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
-logical negation of the value of its argument.
+@vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
+if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
+expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
+(which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
+unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
-@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 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.
+@node Agent and IMAP
+@subsection Agent and IMAP
-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.
+The Agent work with any Gnus backend, including nnimap. However,
+since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
+@sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
+make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
+The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
+are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
+case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
+disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
-@node Advanced Scoring Examples
-@subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
+Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
+Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
+you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
+with the server. This behavior is customizable with
+@code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
-Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
-when he's talking about Gnus:
+@vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
+If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
+never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
+default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
+you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
+value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
-@example
-((&
- ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
- ("subject" "Gnus"))
- 1000)
-@end example
+If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
+re-connect, this can be done manually with the
+@code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
+in the group buffer by default.
-Quite simple, huh?
+Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
+expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
-When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
+@itemize @bullet
-@example
-((&
- ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
- (|
- ("subject" "Gnus")
- ("lines" 100 >)))
- 1000)
-@end example
+@item
+Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
-However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
-really don't want to read what he's written:
+@item
+Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
-@example
-((&
- ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
- (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
- -100000)
-@end example
+@end itemize
-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:
+Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
+all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
+server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
+the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
+re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
+removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
+operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
+directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
-@example
-((&
- (1-
- (&
- ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
- ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
- (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
- ("body" "white.*socks"))
- 1000)
-@end example
-The possibilities are endless.
+@node Outgoing Messages
+@subsection Outgoing Messages
+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.
-@node Advanced Scoring Tips
-@subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
+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.
-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.
-The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
-arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
-something like:
-@example
-...
-(1-
- (1-
- ("from" "lars")))
-...
-@end example
+@node Agent Variables
+@subsection Agent Variables
-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:
+@table @code
+@item gnus-agent-directory
+@vindex gnus-agent-directory
+Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
+@file{~/News/agent/}.
-@example
-(1-
- (&
- ("from" "Lars")
- ("subject" "Gnus")))
-@end example
+@item gnus-agent-handle-level
+@vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
+Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
+be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
+which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
+by default.
-than it is to say:
+@item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
+@vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
+Hook run when connecting to the network.
-@example
-(&
- (1- ("from" "Lars"))
- (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
-@end example
+@item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
+@vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
+Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
+@end table
-@node Score Decays
-@section Score Decays
-@cindex score decays
-@cindex decays
-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.
+@node Example Setup
+@subsection Example Setup
-@vindex gnus-decay-scores
-@findex gnus-decay-score
-@vindex gnus-decay-score-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-decay-score-function}
-function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
-definition of that function:
+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.
@lisp
-(defun gnus-decay-score (score)
- "Decay SCORE.
-This is done 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
-
-@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:
+;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
+;;; from your ISP's server.
+(setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
-@enumerate
-@item
-Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
+;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
+;;; your ISP's POP server.
+(setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
-@item
-Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
+;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
+(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
-@item
-Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
-score.
-@end enumerate
+;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
+(gnus-agentize)
+@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.
-
-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.
+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}.
+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.
-@node Various
-@chapter Various
+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.)
-@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 unsolicited commercial email.
-* Various Various:: Things that are really various.
-@end menu
+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.
-@node Process/Prefix
-@section Process/Prefix
-@cindex process/prefix convention
+@node Batching Agents
+@subsection Batching Agents
-Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
-articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
+Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
+written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
+following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
-This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
-command to be performed on.
+@example
+#!/bin/sh
+emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
+@end example
-It goes like this:
-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.
+@node Agent Caveats
+@subsection Agent Caveats
-@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.
+The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
+newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
+may ask:
-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 @dfn
+@item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
+Agent?
-If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
-process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
+@strong{No.}
-Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
-are avoided.
+@item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
+in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
-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}).
+@strong{Yes.}
-@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.
+@end table
+In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
+articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
-@node Interactive
-@section Interactive
-@cindex interaction
-@table @code
+@node Scoring
+@chapter Scoring
+@cindex scoring
-@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.
+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!
-@item gnus-expert-user
-@vindex gnus-expert-user
-If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
-questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
-matter how strange.
+@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 gnus-interactive-catchup
-@vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
-Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
-is @code{t} by default.
+Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
+before generating the summary buffer.
-@item gnus-interactive-exit
-@vindex gnus-interactive-exit
-Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
-default.
-@end table
+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.
+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.
-@node Symbolic Prefixes
-@section Symbolic Prefixes
-@cindex symbolic prefixes
+@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
-Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
-instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters 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.
-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.
+@node Summary Score Commands
+@section Summary Score Commands
+@cindex score commands
-@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.
+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.
-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.
+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.
-If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
-Interactive}.
+General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
+@table @kbd
-@node Formatting Variables
-@section Formatting Variables
-@cindex formatting variables
+@item V s
+@kindex V s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-set-score
+Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
-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 V S
+@kindex V S (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-current-score
+Display the score of the current article
+(@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
-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 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}).
-@menu
-* Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
-* Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
-* 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 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.
-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 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}).
-All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
-case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
+@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}).
-@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.
+@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 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 V C
+@kindex V C (Summary)
+@findex gnus-score-customize
+Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
+(@code{gnus-score-customize}).
-@node Formatting Basics
-@subsection Formatting Basics
+@end table
-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''.
+The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
-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 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}).
+@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
-@node Mode Line Formatting
-@subsection Mode Line Formatting
+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.)
-Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
-@code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
-buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
-with the following two differences:
+@findex gnus-summary-increase-score
+@findex gnus-summary-lower-score
@enumerate
-
@item
-There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
-
+The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
+or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
@item
-The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
-Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
-@samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
-so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
-display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
-mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
-@code{mode-line-format} variable.
-
-@end enumerate
+The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
+keys are available:
+@table @kbd
+@item a
+Score on the author name.
-@node Advanced Formatting
-@subsection Advanced Formatting
+@item s
+Score on the subject line.
-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}.
+@item x
+Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
-These are the valid modifiers:
+@item r
+Score on the @code{References} line.
-@table @code
-@item pad
-@itemx pad-left
-Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
-length.
+@item d
+Score on the date.
-@item pad-right
-Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
-length.
+@item l
+Score on the number of lines.
-@item max
-@itemx max-left
-Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
+@item i
+Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
-@item max-right
-Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
-length.
+@item f
+Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
+the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
+@file{ADAPT} files.)
-@item cut
-@itemx cut-left
-Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
+@item b
+Score on the body.
-@item cut-right
-Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
+@item h
+Score on the head.
-@item ignore
-Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
+@item t
+Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
+files.)
-@item form
-Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
-used.
@end table
-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.
+@item
+The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
+what headers you are scoring on.
-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 strings
-@node User-Defined Specs
-@subsection User-Defined Specs
+@table @kbd
-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 e
+Exact matching.
-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 s
+Substring matching.
+@item f
+Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
-@node Formatting Fonts
-@subsection Formatting Fonts
+@item r
+Regexp matching
+@end table
-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 date
+@table @kbd
-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}.
+@item b
+Before date.
-Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
-@code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say
-@samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
-@code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
-symbols naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
-when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
-will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
-@code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
+@item a
+After date.
-Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
+@item n
+This date.
+@end table
-@lisp
-;; Create three face types.
-(setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
-(setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
+@item number
+@table @kbd
-;; 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 <
+Less than number.
-;; Set the new & fancy format.
-(setq gnus-group-line-format
- "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
-@end lisp
+@item =
+Equal to number.
-I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
-and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
+@item >
+Greater than number.
+@end table
+@end table
-Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
-mode-line variables.
+@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 t
+Temporary score entry.
-@node Windows Configuration
-@section Windows Configuration
-@cindex windows configuration
+@item p
+Permanent score entry.
-No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
+@item i
+Immediately scoring.
+@end table
-@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.
+@end enumerate
-Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
-glitches. Use at your own peril.
+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.
-@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:
+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}.
-@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
+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.
-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.
+@vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
+The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
+pretend they are keymaps or not.
-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 Group Score Commands
+@section Group Score Commands
+@cindex group score commands
-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.
+There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
-Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
-@code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
-split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
-fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
-present) gets focus.
+@table @kbd
-Here's a more complicated example:
+@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}).
-@lisp
-(article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
- (summary 0.25 point)
- (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
- (article 1.0)))
-@end lisp
+@end table
-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.
+You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
-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}.
+@findex gnus-batch-score
+@cindex batch scoring
+@example
+$ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
+@end example
-Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
-@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
+@node Score Variables
+@section Score Variables
+@cindex score variables
-Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
-@code{horizontal} thingie?
+@table @code
-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.
+@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.
-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.
+@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.)
-To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
-may look like:
+@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.
-@example
-split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
-frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
-horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
-vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
-buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
-size = number | frame-params
-buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
-@end example
+@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.)
-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-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 your 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.
-@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}.
+@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.
-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.
+If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
+with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
+across group visits.
-@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.
+@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.
-@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
+@item gnus-summary-default-score
+@vindex gnus-summary-default-score
+Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
-You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
-@code{frame} split:
+@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}.
-@lisp
-(gnus-configure-frame
- '(frame 1.0
- (vertical 1.0
- (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
- (article 1.0))
- (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
- (user-position . t)
- (left . -1) (top . 1))
- (picon 1.0))))
+@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{+}.
-@end lisp
+@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{-}.
-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.
-The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
-be found in its default value.
+@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.
