RE: wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.

["Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>]

> Since some weeks I have this strange error message while using quite
> normal functions like newsticker-treeview and some others. I use the
> same .emacs with three different machines, all of them 
> running Emacs 23 under Ubuntu Lucid Lynx. The errors occur only on one
machine.
> 
> Has anybody an idea what could be wrong or how I can find out?
> Below I attach the debug message of newsticker-treeview. 
> Other functions have the same error "wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.".
>
> Debugger entered--Lisp error: (wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.)
>   newsticker--stat-num-items(Telepolis\ \(german\) new immortal)

To make sense of a debugger backtrace, first load the Lisp source files that are
concerned (e.g. newsticker.el), not the byte-compiled files (e.g.
newsticker.elc).

The error message is saying that function newsticker--stat-num-items expected a
list argument (i.e. nil or a cons), but it instead was passed a symbol whose
name is "...".

Be sure you have the same source code on the various platforms, for the files in
question. If newsticker uses some other file (e.g. a data file), then make sure
that file is also the same across platforms. 

HTH.  Probably someone else can help more - someone familiar with the newsticker
code, for instance.