breaking up .newsrc.eld (was Re: Oort Gnus)

[Sam Falkner <samf@central.sun.com>]

I would like it if .newsrc.eld were broken up into "configuration" and
"current state (aka .newsrc)".  I'd like this because configuration
stuff is appropriate for moving between sites, but current state is
site-specific.

I keep most of my config files between work and home "in sync".
Changes I make to my .emacs at work will soon end up at home, and
vice-versa.  (I do this via the perforce source control package, and
it's very nice, if you care. :-)

But for gnus, .emacs and .gnus don't quite cover it.  Much of the data
that I care about is in the .newsrc.eld file.  Stuff like the group
and topic hierarchy, and group and topic parameters.  I can't copy
.newsrc.eld back and forth between work and home, because I don't have
the same articles and NNTP servers available in both places.

I think I could partially work around the problem by copying
.newsrc.eld and touching the local .newsrc so that it was newer.  But
that wouldn't work for email, and email is very important to me.

I'm not sure of the best way to do this.  Create a new config file,
mostly maintained by gnus (like a score or adapt file, or an active
file), and have .newsrc.eld become nothing more than a .newsrc that's
made into S-expressions would be my first thought.

- Sam