How to develop an automatic gnus mail set up thing for gnus users.

How to develop an automatic gnus mail set up thing for gnus users.

[Don Saklad]

How would you develop a wizard like thing that would automatically
set up gnus mail for gnus users or ask for a response at each
point of setting up where it can't do it automatically by detecting
the appropriate parameters?... And at each point where it needs the
response there would be available elaboration, explicatory informative
details in case the respondent might as a neophyte not understand what
response is needed. Something that goes further for the neophyte than
the excellent http://my.gnus.org/GDG/basic/show_form

And where the elaboration might not work, further elaboration would
be linked too.




Cheers!
 oo__  dWs

Weblog guide to problematical gnus mail usability and hostility
http://zork.ent/~dsaklad/gnusmail.html

Re: How to develop an automatic gnus mail set up thing for gnus users.

[Bijan Soleymani]

Don Saklad <dsaklad@nestle.ai.mit.edu> writes:

> How would you develop a wizard like thing that would automatically
> set up gnus mail for gnus users or ask for a response at each
> point of setting up where it can't do it automatically by detecting
> the appropriate parameters?... And at each point where it needs the
> response there would be available elaboration, explicatory informative
> details in case the respondent might as a neophyte not understand what
> response is needed. Something that goes further for the neophyte than
> the excellent http://my.gnus.org/GDG/basic/show_form
> 
> And where the elaboration might not work, further elaboration would
> be linked too.
There are certain small problems with that form:

1)What if I don't have a fully qualified domain name. (I do, but what
  if I didnt', what if i'm a floating dynamic ip?)

2)You don't ask about the mail username, explicitly. Is the username
  the same thing as the pop username? Then why is there (system) in
  quotation. My mail username and system username are different.

3)Sending password in cleartext is not very safe...
I don't believe in security, but some people do.

What I recommend is putting up a couple of standard .gnus files
one for "pop" and one for "imap". Have it commented in such a way as
to make it clear what the user needs to put where.

Example:

(setq user-mail-address "insert-email-address")

(setq mail-sources
'((pop :server "insert-name-of-pop-server" :user "insert-pop-username" :password "insert-pop-password")))

(setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "insert-news-server"))



Bijan

Re: How to develop an automatic gnus mail set up thing for gnus users.

[Kai Großjohann]

Bijan Soleymani <bijan@psq.com> writes:

> There are certain small problems with that form:
>
> 1)What if I don't have a fully qualified domain name. (I do, but what
>   if I didnt', what if i'm a floating dynamic ip?)

It seems the setting isn't used (much) in the resulting config.

> 2)You don't ask about the mail username, explicitly. Is the username
>   the same thing as the pop username? Then why is there (system) in
>   quotation. My mail username and system username are different.

Good question.

> 3)Sending password in cleartext is not very safe...
> I don't believe in security, but some people do.

I trust that people can enter XYZ and then replace that with their
passwd :-)

-- 
A turnip curses Elvis