-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:
+Predefined functions available are:
+@table @code
-@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
-
-One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
-for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
-accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
-
-@lisp
-(message (frame 1.0
- (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
- (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
- (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
- (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
- (name . "Message"))
- (message 1.0 point))))
-@end lisp
-
-@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:
-
-@lisp
-(gnus-add-configuration
- '(article (vertical 1.0
- (group 4)
- (summary .25 point)
- (article 1.0))))
-@end lisp
-
-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}.
+@item gnus-score-find-single
+@findex gnus-score-find-single
+Only apply the group's own score file.
-If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
-window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
-to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
-windows resized.
+@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.
+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.
-@node Faces and Fonts
-@section Faces and Fonts
-@cindex faces
-@cindex fonts
-@cindex colors
+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.
-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.
+@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} for each
+server.
+@end table
+This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
+functions will be called with the group name as argument, 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.
+
+For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
+overall score file, you could use the value
+@example
+(list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
+ 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
+@end example
-@node Compilation
-@section Compilation
-@cindex compilation
-@cindex byte-compilation
+@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.
-@findex gnus-compile
+@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.
-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.)
+@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.
-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.)
+@item gnus-score-thread-simplify
+@vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
+If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
+for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
+threading---according to the current value of
+gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
+@code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
+simplified in this manner.
+@end table
-@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.
+@node Score File Format
+@section Score File Format
+@cindex score file format
-@cindex display-time
+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.
-@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:
+Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
-@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)))))
+(("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
-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.
-
-
-@node Highlighting and Menus
-@section Highlighting and Menus
-@cindex visual
-@cindex highlighting
-@cindex menus
+This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
+approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
-@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.
+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.
-This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
-following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
+Six keys are supported by this alist:
@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:
+@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.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
-@end lisp
+Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
+score entry has one to four elements.
+@enumerate
-If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
+@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
-(setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
-@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.
-If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
-in all Gnus buffers.
+@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.
-Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
+@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
-@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}.
+@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.
-@end table
+@item Lines, Chars
+These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
+@code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
-There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
+These predicates are true if
-@table @code
+@example
+(PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
+@end example
-@item gnus-article-menu-hook
-@vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
-Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
+evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
+@code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
+following form:
-@item gnus-group-menu-hook
-@vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
-Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
+@lisp
+(< header-value 4)
+@end lisp
-@item gnus-summary-menu-hook
-@vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
-Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
+Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
+the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
+(It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
+it's not. I think.)
-@item gnus-server-menu-hook
-@vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
-Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
+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.
-@item gnus-browse-menu-hook
-@vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
-Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
+@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.)
-@item gnus-score-menu-hook
-@vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
-Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
+@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?)
-@end table
+@item Head, Body, All
+These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
+header uses.
+@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.)
-@node Buttons
-@section Buttons
-@cindex buttons
-@cindex mouse
-@cindex click
+@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
-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!
+@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.
-Right.
+@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.
-@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 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 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.
-@table @code
+@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 gnus-carpal-mode-hook
-@vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
-Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
+@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 gnus-carpal-button-face
-@vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
-Face used on buttons.
+@item eval
+The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
+ignored when handling global score files.
-@item gnus-carpal-header-face
-@vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
-Face used on carpal buffer headers.
+@item read-only
+Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
+should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
+@dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
+apply-to-all-groups score files.)
-@item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
-@vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
-Buttons in the group buffer.
+@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.
-@item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
-@vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
-Buttons in the summary buffer.
+You can do this with the following two score file entries:
-@item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
-@vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
-Buttons in the server buffer.
+@example
+ (orphan -500)
+ (mark-and-expunge -100)
+@end example
-@item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
-@vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
-Buttons in the browse buffer.
-@end table
+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.
-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.
+I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
+interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
+scoring rules exist.
+@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.
-@node Daemons
-@section Daemons
-@cindex demons
-@cindex daemons
+@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.
-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.
+@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
-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.
-Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
-been idle for thirty minutes:
+@node Score File Editing
+@section Score File Editing
-@lisp
-(gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
-@end lisp
+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.
-Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
-idle:
+It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
+additional commands:
-@lisp
-(gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
-@end lisp
+@table @kbd
-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.
+@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}).
-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.
+@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.
-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.
+@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.
-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.
+@end table
-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.
+Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
-@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.)
+@vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
+@code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
-So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
-your @file{.gnus} file:
+In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
+e} to begin editing score files.
-@findex gnus-demon-add-handler
-@lisp
-(gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
-@end lisp
-@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.
+@node Adaptive Scoring
+@section Adaptive Scoring
+@cindex adaptive scoring
-@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 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.
-Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do 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.
+@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)}.
+@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:
-@node NoCeM
-@section NoCeM
-@cindex nocem
-@cindex spam
+@lisp
+(setq 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
-@dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
-Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
+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.
-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.
+Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
+will be applied to each article.
-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.
+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.
-Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
-this will make spam disappear.
+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.
-There are some variables to customize, of course:
+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
-@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.
+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-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")}.
+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 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.
+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.
-Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
+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.
-@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.
-
-@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.
-
-@item jem@@xpat.com;
-@cindex Jem
-John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
-days.
+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 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
+@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}.
-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
-@code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} 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 @var{string})}, where
-@var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
+@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.
-For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
-@samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
+@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.
@lisp
-("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
+(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
-On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
-@samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
+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.
-@lisp
-("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
-@end lisp
+@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.
-The specs are applied left-to-right.
+@vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
+Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
+scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
+an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
+variable defaults til @code{nil}.
+@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.
-@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}.
+@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}.
-If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
-not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
+@vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
+If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
+won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
+for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
+lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
-@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
+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.
-This might be dangerous, though.
+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 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.
+@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}.
-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}).
+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 Undo
-@section Undo
-@cindex undo
+@enumerate
+@item
+A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
+groups.
-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.
+@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.
-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.
+@item
+A list. The elements in this list can be:
-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.
+@enumerate
+@item
+@code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
+group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
-@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.
+@item
+A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
+the home score file.
+@item
+A string. Use the string as the home score file.
+@end enumerate
-@node Moderation
-@section Moderation
-@cindex moderation
+The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
+for matches.
-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.
+@end enumerate
-The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
-buffers. Put
+So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
+(setq gnus-home-score-file
+ "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
@end lisp
-in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
+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:
-If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
-supposed to work:
+@findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-home-score-file
+ 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
+@end lisp
-@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}.
+This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
+Other functions include
-@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.
+@table @code
+@item gnus-current-home-score-file
+@findex gnus-current-home-score-file
+Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
+commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score 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
+@end table
-To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
+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:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-moderated-list
- "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
+(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.
-@node XEmacs Enhancements
-@section XEmacs Enhancements
-@cindex XEmacs
+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.
-XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
-advantage of that.
-@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
+@node Followups To Yourself
+@section Followups To Yourself
+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.
-@node Picons
-@subsection Picons
+@table @code
-@iftex
-@iflatex
-\include{picons}
-@end iflatex
-@end iftex
+@item gnus-score-followup-article
+@findex gnus-score-followup-article
+This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
+article.
-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 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
-@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 Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
-@end menu
+@vindex message-sent-hook
+These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
+@code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
+@end lisp
-@node Picon Basics
-@subsubsection Picon Basics
+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:
-What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
+@example
+<x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
+<x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
+@end example
-@iftex
-@iflatex
-\margindex{}
-@end iflatex
-@end iftex
+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:
-@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
+@lisp
+("references"
+ ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
+ 1000 nil r))
+@end lisp
-@vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
-If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
-Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
-@code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
-@file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
+Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
+is system-dependent.
-@vindex gnus-picons-database
-Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
-obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
-@file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
-picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
-@code{gnus-picons-database}.
+@node Scoring Tips
+@section Scoring Tips
+@cindex scoring tips
-@node Picon Requirements
-@subsubsection Picon Requirements
-
-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.
-
-Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
-display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
-you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
-
-@vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
-If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
-the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
-the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
-@code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
+@table @dfn
+@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
-@node Easy Picons
-@subsubsection Easy Picons
+@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
-To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
-@file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
+@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 Marking as read
+You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
+number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
+in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-use-picons t)
-(setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
+((mark -100))
@end lisp
+You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
-and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
-containing the Picons databases.
+@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
-Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
+
+@node Reverse Scoring
+@section Reverse Scoring
+@cindex reverse scoring
+
+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:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
- "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
+(("subject"
+ ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
+ (mark 1)
+ (expunge 1))
@end lisp
+So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
+rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
-@node Hard Picons
-@subsubsection Hard Picons
-@iftex
-@iflatex
-\margindex{}
-@end iflatex
-@end iftex
+@node Global Score Files
+@section Global Score Files
+@cindex global score files
-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 select where to get the picons from, and where to
-display them.
+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!
-@table @code
+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 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. This is only useful if
-@code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
-@file{/usr/local/faces/}.
+@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.
-@item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
-@vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
-The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
-engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
-workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
-this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
-database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
+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,
+say this:
-@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}.
+@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
-@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.
+@findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
+@noindent
+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.
-@end table
+Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
+somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
-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.
+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!
-Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
-functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
-at the right time.
+Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
+head:
-@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.
+@itemize @bullet
-@item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
-@findex gnus-article-display-picons
-Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
+@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.
-@end table
+@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
+... 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 Picon Useless Configuration
-@subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
+@node Kill Files
+@section Kill Files
+@cindex kill files
-@iftex
-@iflatex
-\margindex{}
-@end iflatex
-@end iftex
+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.
