Can I hire you to heal my Gnus?

[Joseph Fineman via Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor <help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>]

I have used Gnus for many years, for both newsgroups and email.  Most
recently I have used Gnus 5.13 under GNU Emacs 26.1 (build 1,
x86_64-w-64-mingw32) under Cygwin 2.0.2(0.287/5/3) under Windows 10.0
Pro.  My email connection is AOL (tho my address still says "verizon"
as a result of a deal Verizon made with AOL when Verizon stopped
handling email).

Since the end of April my Gnus has been useless.  When I try to use
it, it gives various error messages and also makes the rest of Emacs
extremely slow.

I have made several inquiries on this mailing list.  The most
informative resulting discussion was with Dr Ingebrigtsen, which ended

----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Is there anything in the " trace of POP ..." buffer?  (Note leading
>> space.)
>
> Yes:
>
> \0\0(\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0q w3<x9 , g( VRk; |NM \01\0\0\0\0\0\0\0 \0 c oW
> y > p Y~\ 7 C Day S

Hm...  binary data in that buffer probably indicates that you're not
getting the data decrypted properly.  Or that the pop server is
outputting junk.

Perhaps somebody on the mailing list has an idea.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I have made shift to deal directly with AOL for email, but have found
its service clumsy & irritating.  When I download received mail it
prefixes a lot of trash that I have to delete, and when I send mail
its default is top posting, which it takes some trouble to defeat.  I
would be extremely grateful if I could get Gnus working again.

However, it seems that my problem is an uncommon one and that its
solution is not obvious.  I am not a programmer and am getting on in
years, so I have trouble following advice.  But I do have money in the
bank.  I would be willing to pay a competitive rate to someone who can
investigate and solve the problem.

Thank you for your attention.
-- 
    Joseph C. Fineman     
    495 Pleasant St., Apt 1      Answering machine:  (781) 324-6899
    Malden, MA 02148-3505        I will pick up if I am in.
    E-mail:  joe_f@verizon.net   Call ahead for fax.