Re: Many questions about brewing SOUP?

[pinard@progiciels-bpi.ca (François Pinard)]

Eze Ogwuma <zcaceog@ucl.ac.uk> writes:

| I've just started to test SOUP and I have several questions about its
| operation.

| 1) How long will nnsoup articles remain by default?

I think your generic default applies to nnsoup as for other backends
(unless overridden, of course).  Whenever *all* articles in a single
nnsoup sub-packet (one is created each time you use `O s' in Summary
buffer or `G s b' in Group buffer) are expirable, then the sub-packet
will be deleted whole, at once, at the next expiration opportunity.

| 2) To see my SOUP groups [...]

It is simple.  `g' from the Group buffer will unpack all your Soup packets,
and incorporate all sub-packets in the group each belong.  You only need
`F' so Gnus will display newly arrived groups (and maybe later using `C-c
C-s' to sort them at their proper place in your group list, if this is what
you like).  The command `R', which restarts Gnus all over without leaving
it, has been useful to me in the beginnings, when I was feeling lost.
More it goes, less I need it! :-)

| 3) Once at home I re-spool the articles to my "nnml" files.  Is this
| the best way to use SOUP for reading mail?

This is what I also do, but I presume "best" is just a matter of personal
taste.  If Gnus was not bitching each time I use `B m' on an nnsoup group,
I would probably not respool nnsoup articles.  My feeling is that `B m'
should copy the article, and then, mark it expirable if it cannot do
better (because nnsoup sub-packets only disappear whole).  The idea here
is to have Gnus to be the most usable possible.  When this is not granted,
respooling might be just more interesting, yet it is spoiled overhead.
This could be avoided if Gnus was approximating, the best it can, commands
it cannot achieve exactly according to the initial design.  Right now,
by respooling, I work for Gnus, while I would prefer Gnus works for me! :-)

-- 
François Pinard         ``Vivement GNU!''        pinard@iro.umontreal.ca
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