-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.
+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.
-@table @code
+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 gnus-picons-news-directories
-@vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
-List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
-newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
+Normal kill files look like this:
-@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.
+@lisp
+(gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
+(gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
+(gnus-expunge "X")
+@end lisp
-@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.
+This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
+marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
-@item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
-@vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
-If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is 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)}
+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 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))}.
+Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
-@item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
-@vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
-If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
-XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
-can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
-remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
-@code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
+@table @kbd
-@item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
-@vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
-If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
-Defaults to @code{nil}.
+@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 gnus-picons-display-as-address
-@vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
-If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
-Defaults to @code{t}.
+@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
-@item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
-@vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
-Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
-@code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
+Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
-@item gnus-picons-setup-hook
-@vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
-Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
+@table @kbd
-@item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
-@vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
-Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
-has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
+@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}).
-If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
-@code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the defailt.
+@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
-@item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
-@vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
-Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
-picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
-process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
-Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
-@code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
-cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
+Kill file variables:
-@iftex
-@iflatex
-\margindex{}
-@end iflatex
-@end iftex
+@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}.
+
+@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 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 gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
+@vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
+A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
@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
+@node Converting Kill Files
+@section Converting Kill Files
+@cindex kill files
+@cindex converting kill files
-@dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
-currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
+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 short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
-@file{.gnus.el} file:
+The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
+You can fetch it from
+@uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-treat-display-smiley t)
-@end lisp
+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.
-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).
+@node GroupLens
+@section GroupLens
+@cindex GroupLens
-The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
-which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
+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.
-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.
+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.
-The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
-files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
+@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
-@table @code
-@item smiley-data-directory
-@vindex smiley-data-directory
-Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
+@node Using GroupLens
+@subsection Using GroupLens
-@item smiley-flesh-color
-@vindex smiley-flesh-color
-Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
+To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
+Bit Bureau (BBB).
+@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
+better bit in town at the moment.
-@item smiley-features-color
-@vindex smiley-features-color
-Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
+Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
-@item smiley-tongue-color
-@vindex smiley-tongue-color
-Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
+@table @code
-@item smiley-circle-color
-@vindex smiley-circle-color
-Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
+@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 smiley-mouse-face
-@vindex smiley-mouse-face
-Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
+@item grouplens-pseudonym
+@vindex grouplens-pseudonym
+This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
+with the Better Bit Bureau.
+
+@item grouplens-newsgroups
+@vindex grouplens-newsgroups
+A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
@end table
+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 Toolbar
-@subsection Toolbar
-@table @code
+@node Rating Articles
+@subsection Rating Articles
-@iftex
-@iflatex
-\margindex{}
-@end iflatex
-@end iftex
+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?"
-@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 four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
-@item gnus-group-toolbar
-@vindex gnus-group-toolbar
-The toolbar in the group buffer.
+@table @kbd
-@item gnus-summary-toolbar
-@vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
-The toolbar in the summary buffer.
+@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 gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
-@vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
-The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
+@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.
@end table
+The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
+the score of the article you're reading.
-@node XVarious
-@subsection Various XEmacs Variables
+@table @kbd
-@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 1-5 n
+@kindex n (GroupLens)
+@findex grouplens-next-unread-article
+Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
-@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 1-5 ,
+@kindex , (GroupLens)
+@findex grouplens-best-unread-article
+Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
-@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.
-Valid 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}.
+@end table
-@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.
+If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
+next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
-@iftex
-@iflatex
-\margindex{}
-@end iflatex
-@end iftex
-@end table
+@node Displaying Predictions
+@subsection Displaying Predictions
+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}.
+@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}.
+@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.
-@node Fuzzy Matching
-@section Fuzzy Matching
-@cindex fuzzy matching
+The following are valid values for that variable.
-Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
-things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
+@table @code
+@item prediction-spot
+The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
+displayed.
-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.
+@item confidence-interval
+A numeric confidence interval.
-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.
+@item prediction-bar
+The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
+@item confidence-bar
+Numerical confidence.
-@node Thwarting Email Spam
-@section Thwarting Email Spam
-@cindex email spam
-@cindex spam
-@cindex UCE
-@cindex unsolicited commercial email
+@item confidence-spot
+The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
-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.
+@item prediction-num
+Plain-old numeric value.
-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, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
-and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
+@item confidence-plus-minus
+Prediction +/- confidence.
-This is annoying.
+@end table
-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.)
+@node GroupLens Variables
+@subsection GroupLens Variables
-@lisp
-(setq message-default-news-headers
- "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
-@end lisp
+@table @code
-Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
-(@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
+@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}.
-@lisp
-(
- ...
- (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
- (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
- ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
- "spam"))
- ...
-)
-@end lisp
+@item grouplens-bbb-host
+Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
+default.
-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.)
+@item grouplens-bbb-port
+Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
-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
-thwarting 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:
+@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.
-@lisp
-(
- ...
- (to "larsi" "misc")
- "spam")
-@end lisp
+@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.
-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.
+@end table
-If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
-automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available 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-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
+@node Advanced Scoring
+@section Advanced Scoring
+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?
-@node Various Various
-@section Various Various
-@cindex mode lines
-@cindex highlights
+By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
+scoring patterns.
-@table @code
+@menu
+* Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
+* Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
+* Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
+@end menu
-@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.
+@node Advanced Scoring Syntax
+@subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
-Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
-This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
-variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
-@file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
+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.
-@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.
+These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
+operator, and various match operators.
-@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.
+Logical operators:
-@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.
+@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 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 |
+@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 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 !
+@itemx not
+@itemx ¬
+This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
+logical negation of the value of its argument.
-@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:
+@end table
-@lisp
-(setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
- '((?: . ?_)))
-@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.
-In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
-Windows (phooey) systems.
+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.
-@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.
+@node Advanced Scoring Examples
+@subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
-@item gnus-shell-command-separator
-@vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
-String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
+Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
+when he's talking about Gnus:
+@example
+((&
+ ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
+ ("subject" "Gnus"))
+ 1000)
+@end example
-@end table
+Quite simple, huh?
+When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
-@node The End
-@chapter The End
+@example
+((&
+ ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
+ (|
+ ("subject" "Gnus")
+ ("lines" 100 >)))
+ 1000)
+@end example
-Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
-touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
+However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
+really don't want to read what he's written:
-My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
+@example
+((&
+ ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
+ (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
+ -100000)
+@end example
-Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
+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:
-@quotation
-@strong{Te Deum}
+@example
+((&
+ (1-
+ (&
+ ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
+ ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
+ (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
+ ("body" "white.*socks"))
+ 1000)
+@end example
-@sp 1
-Not because of victories @*
-I sing,@*
-having none,@*
-but for the common sunshine,@*
-the breeze,@*
-the largess of the spring.
+The possibilities are endless.
-@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 Advanced Scoring Tips
+@subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
-@node Appendices
-@chapter Appendices
+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.
-@menu
-* History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
-* On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
-* Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
-* Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
-* Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
-* Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
-* Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
-* Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
-@end menu
+The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
+arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
+something like:
+@example
+...
+(1-
+ (1-
+ ("from" "lars")))
+...
+@end example
-@node History
-@section History
+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:
-@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.
+@example
+(1-
+ (&
+ ("from" "Lars")
+ ("subject" "Gnus")))
+@end example
-If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
-can point your (feh!) web browser to
-@file{http://www.stud.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.
+than it is to say:
-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?)
+@example
+(&
+ (1- ("from" "Lars"))
+ (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
+@end example
-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.
-@menu
-* Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
-* Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
-* 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.
-* Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
-* 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 Score Decays
+@section Score Decays
+@cindex score decays
+@cindex decays
+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.
-@node Gnus Versions
-@subsection Gnus Versions
-@cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
-@cindex ding Gnus
-@cindex September Gnus
-@cindex Quassia Gnus
+@vindex gnus-decay-scores
+@findex gnus-decay-score
+@vindex gnus-decay-score-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-decay-score-function}
+function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
+definition of that function:
-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).
+@lisp
+(defun gnus-decay-score (score)
+ "Decay SCORE.
+This is done 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
-In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
-releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
+@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:
-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'' (67 releases).
+@enumerate
+@item
+Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
-On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
-If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
+@item
+Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
-Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
-``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
-1999.
+@item
+Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
+score.
+@end enumerate
-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.
+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.
+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 Other Gnus Versions
-@subsection Other Gnus Versions
-@cindex Semi-gnus
-In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
-coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
-Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
-@sc{mime} capabilities.
-
-These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
-Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
-called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
-@sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
-Japanese users.
+@node Various
+@chapter Various
+@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 tendinitis 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 unsolicited commercial email.
+* Various Various:: Things that are really various.
+@end menu
-@node Why?
-@subsection Why?
-What's the point of Gnus?
+@node Process/Prefix
+@section Process/Prefix
+@cindex process/prefix convention
-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?
+Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
+articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
-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.
+This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
+command to be performed on.
-May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
-@kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
+It goes like this:
+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.
-@node Compatibility
-@subsection Compatibility
+@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.
-@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.
+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.
-Our motto is:
-@quotation
-@cartouche
-@center In a cloud bones of steel.
-@end cartouche
-@end quotation
+If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
+process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
-All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
-their names.
+Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
+are avoided.
-The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
-Articles}.
+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}).
