random questions mostly about Gnus configuration variables

random questions mostly about Gnus configuration variables

[Joe Wells]

Hi, Gnusians,

Here are some random questions mostly about Gnus configuration variables:

1.  The doc string ("C-h v") of gnus-fetch-old-headers is unclear.  The
    doc string seems to imply that Gnus will scan the "references" headers
    of the articles and then request the headers of the referred articles.
    But in fact, setting this variable non-nil seems to make Gnus blindly
    fetch all of the headers in the newsgroup.  What really happens?

2.  What is gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes used by?  The doc string is
    unclear.

3.  The doc string of gnus-build-sparse-threads is unclear.  What does
    this really do?  What are the "gaps" to which the doc string refers?

4.  What in the world does gnus-group-use-permanent-levels do?  The doc
    string is utterly baffling.  What does it mean by "once you set a
    level"?

5.  How do gnus-auto-subscribed-groups, gnus-options-subscribe, and
    gnus-options-not-subscribe interact?

6.  What is the difference between nil and 'some for
    gnus-read-active-file?

7.  Why did I see the message "Loading hexl" while Gnus was fetching
    headers for a group?  What does Gnus use "hexl" for?

8.  What is "~/Mail/drafts" for?

9.  What are the interactions between the to-address, to-group, and
    to-list parameters of a group?  What happens if you set more than one
    of them?  What is the difference between to-address and to-list?

-- 
Joe Wells <jbw@cs.bu.edu>

Re: random questions mostly about Gnus configuration variables

[Kai Grossjohann]

>>>>> On 30 Jun 1996 00:48:59 -0400, Joe Wells <jbw@cs.bu.edu> said:

  Joe> 4.  What in the world does gnus-group-use-permanent-levels do?
  Joe>     The doc string is utterly baffling.  What does it mean by
  Joe>     "once you set a level"?

Suppose your default listing level is 5.  Suppose you type `3 l', then
you type `l' again.  With gnus-group-use-permanent-levels, the last
`l' will list level 3 groups (as that is the last level that you have
set), without it, the last `l' will list level 5 groups (as that is
the default listing level).

Imagine that with g-g-u-p-l, a `<number> l' command changes the
default listing level.

  Joe> 8.  What is "~/Mail/drafts" for?

It used to be that messages you were composing were automatically
autosaving to a file in ~/Mail/drafts.  Thus, you could abandon
composing a message, exit Emacs, start it again, visit the
nndraft:drafts group, finish your partially completed message and send
it.

I think this functionality has been lost somehow (when message.el was
introduced) and will reappear in Red Gnus.

kai
-- 
Life is hard and then you die.

Re: random questions mostly about Gnus configuration variables

[Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen]

Joe Wells <jbw@cs.bu.edu> writes:

> 1.  The doc string ("C-h v") of gnus-fetch-old-headers is unclear.  The
>     doc string seems to imply that Gnus will scan the "references" headers
>     of the articles and then request the headers of the referred articles.
>     But in fact, setting this variable non-nil seems to make Gnus blindly
>     fetch all of the headers in the newsgroup.  What really happens?

It fetches all the headers in the newsgroups and then goes through the
References headers.  That's an implementation detail, though.

> 2.  What is gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes used by?  The doc string is
>     unclear.

It's used whenever Gnus does fuzzy simplification.

> 3.  The doc string of gnus-build-sparse-threads is unclear.  What does
>     this really do?  What are the "gaps" to which the doc string refers?

See the manual for details.

> 5.  How do gnus-auto-subscribed-groups, gnus-options-subscribe, and
>     gnus-options-not-subscribe interact?

I think this is covered at length in the manual.

> 6.  What is the difference between nil and 'some for
>     gnus-read-active-file?

As is this.

> 7.  Why did I see the message "Loading hexl" while Gnus was fetching
>     headers for a group?  What does Gnus use "hexl" for?

To translate QP encoded text.

> 9.  What are the interactions between the to-address, to-group, and
>     to-list parameters of a group?  What happens if you set more than one
>     of them?  What is the difference between to-address and to-list?

And this is also covered in the manual, I think.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
  larsi@ifi.uio.no * Lars Ingebrigtsen

Re: random questions mostly about Gnus configuration variables

[Sudish Joseph]

In article <xnj4tntdhhg.fsf@csb.bu.edu>,
Joe Wells <jbw@cs.bu.edu> writes:
> Hi, Gnusians,
> Here are some random questions mostly about Gnus configuration variables:

> 1.  The doc string ("C-h v") of gnus-fetch-old-headers is unclear.  The
>     doc string seems to imply that Gnus will scan the "references" headers
>     of the articles and then request the headers of the referred articles.
>     But in fact, setting this variable non-nil seems to make Gnus blindly
>     fetch all of the headers in the newsgroup.  What really happens?

It used to be that setting it to 'some worked like you describe.  Did
you try this?  I no longer use this over PPP.

> 2.  What is gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes used by?  The doc string is
>     unclear.

The gnus-simplify-* stuff tries to canonicalise subject headers before
thy're sorted.  For instance "foo (was: bar)" and "foo" would be
treated as the same subject.

> 3.  The doc string of gnus-build-sparse-threads is unclear.  What does
>     this really do?  What are the "gaps" to which the doc string refers?

I believe they refer to the missing articles in a thread where you
might have the 1st and nth descendant.  Sort of like fetch-old-headers
where the intermediates can't be fecthed, or have already been read.

This is from memory, I never used this.  Pls. correct me if I'm wrong.

> 6.  What is the difference between nil and 'some for
>     gnus-read-active-file?

Good question.  I don't see why 'some shouldn't be equivalent to nil
functionally.  They're not equivalent right now from a look at the
code--I don't have the enthusiasm to edebug through active file
lookups over a PPP link. :-)

> 7.  Why did I see the message "Loading hexl" while Gnus was fetching
>     headers for a group?  What does Gnus use "hexl" for?

QP decoding, apparently.

> 9.  What are the interactions between the to-address, to-group, and
>     to-list parameters of a group?  What happens if you set more than one
>     of them?  What is the difference between to-address and to-list?

I've said way too much on this topic to start on this. :-)  If you
dig around the archives you should find a longish thread on this
topic around Fall last year.

-- 
Sudish