Re: gnus on XP

[notbob]

On 2008-02-26, Chris McMahan <first_initiallastname@one.dot.net> wrote:
> What's preventing you from setting the server yourself, without
> relying on the prompt?




> (setq my_news_server "nntp.server.net")
> (setq gnus-init-file (concat EMACS_PKGS "/.emacs-gnus"))

I've not run across those particular lisp cmds.  I've used:

(setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))

...as indicated in sect 1.1 of the gnus manual and other sources.  I'll
definitely give it a try.

> If you're wondering about the .emacs file, the locations are dependent
> on your HOME environment variable. Open the control Panel -> System ->
> Advanced (tab) -> Environment Variables
>
> Add a HOME variable to your user settings with the appropriate value.

I've been using C:\ as my home and it's been finding it, no problem.  I have
other lisp settings like screen colors and highlighting there and they work
just fine.  But, thank you for the Environment Variables tip.  I may try
creating a NNTP=my.news.server variable and see how that works.

> Launch emacs, and it will look there for your config files.  

> Better yet, try looking up some of the documentation that involves
> emacs on windows. A lot has been written on getting emacs running
> successfully on all flavors of windows, and I've been happily using it
> on everything from NT3.5 to XP for 10 years now, with gnus!

I'm very happy for you.  I've read all I can find including the GNU Emacs
FAQ for Windows, the utah.edu install, NYU, the gnus.org manuals,
etc.  No help.

> - http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/CategoryWThirtyTwo
> - http://ourcomments.org/Emacs/EmacsW32.html

Been there, read those.  I'm not ready to start using emacs variants, yet.
Other than the gnus issue, emacs seems to be a pretty good option for me on
XP.  

> Also, on a personal note, it doesn't help your cause much when you
> refer to your "suck XP box". Your issue here doesn't seem to be XP
> related at all.

There can be no doubt it's just my subjective opinion that XP sucks, but I
stand by it.  As an M$ user since DOS, I've more than earned the right to
dislike Windows as a product and everything M$ stands for.  And yes, this
problem seems to be XP related entirely.  I have no problem with emacs/gnus
on any *nix platforms.  They all work perfectly out of the box, unlike emacs
for Windows.  But, I'll take the rap and keep trying because that's the way
I am, stubborn.  I appreciate your response and I'll give your suggestion a
try.  Thank you.

nb