-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.
+@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.
-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.
+Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
+that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
+convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
+command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
+expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
-@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.)
+@node Interactive
+@section Interactive
+@cindex interaction
-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.
+@table @code
-Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
+@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.
-@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}.
+@item gnus-expert-user
+@vindex gnus-expert-user
+If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
+questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
+matter how strange.
-@vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
-If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
-may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
-@code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
-up at you.
+@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 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.
+@node Symbolic Prefixes
+@section Symbolic Prefixes
+@cindex symbolic prefixes
-@table @strong
+Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
+instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters 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.
-@item RFC 822
-@cindex RFC 822
-There are no known breaches of this standard.
+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.
-@item RFC 1036
-@cindex RFC 1036
-There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
+@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.
-@item Son-of-RFC 1036
-@cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
-We do have some breaches to this one.
+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.
-@table @emph
+If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
+Interactive}.
-@item X-Newsreader
-@itemx User-Agent
-These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
-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
-@item USEFOR
-@cindex USEFOR
-USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
-on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
-various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
-look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
+@node Formatting Variables
+@section Formatting Variables
+@cindex formatting variables
-@end table
+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.
-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.
+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.
+@menu
+* Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
+* Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
+* 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
-@node Emacsen
-@subsection Emacsen
-@cindex Emacsen
-@cindex XEmacs
-@cindex Mule
-@cindex Emacs
+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}.
-Gnus should work on :
+All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
+case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
-@itemize @bullet
+@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.
-@item
-Emacs 20.3 and up.
-@item
-XEmacs 20.4 and up.
-@end itemize
+@node Formatting Basics
+@subsection Formatting Basics
-This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
-that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
-Emacs versions.
+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 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.
+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.
+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.
-@node Gnus Development
-@subsection Gnus Development
-Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
-discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
-propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
-phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
-phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
-circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
-unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
-have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
+@node Mode Line Formatting
+@subsection Mode Line Formatting
-After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
-@dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
-and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
-supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
-@samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
+Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
+@code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
+buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
+with the following two differences:
-@cindex Incoming*
-@vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
-Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
-In particular, @code{nnmail-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
-alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
-lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
+@enumerate
-The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
-newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
-having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
-can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
-importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
-introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
-introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
-either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
-usually keep up with these rapid changes, whille people on the newsgroup
-can't be assumed to do so.
+@item
+There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
+@item
+The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
+Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
+@samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
+so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
+display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
+mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
+@code{mode-line-format} variable.
+@end enumerate
-@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''?)
+@node Advanced Formatting
+@subsection Advanced Formatting
-I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
-wrong show.
+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}.
-@itemize @bullet
+These are the valid modifiers:
-@item
-Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
+@table @code
+@item pad
+@itemx pad-left
+Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
+length.
-@item
-Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
-nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
-other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
-functionality and stuff.
+@item pad-right
+Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
+length.
-@item
-Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
-well as numerous other things).
+@item max
+@itemx max-left
+Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
-@item
-Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
+@item max-right
+Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
+length.
-@item
-Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
+@item cut
+@itemx cut-left
+Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
-@item
-Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
-@dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
+@item cut-right
+Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
-@item
-Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
+@item ignore
+Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
-@item
-Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
-(@pxref{GroupLens}).
+@item form
+Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
+used.
+@end table
-@item
-Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
+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.)
-@item
-Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
+Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
+last operation, padding.
-@item
-Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
+@vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
+If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
+default) with your strong personality, and use a 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}.
-@item
-Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
-@item
-Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
-distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
+@node User-Defined Specs
+@subsection User-Defined Specs
-@item
-Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
+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
-Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
+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
-Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
-@item
-Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
-.newsrc files.
+@node Formatting Fonts
+@subsection Formatting Fonts
-@item
-Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
+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
-David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
+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}.
-@item
-Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
+Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
+@code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
+say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
+@code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
+naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
+when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
+will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
+@code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
-@item
-François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
-well as autoconf support.
+Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
-@end itemize
+@lisp
+;; Create three face types.
+(setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
+(setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
-This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
-Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
+;; 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)
-The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
+;; Set the new & fancy format.
+(setq gnus-group-line-format
+ "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
+@end lisp
-Christopher Davis,
-Andrew Eskilsson,
-Kai Grossjohann,
-David Kågedal,
-Richard Pieri,
-Fabrice Popineau,
-Daniel Quinlan,
-Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
-and
-Jack Vinson.
+I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
+and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
-Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
+Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
+mode-line variables.
-Jari Aalto,
-Adrian Aichner,
-Vladimir Alexiev,
-Russ Allbery,
-Peter Arius,
-Matt Armstrong,
-Marc Auslander,
-Miles Bader,
-Alexei V. Barantsev,
-Frank Bennett,
-Robert Bihlmeyer,
-Chris Bone,
-Mark Borges,
-Mark Boyns,
-Lance A. Brown,
-Rob Browning,
-Kees de Bruin,
-Martin Buchholz,
-Joe Buehler,
-Kevin Buhr,
-Alastair Burt,
-Joao Cachopo,
-Zlatko Calusic,
-Massimo Campostrini,
-Castor,
-David Charlap,
-Dan Christensen,
-Kevin Christian,
-Jae-you Chung, @c ?
-James H. Cloos, Jr.,
-Laura Conrad,
-Michael R. Cook,
-Glenn Coombs,
-Andrew J. Cosgriff,
-Neil Crellin,
-Frank D. Cringle,
-Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
-Andre Deparade,
-Ulrik Dickow,
-Dave Disser,
-Rui-Tao Dong, @c ?
-Joev Dubach,
-Michael Welsh Duggan,
-Dave Edmondson,
-Paul Eggert,
-Mark W. Eichin,
-Karl Eichwalder,
-Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
-Michael Ernst,
-Luc Van Eycken,
-Sam Falkner,
-Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
-Sigbjorn Finne,
-Sven Fischer,
-Paul Fisher,
-Decklin Foster,
-Gary D. Foster,
-Paul Franklin,
-Guy Geens,
-Arne Georg Gleditsch,
-David S. Goldberg,
-Michelangelo Grigni,
-Dale Hagglund,
-D. Hall,
-Magnus Hammerin,
-Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
-Raja R. Harinath,
-Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
-P. E. Jareth Hein,
-Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
-Scott Hofmann,
-Marc Horowitz,
-Gunnar Horrigmo,
-Richard Hoskins,
-Brad Howes,
-Miguel de Icaza,
-François Felix Ingrand,
-Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
-Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
-Lee Iverson,
-Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
-Rajappa Iyer,
-Andreas Jaeger,
-Adam P. Jenkins,
-Randell Jesup,
-Fred Johansen,
-Gareth Jones,
-Simon Josefsson,
-Greg Klanderman,
-Karl Kleinpaste,
-Michael Klingbeil,
-Peter Skov Knudsen,
-Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
-Petr Konecny,
-Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
-Thor Kristoffersen,
-Jens Lautenbacher,
-Martin Larose,
-Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
-Joerg Lenneis,
-Carsten Leonhardt,
-James LewisMoss,
-Christian Limpach,
-Markus Linnala,
-Dave Love,
-Mike McEwan,
-Tonny Madsen,
-Shlomo Mahlab,
-Nat Makarevitch,
-Istvan Marko,
-David Martin,
-Jason R. Mastaler,
-Gordon Matzigkeit,
-Timo Metzemakers,
-Richard Mlynarik,
-Lantz Moore,
-Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
-Erik Toubro Nielsen,
-Hrvoje Niksic,
-Andy Norman,
-Fred Oberhauser,
-C. R. Oldham,
-Alexandre Oliva,
-Ken Olstad,
-Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
-Hideki Ono, @c Ono
-Ettore Perazzoli,
-William Perry,
-Stephen Peters,
-Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
-Ulrich Pfeifer,
-Matt Pharr,
-Andy Piper,
-John McClary Prevost,
-Bill Pringlemeir,
-Mike Pullen,
-Jim Radford,
-Colin Rafferty,
-Lasse Rasinen,
-Lars Balker Rasmussen,
-Joe Reiss,
-Renaud Rioboo,
-Roland B. Roberts,
-Bart Robinson,
-Christian von Roques,
-Markus Rost,
-Jason Rumney,
-Wolfgang Rupprecht,
-Jay Sachs,
-Dewey M. Sasser,
-Conrad Sauerwald,
-Loren Schall,
-Dan Schmidt,
-Ralph Schleicher,
-Philippe Schnoebelen,
-Andreas Schwab,
-Randal L. Schwartz,
-Justin Sheehy,
-Danny Siu,
-Matt Simmons,
-Paul D. Smith,
-Jeff Sparkes,
-Toby Speight,
-Michael Sperber,
-Darren Stalder,
-Richard Stallman,
-Greg Stark,
-Sam Steingold,
-Paul Stevenson,
-Jonas Steverud,
-Paul Stodghill,
-Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
-Kurt Swanson,
-Samuel Tardieu,
-Teddy,
-Chuck Thompson,
-Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
-Philippe Troin,
-James Troup,
-Trung Tran-Duc,
-Jack Twilley,
-Aaron M. Ucko,
-Aki Vehtari,
-Didier Verna,
-Vladimir Volovich,
-Jan Vroonhof,
-Stefan Waldherr,
-Pete Ware,
-Barry A. Warsaw,
-Christoph Wedler,
-Joe Wells,
-Lee Willis,
-Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
-and
-Lloyd Zusman.
