Re: groups in levels 5-7 won't appear in groups buffer (was: Pterodactyl Gnus v0.98 is released)

[Matt Swift <swift@alum.mit.edu>]

>>"JMK" == Jody M Klymak <jklymak@apl.washington.edu> writes:

    JMK> Hi Matt,

>>>>> "MS" == Matt Swift <swift@alum.mit.edu> writes:

    JMK> Have you checked the values for the gnus-level-* variables?

    MS> gnus-level-default-subscribed 3 
    MS> gnus-activate-level 4
    MS> gnus-group-default-list-level 5 
    MS> gnus-level-subscribed 5
    MS> -default-unsubscribed 6 
    MS> -unsubscribed 7 
    MS> -zombie 8 
    MS> -killed 9

    JMK> I have the same values except my gnus-activate-level is 6.  But it
    JMK> sounds like maybe you understand what is going on better than I do.
    JMK> Just trying to give you a base point to compare with.

You inspired me to experiment.

Following up this bug report:

  To: bugs@gnus.org (The Gnus Bugfixing Girls + Boys)
  Subject: groups in levels 5-7 won't appear in groups buffer
  From: Matt Swift <swift@alum.mit.edu>
  Date: 08 Nov 1999 13:44:03 -0500
  Message-ID: <m2wvrsombw.fsf@aleph.swift.xxx>

>>"M" == Matt Swift <swift@alum.mit.edu> writes:

    M> I just recently deleted all my .newsrc files and started from
    M> scratch with 0.98, and a problem I've had since at least 0.96
    M> persisted: I subscribed a bunch of nntp groups from the primary
    M> server (level 3).  I changed one each to level 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
    M> and 9.  So far so good, but next session, the groups on levels
    M> [ etc ...] 


I experimented with changing the value of `gnus-activate-level' in
custom-file and restarting Emacs.  I cannot see groups with level L
s.t. gnus-activate-level < L < gnus-level-zombie

(If right, this would mean that anyone with standard values (i.e., 6
and 8) is going to loose groups with level 7.  If you want to try, set
one group to level 7 (`S l 7').  Write down the name of it.  Restart
Emacs/Gnus, press `9 L' in the Group buffer.  I bet you won't see your
group.  Resubscribe to it by typing `j' and your group name.  Change
it's level back to something other than 7.)

But there is another catch.  From the beginning I've had
gnus-level-zombie at 8.  I changed it to 7 in the custom-file and
restarted Emacs.  I was thinking this might let me see level 7 (or
7-8) groups as zombie groups, like I'd seen my level 8 zombie group
before. This had absolutely no effect, as far as I can tell, however.
I quit Emacs and looked at .newsrc.eld.  The statement (setq
gnus-zombie-list...) still contained my old level-8 group, and the
level 7 group was still listed as before, i.e., with the subscribed
groups.

So it seems like there's a bug with changing gnus-level-zombie.

Also, it's unclear what is supposed to happen when you have the
situation gnus-level-zombie + N = gnus-level-killed where N > 1.  (In
my case, gnus-level-zombie = 7 and gnus-level-killed = 9).  The dox
for gnus-level-zombie say "Groups with this level are zombie groups".
It does *not* say "Groups with this level or greater and level less
than gnus-level-killed are zombie groups".  So what happens to groups
at level 8 in this case?  Are they zombies?  Killed?  They are between
the living dead and the dead, So maybe the 'dying living dead'?