X-Image-URL pictures in Gnus like in MH-E (was: Other image sources?)

X-Image-URL pictures in Gnus like in MH-E (was: Other image sources?)

[Reiner Steib]

[ Taken from gmane.discuss to ding... ]

On Sun, Dec 18 2005, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen wrote:

> Reiner Steib <reinersteib+gmane@imap.cc> writes:
>
>> MH-E and some MacOS newsreader(s?) uses "X-Image-URL", see
>> <http://mh-e.sourceforge.net/screenshots/>.  Articles in
>> gmane.mail.mh-e.* often have it, e.g.
>> <http://article.gmane.org/gmane.mail.mh-e.devel/11051>.
>
> Well, that was trivial to add to weft.  :-)
>
>> But it would be nicer to have this feature in Gnus. :-)
>> We could borrow the from `mh-face-display-function'
>> (emacs/lisp/mh-e/mh-utils.el) and friends.
>
> The difference is that Gnus isn't supposed to contact anything
> external, because that could lead to information leakage.  It can be
> used for "has this person read my mail yet?" functionality, which is
> a no-no.

This was my first though, too.  But MH-E provides suitable options:

,----[ <f1> v mh-fetch-x-image-url RET ]
| mh-fetch-x-image-url is a variable defined in `mh-customize.el'.
| Its value is nil
| 
| Documentation:
| *Control fetching of "X-Image-URL:" header field image.
| 
| Ths option controls the fetching of the "X-Image-URL:" header field image
| with the following values:
| 
| Ask Before Fetching
|      You are prompted before the image is fetched. MH-E will remember
|      your reply and will either use the already fetched image the next
|      time the same URL is encountered or silently skip it if you didn't
|      fetch it the first time. This is a good setting.
| 
| Never Fetch
|      Images are never fetched and only displayed if they are already
|      present in the cache. This is the default.
| 
| There isn't a value of "Always Fetch" for privacy and DOS (denial of
| service) reasons. For example, fetching a URL can tip off a spammer
| that you've read his email (which is why you shouldn't blindly
| answer yes if you've set this option to "Ask Before
| Fetching"). Someone may also flood your network and fill your disk
| drive by sending a torrent of messages, each specifying a unique URL
| to a very large file.
| 
| The cache of images is found in the directory ".mhe-x-image-cache" within
| your MH directory. You can add your own face to the "From:" field too. See
| Info node `(mh-e)Picture'.
| 
| This setting only has effect if the option `mh-show-use-xface-flag'
| is turned on.
`----

Bye, Reiner.
-- 
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      (o o)
---ooO-(_)-Ooo---  |  PGP key available  |  http://rsteib.home.pages.de/

Re: X-Image-URL pictures in Gnus like in MH-E

[Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen]

Reiner Steib <reinersteib+gmane@imap.cc> writes:

> This was my first though, too.  But MH-E provides suitable options:

[...]

> | Ask Before Fetching
> |      You are prompted before the image is fetched. MH-E will remember
> |      your reply and will either use the already fetched image the next
> |      time the same URL is encountered or silently skip it if you didn't
> |      fetch it the first time. This is a good setting.
> | 
> | Never Fetch
> |      Images are never fetched and only displayed if they are already
> |      present in the cache. This is the default.

Well, the only setting of interest :-) here is "Ask Before Fetching",
which is a bad setting.  Can you imagine anybody wanting to be
queried before fetching a little image? 

I really can't.  The little picon-style pictures are only of use if
they flow nicely with the reading experience...

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
  larsi@gnus.org * Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen