Something peculiar in my Topics setup

Something peculiar in my Topics setup

[hput via Announcements and discussions for GNUS, the GNU Emacs Usenet newsreader (in English)]

First, I've been using topics in gnus for many years and have not seen
this before.

I have a topic: Watch

Under that topic a number of nnml:directories of certain groups.

One is nnml:all-but-cron_

That group gets copies of all but a select few groups incoming mail.

Sort of a fallback if I lose track of mail in one of the many many
nnml groups.

OK, it nearly always has unread messages.

So one would expect what ever number that is would show up in the
total shown at topic 'watch'. But what I see at topic watch is:

    [ watch -- 0 ]...

No new messages whatsoever.  Not only that but if I do C-u <ret>
telling topic watch to spill its groups, it pops out with:

    [ watch -- 0 ]
      [ banks -- 0 ]
             0: nnml:Chase
             0: nnml:CarringtonBank
             0: nnml:BankOfAmerica
             0: nnml:DSCC
             0: nnml:DSCB
*            0: nnml:synchronyBankAlerts
*            0: nnml:Golden1

But if I press 'j' and give the groupname: nnml:all-but-cron_

Look what happens:

    [ watch -- 0 ]
         235: nnml:all-but-cron_
      [ banks -- 0 ]
             0: nnml:Chase
             0: nnml:CarringtonBank
             0: nnml:BankOfAmerica
             0: nnml:DSCC
             0: nnml:DSCB
*            0: nnml:synchronyBankAlerts
*            0: nnml:Golden1

It was there under watch all along... and with unread messages which
should have shown at `watch'

and C-u <RET> on watch should have dumped it into sight.

So the topic watch neither registers the unread messaages in
nnml:all-but-cron_

Nor displays nnml:all-but-cron_ when asked with C-u <RET> on `watch'.

futher there are others with unread messages under there too:

`J' nnml:inco <ret>  and see what we get:

    [ watch -- 0 ]
         256: nnml:inco
         235: nnml:all-but-cron_
      [ banks -- 0 ]
             0: nnml:Chase
             0: nnml:CarringtonBank
             0: nnml:BankOfAmerica
             0: nnml:DSCC
             0: nnml:DSCB
*            0: nnml:synchronyBankAlerts
*            0: nnml:Golden1

nnml:inco comes out from under `watch' also with unread messages.

This is all wrong wrong wrong... and I've never noticed something like
it to happen.

Can anyone offer a guess as to what is causing "topic modes'" misbehavior?

Re: Something peculiar in my Topics setup

[Emanuel Berg]

hput wrote:

> [ watch -- 0 ]
>      235: nnml:all-but-cron_

Did you cronfigure `gnus-topic-line-format'?

-- 
underground experts united
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

Re: Something peculiar in my Topics setup

[hput via Announcements and discussions for GNUS, the GNU Emacs Usenet newsreader (in English)]

Emanuel Berg <incal@dataswamp.org> writes:

> hput wrote:
>
>> [ watch -- 0 ]
>>      235: nnml:all-but-cron_
>
> Did you cronfigure `gnus-topic-line-format'?

No I never have.  However the groups under watch have always displayed
as expected, that is if they had unread messages that number would be
reflected tin watch topic.

Currently is says zero although there over 200 unread in two groups.
I've used tops for years and had the watch topic for equally long.
Not counting various miss-haps down thru the years.

Re: Something peculiar in my Topics setup

[Adam Sjøgren]

hput via writes:

>          256: nnml:inco
>          235: nnml:all-but-cron_

If I understand correctly the root problem is that those groups are not
shown by default even though they are not empty?

Have you put them on a level that does this?

What level are those groups?

