Backing up Gnus configuration (not data)

[paul.moore@atosorigin.com (Paul Moore)]

I'd like to back up my Gnus configuration. Basically, that means
*only* those things which I have configured. I don't want to keep
adaptive scoring files, lists of read articles and marks, cached
articles, and things like that.

The logic is basically that I want to be able to

1. Take a "snapshot" of my configuration, which I can then use to
   go back to, as if I were starting from scratch on my news server.
2. Be able to track configuration changes and isolate them, so that
   I can update the snapshot if I make significant improvements.

I'm quite happy to restrict my ways of working to make this easier.
For example, I recognise that I have to use gnus-parameters instead of
G p (as otherwise the group parameters end up in newsrc.eld, which I
don't want to back up as it contains article mark information I don't
want).

If it makes things easier (I'm pretty sure it will) I use Gnus for
almost-pure newsreading (my mailing lists are converted to local
newsgroups in my news server, so all I have as mail is a tiny trickle
of personal mail and a huge flood of spam :-))

But is this realistically possible? I have got pretty close (I think)
in setting up a usable "starter" config, but I haven't loaded it up
and used it in anger yet, so I don't know whether it will be possible
to keep it "clean"...

Sorry - that's a bit vague. Essentially, I'm trying to separate
"settings" from "data".

Does anyone have any comments? Am I wasting my time?

Paul.