Running "The Same" GNUS from multiple machines.

Running "The Same" GNUS from multiple machines.

[Allen S. Rout]

Howdy, all.

I've been tiptoeing from mh-rmail into GNUS for some time now, and
while I've been settling in nicely there's one major obstacle I
haven't figured out how to conquer.  I was hoping for hints or a
philosophical correction, showing me why I Really Don't Want That
anyway. :) 

One of the things my GNUS transition is accomplishing is it's taking
me from local mh to IMAP client.  Given that I no longer -have- to be
local, I'd like to be able to read all my messaging traffic from any
workstation I use.  X client is nice, but I'd just as soon not have my
mail state dependant on any single workstation.

This means I need to sync my gnus state "somehow".  How do you-all do
this, or am I wrong in thinking that's what I need?


- Allen S. Rout

Re: Running "The Same" GNUS from multiple machines.

[Simon Josefsson]

asr@ufl.edu (Allen S. Rout) writes:

> Howdy, all.
>
> I've been tiptoeing from mh-rmail into GNUS for some time now, and
> while I've been settling in nicely there's one major obstacle I
> haven't figured out how to conquer.  I was hoping for hints or a
> philosophical correction, showing me why I Really Don't Want That
> anyway. :) 
>
> One of the things my GNUS transition is accomplishing is it's taking
> me from local mh to IMAP client.  Given that I no longer -have- to be
> local, I'd like to be able to read all my messaging traffic from any
> workstation I use.  X client is nice, but I'd just as soon not have my
> mail state dependant on any single workstation.
>
> This means I need to sync my gnus state "somehow".  How do you-all do
> this, or am I wrong in thinking that's what I need?

Depends on which gnus state:s you refer to.  IMAP keeps most states on
the messages on the server for you.  You may want to synchronize
~/.emacs or ~/.gnus to have the same settings on the two machines.
Syncing other states (~/.newsrc.eld, say group parameters or topic
structure) may be more tricky, but it isn't clear to me that you need
that...

/Simon

Re: Running "The Same" GNUS from multiple machines.

[Allen S. Rout]

>> On Thu, 28 Dec 2006 09:54:09 +0100, Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org> said:

> Depends on which gnus state:s you refer to.  IMAP keeps most states
> on the messages on the server for you.  You may want to synchronize
> ~/.emacs or ~/.gnus to have the same settings on the two machines.
> Syncing other states (~/.newsrc.eld, say group parameters or topic
> structure) may be more tricky, but it isn't clear to me that you
> need that...


I was presuming I'd need all of it: Why wouldn't I need the .eld?  

I figured the normal static config was pretty straightforward.  I've
been doing that on a less-compulsive basis for years. :)


- Allen S. Rout

Re: Running "The Same" GNUS from multiple machines.

[Simon Josefsson]

"Allen S. Rout" <asr@ufl.edu> writes:

>>> On Thu, 28 Dec 2006 09:54:09 +0100, Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org> said:
>
>> Depends on which gnus state:s you refer to.  IMAP keeps most states
>> on the messages on the server for you.  You may want to synchronize
>> ~/.emacs or ~/.gnus to have the same settings on the two machines.
>> Syncing other states (~/.newsrc.eld, say group parameters or topic
>> structure) may be more tricky, but it isn't clear to me that you
>> need that...
>
>
> I was presuming I'd need all of it: Why wouldn't I need the .eld?  

The IMAP server stores the message flags (read, ticked, etc), so
syncing the .eld isn't strictly necessary.  It works fine to have two
independent Gnus installations access the same IMAP server.

However, if you want to sync the Gnus group topic structure, the group
parameters, and certain other information, you will need the .eld.
But maybe it is not worth the hassle, remembering to synchronize that
file every time you switch machines is pretty boring, at least that
was my experience.

/Simon

Re: Running "The Same" GNUS from multiple machines.

[Dave Goldberg]

i guess it depends on how often and to how many places one needs to
sync it.  Most of the systems i use have my home directory in AFS
space and so I don't need to do any synchronization at all.  However I
maintain a local home directory on my laptop since AFS doesn't work
when I've only got ssh access.  I use unison to keep that local home
and my AFS home in sync on a fairly regular basis, similar to the
offline files stuff in Windows though not quite as automatic.  I
imagine that if I had to synchronize much more than that I would
eventually tire of it as well.

-- 
Dave Goldberg
david.goldberg6@verizon.net