See https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/gnus/Group-Levels.html


  Best regards,

    Adam

-- 
 "Ge dom ett finger och värm min hand                       Adam Sjøgren
  (I ett iskallt Ikea-land)"                           asjo@koldfront.dk

Re: Something peculiar in my Topics setup

[hput via Announcements and discussions for GNUS, the GNU Emacs Usenet newsreader (in English)]

Adam Sjøgren <asjo@koldfront.dk> writes:

> hput via writes:
>
>>          256: nnml:inco
>>          235: nnml:all-but-cron_
>
> If I understand correctly the root problem is that those groups are not
> shown by default even though they are not empty?

You got it.  In fact there are over 400 unread messages in 2 groups
under that topic but nothing shows in the top watch

> Have you put them on a level that does this?
No they are and have nearly alwas been on the default for mail  3 I
think it is.
>
> What level are those groups?

How can I tell other than the color?  I think they are level 3.  But
at least they are the same level they have nearly always been showing
a medium green color

> See
> https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/gnus/Group-Levels.html

Er, and what am I to learn there?

I haven't had any dealings with levels in gnus for at least 15 to 18
years.  Or much longer, probably about the time of quassia gnus.

And yet groups have behaved the same all that time.  That is, if there
are unread messages, that fact is reflected in the topic where in the
groups are located.

I suspect nothing astonishing about the levels is going to come up.
But I have been wrong before and I mean no snottiness.

Re: Something peculiar in my Topics setup

[hput via Announcements and discussions for GNUS, the GNU Emacs Usenet newsreader (in English)]

hput via "Announcements and discussions for GNUS, the GNU Emacs Usenet
newsreader (in English)" <info-gnus-english@gnu.org> writes:

[...]

>> See
>> https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/gnus/Group-Levels.html
>
> Er, and what am I to learn there?
>

Ahh I found what I was supposed to learn there.  How to list groups by
level.

After trying a few levels it appear that all or maybe nearly all my
groups (mail and news) are on level 3

`A l 4 <RET>' makes ever thing disappear  ditto for `A l 2'

They all seem to show up with `A l 3 <RET>'

I'm thinking that means that levels are not playing a role in the
oddities I've described.

Re: Something peculiar in my Topics setup

[hput via Announcements and discussions for GNUS, the GNU Emacs Usenet newsreader (in English)]

hput via <info-gnus-english@gnu.org> writes:

> Ahh I found what I was supposed to learn there.  How to list groups by
> level.
>
> After trying a few levels it appear that all or maybe nearly all my
> groups (mail and news) are on level 3
>
> `A l 4 <RET>' makes ever thing disappear  ditto for `A l 2'
>
> They all seem to show up with `A l 3 <RET>'
>
> I'm thinking that means that levels are not playing a role in the
> oddities I've described.

Just for the record.  I solved the issue by deleting that topic and
creating a new watch topic "nwatch".

All working as expected again... Probably will never know what was
happening there but all is well now.

Re: Something peculiar in my Topics setup

[Adam Sjøgren]

hput via writes:

>> Have you put them on a level that does this?

> No they are and have nearly alwas been on the default for mail  3 I
> think it is.

Ok, then my guess is out the window.

>> What level are those groups?
>
> How can I tell other than the color?  I think they are level 3.

Not sure, I would press S l (gnus-group-set-current-level) which shows
what the level is and lets you change it.

>> See
>> https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/gnus/Group-Levels.html
>
> Er, and what am I to learn there?

My intention was that _if_ the guess that it might be level related was
correct, that link is to the documentation of how group levels work.

> I haven't had any dealings with levels in gnus for at least 15 to 18
> years.  Or much longer, probably about the time of quassia gnus.

It was just a guess from what you were describing :-)

> Just for the record.  I solved the issue by deleting that topic and
> creating a new watch topic "nwatch".
>
> All working as expected again... Probably will never know what was
> happening there but all is well now.

Two steps forward and one step back - good that you found a way to make
the problem go away.


  Best regards,

    Adam

-- 
 "Never spend more than a year on anything."                Adam Sjøgren
                                                       asjo@koldfront.dk