+@node Windows Configuration
+@section Windows Configuration
+@cindex windows configuration
+
+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.
+
+Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
+glitches. Use at your own peril.
+
+@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:
+
+@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
+
+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.
+
+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
+
+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.
+
+Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
+@code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
+split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
+fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
+present) gets focus.
+
+Here's a more complicated example:
+
+@lisp
+(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.
+
+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}.
+
+Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
+
+@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
+
+Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
+@code{horizontal} thingie?
+
+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.
+
+To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
+may look like:
+
+@example
+split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
+frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
+horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
+vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
+buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
+size = number | frame-params
+buf-name = group | article | summary ...
+@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.
+
+@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}.
+
+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.
+
+@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
+(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:
+
+@lisp
+(gnus-configure-frame
+ '(frame 1.0
+ (vertical 1.0
+ (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
+ (article 1.0))
+ (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
+ (user-position . t)
+ (left . -1) (top . 1))
+ (picon 1.0))))
+
+@end lisp
+
+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.
+The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
+be found in its default value.
+
+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:
+
+@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
+
+One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
+for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
+accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
+
+@lisp
+(message
+ (frame 1.0
+ (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
+ (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
+ (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
+ (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
+ (name . "Message"))
+ (message 1.0 point))))
+@end lisp
+
+@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:
+
+@lisp
+(gnus-add-configuration
+ '(article (vertical 1.0
+ (group 4)
+ (summary .25 point)
+ (article 1.0))))
+@end lisp
+
+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}.
+
+If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
+window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
+to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
+windows resized.
+
+@subsection Example Window Configurations
+
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
+between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
+
+@ifinfo
+@example
++---+---------+
+| G | Summary |
+| r +---------+
+| o | |
+| u | Article |
+| p | |
++---+---------+
+@end example
+@end ifinfo
+
+@lisp
+(gnus-add-configuration
+ '(article
+ (horizontal 1.0
+ (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
+ (vertical 1.0
+ (summary 0.16 point)
+ (article 1.0)))))
+
+(gnus-add-configuration
+ '(summary
+ (horizontal 1.0
+ (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
+ (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
+@end lisp
+
+@end itemize
+
+
+@node Faces and Fonts
+@section Faces and Fonts
+@cindex faces
+@cindex fonts
+@cindex colors
+
+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.
+
+
+@node Compilation
+@section Compilation
+@cindex compilation
+@cindex byte-compilation
+
+@findex gnus-compile
+
+Remember all those line format specification variables?
+@code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
+on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
+variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
+@code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
+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.)
+
+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. Note that T-gnus will not save these
+compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
+
+@table @code
+@item gnus-compile-user-specs
+@vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
+If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
+automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
+an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
+@end table
+
+
+@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 '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 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.
+
+
+@node Highlighting and Menus
+@section Highlighting and Menus
+@cindex visual
+@cindex highlighting
+@cindex menus
+
+@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.
+
+This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
+following elements are valid, 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
+
+So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
+buffers, you could say something like:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
+@end lisp
+
+If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
+@end lisp
+
+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-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}.
+
+@end table
+
+There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
+
+@table @code
+
+@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.
+
+@item gnus-summary-menu-hook
+@vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
+Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
+
+@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.
+
+@item gnus-score-menu-hook
+@vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
+Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
+
+@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!
+
+Right.
+
+@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.
+
+
+@table @code
+
+@item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
+@vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
+Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
+
+@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.
+
+@item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
+@vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
+Buttons in the group buffer.
+
+@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 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.
+
+Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
+been idle for thirty minutes:
+
+@lisp
+(gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
+@end lisp
+
+Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
+idle:
+
+@lisp
+(gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
+@end lisp
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+@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.)
+
+So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
+your @file{.gnus} file:
+
+@findex gnus-demon-add-handler
+@lisp
+(gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
+@end lisp
+
+@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.
+
+@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.
+
+Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do 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.
+
+
+@node NoCeM
+@section NoCeM
+@cindex nocem
+@cindex spam
+
+@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.
+
+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 can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
+this will make spam disappear.
+
+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.
+
+@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")}.
+
+@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" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
+"hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
+
+Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
+@uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
+
+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
+@code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} 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 @var{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:
-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).
+@lisp
+("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
+@end lisp
-Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
-sure.
+On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
+@samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
-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!
+@lisp
+("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
+@end lisp
+The specs are applied left-to-right.
-@node New Features
-@subsection New Features
-@cindex new features
+
+@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}.
+
+If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
+not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
+
+@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
+
+This might be dangerous, though.
+
+@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.
+
+@item gnus-nocem-check-from
+@vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
+Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
+Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
+valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
+issuers.
+
+@item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
+@vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
+If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
+group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
+
+@end table
+
+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}).
+
+
+@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.
+
+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.
+
+@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, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
+command.
+
+
+@node Moderation
+@section Moderation
+@cindex moderation
+
+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.
+
+The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
+buffers. Put
+
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
+@end lisp
+
+in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
+
+If you are the moderator 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}.
+
+@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.
+
+@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
+
+To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-moderated-list
+ "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
+@end lisp
+
+
+@node XEmacs Enhancements
+@section XEmacs Enhancements
+@cindex XEmacs
+
+XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
+advantage of that.
@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.
-* Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
+* 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
+
+
+@node Picons
+@subsection Picons
+
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\include{picons}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
+So@dots{} 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 Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
@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 Picon Basics
+@subsubsection Picon Basics
+
+What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
+
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\margindex{}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
+
+@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
+
+@vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
+If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
+Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
+@code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
+@uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
+
+@vindex gnus-picons-database
+Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
+obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
+@uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
+picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
+@code{gnus-picons-database}.
+
+
+@node Picon Requirements
+@subsubsection Picon Requirements
+
+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.
+
+Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
+display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
+you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
+
+@vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
+If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
+the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
+the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
+@code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
+
+
+@node Easy Picons
+@subsubsection Easy Picons
+
+To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
+@file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-use-picons t)
+(setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
+@end lisp
+
+and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
+containing the Picons databases.
+
+Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
+ "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
+@end lisp
-@node ding Gnus
-@subsubsection (ding) Gnus
-New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
+@node Hard Picons
+@subsubsection Hard Picons
-@itemize @bullet
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\margindex{}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
-@item
-The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
-(@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
+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 select where to get the picons from, and where to
+display them.
-@item
-Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
-(@pxref{Select Methods}).
+@table @code
-@item
-You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
+@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. This is only useful if
+@code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
+@file{/usr/local/faces/}.
-@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-picons-piconsearch-url
+@vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
+The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
+engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
+workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
+this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
+database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
-@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 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
-Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
-them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
+@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.
-@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}).
+@end table
-@item
-Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
-(@pxref{Group Levels}).
+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.
-@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}).
+Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
+functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
+at the right time.
-@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}).
+@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.
-@item
-Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
-the @file{.emacs} file.
+@item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
+@findex gnus-article-display-picons
+Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
-@item
-You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
-operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+@end table
-@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}).
+@node Picon Useless Configuration
+@subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
-@item
-Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
-server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\margindex{}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
-@item
-You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
+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.
-@item
-The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
-(@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
+@table @code
-@item
-You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
-of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
+@item gnus-picons-news-directories
+@vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
+List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
+newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
-@item
-Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
-glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
+@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 can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
+@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
-Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
-(@pxref{Document Groups}).
+@item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
+@vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
+If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is 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
-Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
-Articles}).
+@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))}.
-@item
-URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
-Buttons}).
+@item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
+@vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
+If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
+XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
+can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
+remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
+@code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
-@item
-You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
-configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
+@item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
+@vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
+If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
+Defaults to @code{nil}.
-@item
-You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
-(@pxref{Buttons}).
+@item gnus-picons-display-as-address
+@vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
+If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
+Defaults to @code{t}.
-@end itemize
+@item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
+@vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
+Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
+@code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
+@item gnus-picons-setup-hook
+@vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
+Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
-@node September Gnus
-@subsubsection September Gnus
+@item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
+@vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
+Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
+has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
+
+If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
+@code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
+
+@item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
+@vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
+Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
+picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
+process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
+Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
+@code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
+cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
@iftex
@iflatex
-\gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
+\margindex{}
@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}).
+@end table
-@item
-Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
-referred.
+@node Smileys
+@subsection Smileys
+@cindex smileys
-@item
-Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
+\input{smiley}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
-@item
-Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
+@dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
+currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
-@item
-A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
+In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
+@file{.gnus.el} file:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-use-trees t)
+(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
@end lisp
-@item
-An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
-buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
+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.
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
-@end lisp
+@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).
-@item
-In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
-Groups}).
+The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
+which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
-@item
-Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
-Topics}).
+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.
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
-@end lisp
+The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
+files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
-@item
-Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
+@table @code
-@item
-Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
-is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
+@item smiley-data-directory
+@vindex smiley-data-directory
+Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
-@lisp
-(add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
-@end lisp
+@item smiley-flesh-color
+@vindex smiley-flesh-color
+Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
-@item
-Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
-groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
+@item smiley-features-color
+@vindex smiley-features-color
+Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
-@item
-Caching is possible in virtual groups.
+@item smiley-tongue-color
+@vindex smiley-tongue-color
+Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
-@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 smiley-circle-color
+@vindex smiley-circle-color
+Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
-@item
-Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
-(@pxref{SOUP}).
