Re: Phantom message 14

[Eric Abrahamsen <eric@ericabrahamsen.net>]

Eric Abrahamsen <eric@ericabrahamsen.net> writes:

> I'm trying to compact my Sent messages group, (nnml mail numbers
> currently run from 7112 to 10300) and every time I do gnus tells me
> that it can't delete message 14. There is no message 14. It starts the
> compacting process, writes a blank message to 1, then says there's no
> message 14.
>
> So far as I know, the active file in this backend and the .newsrc.eld
> file are the only two places where gnus could be getting information
> about existing messages. I've killed emacs, made sure the relevant line
> in the active file reads:
>
> Sent 10300 7112 y
>
> and that .newsrc.eld doesn't have a 14 in it, then restarted emacs and
> gnus. Again, the complaint about message 14. After I've done this, gnus
> rewrites the active file to read:
>
> Sent 10300 14 y
>
> I just don't know why. Where else could this 14 be coming from?
> References from other messages? Hidden configuration files? Can anyone
> give me a logical place to start looking, before I turn to voodoo?
>
> Thank you,
> Eric

Still don't know where the 14 was coming from, but after looking in the
source code for a bit I went into the Sent group, popped (14 . "14") off
the nnml-file-article-alist variable, returned to the *Group* buffer, and
successfully compacted the group without, so far as I can tell, any lost
or mis-filed messages.