Re: Agent startup (how it works)

[Dan Christensen <jdc@jhu.edu>]

Laura Conrad <lconrad@concord.com> writes:
> Dan Christensen <jdc@jhu.edu> writes:
> > Robert Epprecht <epprecht@sunweb.ch> writes:
> > > ;; =========== .emacs
> > > (require 'gnus-agent)
> > 
> > > put (gnus-agentize) at the end of .gnus.el
> > 
> > It would be nice if both of these steps were unnecessary.  Is there
> > any reason that Gnus isn't always agentized?  Besides the "Plugged" in
> > the mode line, would a typical non-agent user even notice a
> > difference?
> 
> Your news postings and email would never get sent, if you didn't say
> "J S". 

Why not?  `M-x gnus' would start Gnus plugged.  And when plugged,
doesn't Gnus send mail and news immediately?

> That's actually one of the things I don't like about the design of the
> agent -- I don't think it should affect your mail at all unless you
> agentize the mail server.

When unplugged:

I think that Gnus should fetch incoming mail if the mail server isn't
agentized (and not fetch it if the mail server is agentized).  ("The"
mail server really means any mail server which has the get-new-mail
variable set.)

And similarly for incoming news.

For outgoing mail and news, I think the behaviour should be controlled
by a new variable.  For example, something like `gnus-agent-queue'
with possible values `t' (or `both'), `news', `mail' and `nil' (or `none').

Dan