+@item smiley-mouse-face
+@vindex smiley-mouse-face
+Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
-@item
-The Gnus cache is much faster.
+@end table
-@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}).
+@node Toolbar
+@subsection Toolbar
-@item
-All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
-(@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
+@table @code
-@item
-There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
-marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\margindex{}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
-@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 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
-Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
-(@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
+@item gnus-group-toolbar
+@vindex gnus-group-toolbar
+The toolbar in the group buffer.
-@item
-All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
+@item gnus-summary-toolbar
+@vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
+The toolbar in the summary buffer.
-@item
-Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
+@item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
+@vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
+The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
-@item
-All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
+@end table
-@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}).
+@node XVarious
+@subsection Various XEmacs Variables
-@item
-Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
-Configuration}).
+@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.
+Valid 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.
-@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}}
+\margindex{}
@end iflatex
@end iftex
-@item
-Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
+@end table
-@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.
+@node Fuzzy Matching
+@section Fuzzy Matching
+@cindex fuzzy matching
-@item
-Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
+Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
+things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
-@item
-Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
-(@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
+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.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
- 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
-@end lisp
+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.
-@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
+@node Thwarting Email Spam
+@section Thwarting Email Spam
+@cindex email spam
+@cindex spam
+@cindex UCE
+@cindex unsolicited commercial email
-@item
-A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
-buffer to allow easier treatment.
+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.
-@item
-Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
+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, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
+and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
-@item
-Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
-Articles}).
+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
+sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
+part of the mail address.)
@lisp
-(setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
+(setq message-default-news-headers
+ "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
@end lisp
-@item
-@code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
-articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
+Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
+(@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
@lisp
-(setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
+(
+ ...
+ (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
+ (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
+ ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
+ "spam"))
+ ...
+)
@end lisp
-@item
-Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
-(@pxref{Article Washing}).
+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.)
-@item
-Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
-cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
+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
+thwarting 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
-(setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
+(
+ ...
+ (to "larsi" "misc")
+ "spam")
@end lisp
-@item
-Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
+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.
-@item
-Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
+If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
+automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
+at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
+Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
+cosmic balance somewhat.
-@item
-Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
+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-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
-@end itemize
+@node Various Various
+@section Various Various
+@cindex mode lines
+@cindex highlights
-@node Red Gnus
-@subsubsection Red Gnus
+@table @code
-New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
+@item gnus-home-directory
+All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
+defaults to @file{~/}.
-@iftex
-@iflatex
-\gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
-@end iflatex
-@end iftex
+@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.
-@itemize @bullet
+Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
+This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
+variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
+@file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
-@item
-@file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
+@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
-Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
-Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
+@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
-Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
-@code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
-Scoring}).
+@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
-Article washing status can be displayed in the
-article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
+@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
-@file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
+@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
-Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
-(@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
+@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 gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
+(setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
+ '((?: . ?_)))
@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.
+In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
+Windows (phooey) systems.
-@item
-@code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
-Server Internals}).
+@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
-Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
-Parameters}).
+@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
-Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
+@item gnus-shell-command-separator
+@vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
+String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
-@item
-Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
-(@pxref{Article Signature}).
+@item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
+@vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
-@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}).
+Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
+name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
+names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
+@samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
+group).
-@item
-Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
-another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
+@sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
-@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}).
+@end table
-@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}).
+@node The End
+@chapter The End
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
-@end lisp
+Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
+touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
-@item
-Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
+My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-decay-scores t)
-@end lisp
+Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
-@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}).
+@quotation
+@strong{Te Deum}
-@item
-A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
-the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
+@sp 1
+Not because of victories @*
+I sing,@*
+having none,@*
+but for the common sunshine,@*
+the breeze,@*
+the largess of the spring.
-@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}).
+@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
-@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 @sc{nntp}
-server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
+@node Appendices
+@chapter Appendices
+
+@menu
+* History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
+* On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
+* Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
+* Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
+* Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
+* Gnus Reference Guide:: 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.
-@item
-A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
-(@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
-(@pxref{Web Searches}).
+If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
+you can point your (feh!) web browser to
+@uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. 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.
-@item
-Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
-functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
-Sorting}).
+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?)
-@item
-Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
-Groups}).
+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.
-@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
+@menu
+* Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
+* Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
+* 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.
+* Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
+* Contributors:: Oodles of people.
+* New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
+@end menu
-@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}).
+@node Gnus Versions
+@subsection Gnus Versions
+@cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
+@cindex ding Gnus
+@cindex September Gnus
+@cindex Quassia Gnus
-@item
-More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
-mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
+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).
-@item
-Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
+In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
+releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
-@end itemize
+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'' (67 releases).
+On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
+If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
-@node Quassia Gnus
-@subsubsection Quassia Gnus
+Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
+``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
+1999.
-New features in Gnus 5.6:
+On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
-@itemize @bullet
+If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
+``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
+``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort 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.
-@item
-New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
-added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
-@pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
-@item
- The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
-before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
-group, which is created automatically.
+@node Other Gnus Versions
+@subsection Other Gnus Versions
+@cindex Semi-gnus
-@item
-@code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
-values.
+In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
+coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
+Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
+@sc{mime} capabilities.
-@item
- @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
+These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
+Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
+called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
+@sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
+Japanese users.
-@item
- A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
-outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
-@item
- You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
-@kbd{C-u C-c C-c}.
+@node Why?
+@subsection Why?
-@item
- @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
+What's the point of Gnus?
-@item
- @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
-re-highlighting of the article buffer.
+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?
-@item
- New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
+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.
-@item
- @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
-Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
+May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
+@kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
-@item
- @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
-@kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
-@item
- @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
-control over simplification.
+@node Compatibility
+@subsection Compatibility
-@item
- @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
+@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
- @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
-limit.
+Our motto is:
+@quotation
+@cartouche
+@center In a cloud bones of steel.
+@end cartouche
+@end quotation
-@item
- @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
+All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
+their names.
-@item
- @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
+The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
+Articles}.
-@item
- The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
-If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
-rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
+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.
-@item
- Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
-@kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
+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
- New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
-text---@kbd{W d}.
+@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!
-@item
- For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
-@code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
+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.)
-@item
- @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
-controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
+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.
-@item
- A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
-has been added.
+Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
-@item
- A history of where mails have been split is available.
+@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}.
-@item
- A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
+@vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
+If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
+may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
+@code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
+up at you.
-@item
- Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
-@code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
-@item
- A new function for citing in Message has been
-added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
+@node Conformity
+@subsection Conformity
-@item
- @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
+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.
-@item
- A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
-been added.
+@table @strong
-@item
- A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
-@code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
+@item RFC 822
+@cindex RFC 822
+There are no known breaches of this standard.
-@item
- The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
-updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
+@item RFC 1036
+@cindex RFC 1036
+There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
-@item
- Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
+@item Son-of-RFC 1036
+@cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
+We do have some breaches to this one.
-@item
- Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
+@table @emph
-@end itemize
+@item X-Newsreader
+@itemx User-Agent
+These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
+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
+@item USEFOR
+@cindex USEFOR
+USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
+on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
+various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
+look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
-@node Newest Features
-@subsection Newest Features
-@cindex todo
+@end table
-Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
-next millennium.
+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.
-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.)
+@node Emacsen
+@subsection Emacsen
+@cindex Emacsen
+@cindex XEmacs
+@cindex Mule
+@cindex Emacs
-(Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
+Gnus should work on :
@itemize @bullet
@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.
+Emacs 20.3 and up.
@item
- http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
+XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
-@item
- facep is not declared.
+@end itemize
-@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.
+This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
+that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
+Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
+19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
+See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
-@item
- Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
+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.
-@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
+@node Gnus Development
+@subsection Gnus Development
-@item
-@samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
+Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
+discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
+propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
+phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
+phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
+circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
+unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
+have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
-@item
- gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
+After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
+@dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
+and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
+supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
+@samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
-@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 don't 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
- expunged 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
- 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.
+@cindex Incoming*
+@vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
+Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
+In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
+alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
+lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
-@item
- warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
-@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)'
+The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
+newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
+having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
+can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
+importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
+introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
+introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
+either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
+usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
+can't be assumed to do so.
-@end example
+
+
+@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
- 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 orphan 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
-contain 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
- `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 respool 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
- canceling 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 multiple 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".
+Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
+
@item
- buttonize ange-ftp file names.
+Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
+nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
+other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
+functionality and stuff.
+
@item
- a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
-so that each copy can be edited separately.
+Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
+well as numerous other things).
+
@item
- nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
+Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
+
@item
- record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
-it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
+Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
+
@item
- nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
-all nnml servers.
+Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
+
@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.
+Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
+@dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
+
@item
- M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
-the topic.
+Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
+
@item
- command to remove all topic stuff.
+Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
+(@pxref{GroupLens}).
+
@item
- allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
-and splitting the resulting digests.
+Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
+
@item
- nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
+Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
+
@item
- command to nix out all nnoo state information.
+Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
+
@item
- nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
-matches an alist -- before saving.
+Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
+
@item
- use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
+Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
+distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
+
@item
- variable to activate each group before entering them
-to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
+Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
+
@item
- command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
-starting Gnus first if necessary.
+Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
+
@item
- when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
-ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
+Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
+
@item
- buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
+Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
+.newsrc files.
+
@item
- `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
-of several groups at once.
+Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
+
@item
- command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
-matches some regexp(s).
+David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
+
@item
- nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
+Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
+
@item
- it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
+François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
+well as autoconf support.
+
+@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,
+Vladimir Alexiev,
+Russ Allbery,
+Peter Arius,
+Matt Armstrong,
+Marc Auslander,
+Miles Bader,
+Alexei V. Barantsev,
+Frank Bennett,
+Robert Bihlmeyer,
+Chris Bone,
+Mark Borges,
+Mark Boyns,
+Lance A. Brown,
+Rob Browning,
+Kees de Bruin,
+Martin Buchholz,
+Joe Buehler,
+Kevin Buhr,
+Alastair Burt,
+Joao Cachopo,
+Zlatko Calusic,
+Massimo Campostrini,
+Castor,
+David Charlap,
+Dan Christensen,
+Kevin Christian,
+Jae-you Chung, @c ?
+James H. Cloos, Jr.,
+Laura Conrad,
+Michael R. Cook,
+Glenn Coombs,
+Andrew J. Cosgriff,
+Neil Crellin,
+Frank D. Cringle,
+Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
+Andre Deparade,
+Ulrik Dickow,
+Dave Disser,
+Rui-Tao Dong, @c ?
+Joev Dubach,
+Michael Welsh Duggan,
+Dave Edmondson,
+Paul Eggert,
+Mark W. Eichin,
+Karl Eichwalder,
+Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
+Michael Ernst,
+Luc Van Eycken,
+Sam Falkner,
+Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
+Sigbjorn Finne,
+Sven Fischer,
+Paul Fisher,
+Decklin Foster,
+Gary D. Foster,
+Paul Franklin,
+Guy Geens,
+Arne Georg Gleditsch,
+David S. Goldberg,
+Michelangelo Grigni,
+Dale Hagglund,
+D. Hall,
+Magnus Hammerin,
+Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
+Raja R. Harinath,
+Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
+P. E. Jareth Hein,
+Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
+Scott Hofmann,
+Marc Horowitz,
+Gunnar Horrigmo,
+Richard Hoskins,
+Brad Howes,
+Miguel de Icaza,
+François Felix Ingrand,
+Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
+Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
+Lee Iverson,
+Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
+Rajappa Iyer,
+Andreas Jaeger,
+Adam P. Jenkins,
+Randell Jesup,
+Fred Johansen,
+Gareth Jones,
+Simon Josefsson,
+Greg Klanderman,
+Karl Kleinpaste,
+Michael Klingbeil,
+Peter Skov Knudsen,
+Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
+Petr Konecny,
+Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
+Thor Kristoffersen,
+Jens Lautenbacher,
+Martin Larose,
+Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
+Joerg Lenneis,
+Carsten Leonhardt,
+James LewisMoss,
+Christian Limpach,
+Markus Linnala,
+Dave Love,
+Mike McEwan,
+Tonny Madsen,
+Shlomo Mahlab,
+Nat Makarevitch,
+Istvan Marko,
+David Martin,
+Jason R. Mastaler,
+Gordon Matzigkeit,
+Timo Metzemakers,
+Richard Mlynarik,
+Lantz Moore,
+Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
+Erik Toubro Nielsen,
+Hrvoje Niksic,
+Andy Norman,
+Fred Oberhauser,
+C. R. Oldham,
+Alexandre Oliva,
+Ken Olstad,
+Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
+Hideki Ono, @c Ono
+Ettore Perazzoli,
+William Perry,
+Stephen Peters,
+Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
+Ulrich Pfeifer,
+Matt Pharr,
+Andy Piper,
+John McClary Prevost,
+Bill Pringlemeir,
+Mike Pullen,
+Jim Radford,
+Colin Rafferty,
+Lasse Rasinen,
+Lars Balker Rasmussen,
+Joe Reiss,
+Renaud Rioboo,
+Roland B. Roberts,
+Bart Robinson,
+Christian von Roques,
+Markus Rost,
+Jason Rumney,
+Wolfgang Rupprecht,
+Jay Sachs,
+Dewey M. Sasser,
+Conrad Sauerwald,
+Loren Schall,
+Dan Schmidt,
+Ralph Schleicher,
+Philippe Schnoebelen,
+Andreas Schwab,
+Randal L. Schwartz,
+Danny Siu,
+Matt Simmons,
+Paul D. Smith,
+Jeff Sparkes,
+Toby Speight,
+Michael Sperber,
+Darren Stalder,
+Richard Stallman,
+Greg Stark,
+Sam Steingold,
+Paul Stevenson,
+Jonas Steverud,
+Paul Stodghill,
+Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
+Kurt Swanson,
+Samuel Tardieu,
+Teddy,
+Chuck Thompson,
+Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
+Philippe Troin,
+James Troup,
+Trung Tran-Duc,
+Jack Twilley,
+Aaron M. Ucko,
+Aki Vehtari,
+Didier Verna,
+Vladimir Volovich,
+Jan Vroonhof,
+Stefan Waldherr,
+Pete Ware,
+Barry A. Warsaw,
+Christoph Wedler,
+Joe Wells,
+Lee Willis,
+Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
+and
+Lloyd Zusman.
+
+
+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 5.2/5.3.
+* Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
+* Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
+* Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
+@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
- hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
+The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
+(@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
+
@item
- `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
+Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
+(@pxref{Select Methods}).
+
@item
- remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
+You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
+
@item
- `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
+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
- when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
+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
- 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.
+Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
+them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
+
@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."
+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
- `X u' should decode base64 articles.
+Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
+(@pxref{Group Levels}).
+
@item
- a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
-recently cited text.
+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
- nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
+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
- after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
-be invalidated.
+Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
+the @file{.emacs} file.
+
@item
- there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
-server and just read the articles in the server
+You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
+operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+
@item
- allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
-value of nnoo variables.
+You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
+results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
+
@item
- a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
+You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
+(@pxref{Listing Groups}).
+
@item
- groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
-listed in each group info.
+You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
+servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
+
@item
- a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
-buffer.
+Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
+server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
+
@item
- a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
-should only be applied to some groups.
+You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
+
@item
- Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
-mail-copies-to: never.
+The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
+(@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
+
@item
- new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
-using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
+You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
+of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
+
@item
- the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
+Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
+glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
+
@item
- a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
-on article marks.
+Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
+
@item
- a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
-of normal logo?)
+Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
+(@pxref{Document Groups}).
+
@item
- Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
+Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
+Articles}).
+
@item
- Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
-clear up info.
+URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
+Buttons}).
+
@item
- group user-defined meta-parameters.
+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
-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 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
-@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
+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
- 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.
+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
-LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
-LMI> answered and read, I guess.
-
-It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
-unix mbox files).
-
-They could be used like this:
+Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
+(@pxref{Archived Messages}).
+@item
+Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
+referred.
-@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 can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
-<expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
+@item
+Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
-`/ l bug & !fixed RET'
-@end example
+@item
+A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
-would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
-`fixed'.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-use-trees t)
+@end lisp
-One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
-affect the summary line format.
+@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
-Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
+In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
+Groups}).
-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
+Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
+Topics}).
-- If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
-summary buffer.
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
+@end lisp
-- For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
+@item
+Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
-- For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
+@item
+Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
+is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
-- For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
+@end lisp
-- For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
+@item
+Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
+groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
-- For other files, just find them normally.
+@item
+Caching is possible in virtual groups.
-I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
-directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
+@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
-Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
-tell him what you are doing.
+Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
+(@pxref{SOUP}).
@item
-Currently, I get prompted:
+The Gnus cache is much faster.
-decend into sci?
-- type y
-decend into sci.something ?
-- type n
-decend into ucd?
+@item
+Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
+Groups}).
-The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
-science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending 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
+New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
+expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
@item
-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.
+All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
+(@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
@item
-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:
+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}).
-^L's
+@item
+Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
+(@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
-more than n blank lines
+@item
+All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
-more than m identical lines
-(which should be replaced with button to show them)
+@item
+Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
-any whitespace surrounding any of the above
+@item
+All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
+@item
+Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
@item
-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.
+All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
+buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
@item
-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.)
+Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
+Configuration}).
@item
- 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
+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
-Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
+Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
-@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
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-use-nocem t)
+@end lisp
@item
-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.
+Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
-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).
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
+@end lisp
@item
-It would be nice if it also handled
-
- <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
-
-which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
-
+Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
@item
+Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
- 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
+Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
+(@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
- So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
+ 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
+@end lisp
- 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
+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
- nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
-articles.
-@item
- 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
- rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
+A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
+buffer to allow easier treatment.
@item
- * Enhancements to Gnus:
-
- Add two commands:
-
- * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
- straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
- servers first.
-
- * 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.
+Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
@item
- 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.
+Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
+Articles}).
-@item
- `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
+@end lisp
@item
- a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
-secondary marks.
+@code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
+articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
-@item
- when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
-the nnmail duplicate checking.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
+@end lisp
@item
- allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
-value of the signature file.
+Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
+(@pxref{Article Washing}).
@item
- 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
-
-(setq message-tab-alist
- '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
- ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
+Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
+cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
-then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
-the header
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
+@end lisp
@item
- cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
+Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
@item
- a command to import a buffer into a group.
+Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
@item
- nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
+Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
-@item
- point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
-beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
+@end itemize
-@item
- a command to process mark all unread articles.
-@item
- `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.
+@node Red Gnus
+@subsubsection Red Gnus
-@item
- gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
-article numerical order.
+New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
-@item
- (gnus-thread-total-score
- (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
-bind to a key.
+@iftex
+@iflatex
+\gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
+@end iflatex
+@end iftex
-@item
- sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
+@itemize @bullet
@item
- a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
-in the summary buffer.
+@file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
@item
- a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
-version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
+Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
+Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
@item
- 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.
+Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
+@code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
+Scoring}).
@item
- new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
+Article washing status can be displayed in the
+article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
@item
- use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
+@file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
@item
- a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
+Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
+(@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
-@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.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
+@end lisp
@item
- 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)).
+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
- make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
-current group.
+@code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
+Server Internals}).
@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'.
+Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
+Parameters}).
@item
- a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
-`first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
-candidates.
+Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
@item
- be able to select groups that have no articles in them
-to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
+Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
+(@pxref{Article Signature}).
@item
- be able to post via DejaNews.
+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
- `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
+Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
+another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
@item
- allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
-allow them to be displayed separately.
+There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
+when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
@item
- gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
-the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
+Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
+(@pxref{Undo}).
@item
- a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
-articles that match a certain From header.
+Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
+(@pxref{Score File Format}).
@item
- a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
-saving living summary buffers.
+Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
+(@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
-@item
- a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
-the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
+@end lisp
@item
- a battery of character translation functions to translate common
-Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
-
-@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
+Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
-@item
-@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
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-decay-scores t)
+@end lisp
@item
- allow message-default-headers to be a function.
+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
- new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
-numbers and match on the age of the article.
+A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
+the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
@item
-@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
+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
- all commands that react to the process mark should push
-the current process mark set onto the stack.
+Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
+Marks}).
@item
- 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.
+A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
+server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
@item
- `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
-sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
+A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
+(@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
+(@pxref{Web Searches}).
@item
- gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
-on the lines.
+Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
+functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
+Sorting}).
@item
- use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
-home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
+Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
+Groups}).
@item
- add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
+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
- nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
+Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
+Variables}).
@item
- implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
+Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
+Mail}).
@item
- gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
-articles.
+More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
+mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
@item
- (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
+Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
-@item
- nn*-spool-methods
+@end itemize
-@item
- interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
-@item
- command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
-current group.
+@node Quassia Gnus
+@subsubsection Quassia Gnus
-@item
- a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
-X characters in the body.
+New features in Gnus 5.6:
-@item
- handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
+@itemize @bullet
@item
- include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
+New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
+added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
+@pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
@item
- format spec to "tab" to a position.
+ The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
+before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
+group, which is created automatically.
@item
- Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
+@code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
+values.
@item
- command to display all dormant articles.
+ @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
@item
- gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
+ A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
+outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
@item
- a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
-to something someone else has said.
+ You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
+@kbd{C-u C-c C-c}.
@item
- Read Netscape discussion groups:
-snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
+ @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
@item
-One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
-the displayed version.
+ @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
+re-highlighting of the article buffer.
@item
-@kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
-current article.
+ New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
@item
-Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
+ @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
+Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
@item
-How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
-possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
-expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
-& age > 14 days)?
+ @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
+@kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
@item
-New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
-in the head or body.
+ @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
+control over simplification.
@item
-Allow breaking lengthy @sc{nntp} commands.
+ @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
@item
-gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
+ @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
+limit.
@item
-Editing an article should put the article to be edited
-in a special, unique buffer.
+ @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
@item
-A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
+ @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
@item
-A Date scoring type that will match if the article
-is less than a certain number of days old.
+ The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
+If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
+rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
@item
-New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
+ Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
+@kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
@item
-Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
+ New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
+text---@kbd{W d}.
@item
-Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
-file, for instance.
+ For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
+@code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
@item
-With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
-in any other dummy thread will make Gnus highlight the
-dummy root instead of the first article.
+ @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
+controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
@item
-Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
-topics for displaying.
+ A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
+has been added.
@item
-`n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
-with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
+ A history of where mails have been split is available.
@item
-gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
+ A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
@item
-gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
-many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
-summary buffer for each article.
+ Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
+@code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
@item
-Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
+ A new function for citing in Message has been
+added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
@item
-Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
-lists.
+ @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
@item
-Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
+ A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
+been added.
@item
-gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
-exits the group.
+ A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
+@code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
@item
-The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
+ The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
+updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
@item
-Bouncing articles should do MIME.
+ Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
@item
-Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
-groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
+ Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
-@item
-If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
-you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
+@end itemize
-@item
-A spec for the group line format to display the number of
-agent-downloaded articles in the group.
+@node Pterodactyl Gnus
+@subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
-@item
-Some nntp servers never respond when posting, so there should be a
-timeout for all commands.
+New features in Gnus 5.8:
-@item
-When stading on a topic line and `t'-ing, point goes to the last line.
-It should go somewhere else.
+@itemize @bullet
-@item
-I'm having trouble accessing a newsgroup with a "+" in its name with
-Gnus. There is a new newsgroup on msnews.microsoft.com named
-"microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time" that I'm trying to
-access as
-"nntp+msnews.microsoft.com:microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time"
-but it gives an error that it cant access the group.
+@item The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
+many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
-Is the "+" character illegal in newsgroup names? Is there any way in
-Gnus to work around this? (gnus 5.6.45 - XEmacs 20.4)
+If you used procmail like in
-@item
+@lisp
+(setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
+(setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
+(setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
+(setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
+@end lisp
-When `#F', do:
+this now has changed to
-@example
-Subject: Answer to your mails 01.01.1999-01.05.1999
- --text follows this line--
-Sorry I killfiled you...
-
-Under the subject "foo", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
-> bar
-Under the subject "foo1", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
-> bar 1
-@end example
+@lisp
+(setq mail-sources
+ '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
+ :suffix ".in")))
+@end lisp
-@item
-Allow "orphan" scores in the Agent scoring.
+More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
+Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
-@item
-@example
- - Edit article's summary line.
- - End edit
- - Sort lines in buffer by subject
+@item Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
+Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
- --> the old subject line appears in Summary buffer, not the one that was
- just changed to.
-@end example
+@item Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
+many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
+@item @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
+called to position point.
-@item
-Remove list identifiers from the subject in the summary when doing `^'
-and the like.
+@item The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
+summary buffers and NOV files.
-@item
-Have the Agent write out articles, one by one, as it retrieves them,
-to avoid having to re-fetch them all if Emacs should crash while
-fetching.
+@item @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
+of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
-@item
-Be able to forward groups of messages as MIME digests.
+@item The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
+subtly different manner.
-@item
-nnweb should include the "get whole article" article when getting articles.
+@item New web-based backends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
+@code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
+again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
-@item
-Solve the halting problem.
+@item Gnus can now read IMAP mail via @code{nnimap}.
-@c TODO
@end itemize
@iftex
that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
-functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
+functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
hand in hand.
This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
-looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
+looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
started with Gnus.
-That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
+That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
@item digest
@cindex digest
A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
-specified by RFC1153.
+specified by RFC 1153.
@end table
@item
Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
-like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
-on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
-flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
+like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
+1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
+something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
+@file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
@item
Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
@kindex M-x gnus-bug
@findex gnus-bug
If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
-command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
+command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
@item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
-Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
+Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
-@code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry all
-information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to propagate
-the mark information to the server.
+@code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
+all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
+propagate the mark information to the server.
ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
(RANGE ACTION MARK)
@end example
-Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
+RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
@code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
-mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a
-symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
+mentioned) marks. MARK is a list of marks; where each mark is a symbol.
+Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
@code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
@code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
-not limit itself to theese.
+not limit itself to these.
Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
-effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
+effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
@code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
"*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
nnml-nov-is-evil)
-(defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
+(defvoo nndir-current-group ""
+ nil
+ nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
(defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
(defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
(unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
(push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
(push `(nndir-current-group
- ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
+ ,(file-name-nondirectory
+ (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
defs)
(push `(nndir-top-directory
,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
BNF definition of a score file:
@example
-score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
-element = rule / atom
-rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
-string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
-number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
-date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
-quote = <ascii 34>
-string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
- "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
-number-header = "lines" / "chars"
-date-header = "date"
-string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
- space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
-score = "nil" / <integer>
-date = "nil" / <natural number>
-string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
- "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
- "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
- "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
-number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
- space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
-number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
-date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
- space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
-date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
-atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
-required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
- exclude-files / read-only / touched
-optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
-mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
-nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
-expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
+score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
+element = rule / atom
+rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
+string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
+number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
+date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
+quote = <ascii 34>
+string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
+ "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
+number-header = "lines" / "chars"
+date-header = "date"
+string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
+ space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
+score = "nil" / <integer>
+date = "nil" / <natural number>
+string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
+ "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
+ "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
+ "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
+number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
+ space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
+number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
+date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
+ space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
+date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
+atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
+required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
+ exclude-files / read-only / touched
+optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
+mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
+nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
+expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
-files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
-exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
-read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
-adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
-adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
-local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
-eval = "eval" space <form>
-space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
+files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
+exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
+read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
+adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
+adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
+local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
+eval = "eval" space <form>
+space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
@end example
Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
@dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
-RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
+RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
@code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
@example
active = *group-line
-group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
+group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
group = <non-white-space string>
-space = " "
+spc = " "
high-number = <non-negative integer>
low-number = <positive integer>
flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
@end iftex
@c End:
+% LocalWords: Backend BNF mucho Backends backends detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
+% LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
+% LocalWords: nnmbox backend newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
+% LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
+% LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref
projects / elisp / gnus.git- / blobdiff