Mummi wishlist: API using Message-ID

[zimoun <zimon.toutoune@gmail.com>]

Dear,

Today <issues.guix.gnu.org> is really useful and IMHO better than the
classic Debbugs interface [1].

Bug reports (and patches) are still sent by email, the core of the
Debbugs bug tracker.  However, Mummi does not use the unique identifier
Message-ID as address, AFAICT.  Therefore, it can be tricky to link
between my emails reader/writer and the web interface.

Let take an example.  From my typical use case. :-)

My subscription to bug-guix (or guix-patches) sends me emails and I read
them with emacs-notmuch (but it is not Emacs related, since any good
email reader seems able to do the same).

When I want to refer to one specific message, I have to open my web
browser and go to <issues.guix.gnu.org/1234> then scroll a bit to find
the relevant message, click to the date to get the associated number,
copy the URL and go back to my email writer and finally paste the link.

For example <http://issues.guix.gnu.org/33899#16>.  The number #16 is
really difficult to guess. :-)

Instead, it is easy to get the Message-ID.  (Using emacs-notmuch, only
hit the key ’ci’) Therefore, it could be nice to be able to provide
e.g., the URL:

<issues.guix.gnu.org/HAv_FWZRa_dCADY6U07oX-E2vTrtcxk8ltkpfvTpYCsIh4O5PuItHGIh6w-g5GGmoqVEfkjDUOplpUErdGEPAiFYdrjjDhwd9RJ4OyjjGgY=@hector.link>

redirecting to <http://issues.guix.gnu.org/33899#16>.  And maybe the
current webpage could provide the Message-ID, easy to copy and then
paste in my email reader.


Another (Emacs related) example is emacs-debbugs.
  C-u M-x debbugs-gnu RET guix RET n y
  M-x debbugs-gnu-bugs RET 33899 RET RET
  Read messages

Well, in the relevant message, I run “M-x debbugs->url” and get the
ready-to-be-pasted URL:

<https://yhetil.org/guix-bugs/HAv_FWZRa_dCADY6U07oX-E2vTrtcxk8ltkpfvTpYCsIh4O5PuItHGIh6w-g5GGmoqVEfkjDUOplpUErdGEPAiFYdrjjDhwd9RJ4OyjjGgY=@hector.link>

with the naive Emacs function:

--8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
(defun debbugs->url ()
  (interactive)
  (let ((url "https://yhetil.org/guix-bugs/")
        mid)
    (with-current-buffer gnus-article-buffer
      (gnus-summary-toggle-header 1)
      (setq mid (message-fetch-field "Message-ID"))
      (gnus-summary-toggle-header -1))
    (while (string-match "[<>]" mid)
      (setq mid (replace-match "" t t mid)))
    (kill-new (concat url mid))
    (message mid)))
--8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---



Last and off-topic to the Subject :-), the tool ’public-inbox’ exposes
such API and then it seems easier to refer to relevant message than
going by hand on e.g. <https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-devel/>
to find it.

An unofficial (but almost? serving org-mode list [2]) example is
demonstrated here:

   <https://yhetil.org/>

Does it make to sense to have something similar,
e.g. <lists.guix.gnu.org> serving the ’public-inbox’?


[1] https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/pkgreport.cgi?package=guix;max-bugs=100;base-order=1;bug-rev=1
[2] <https://orgmode.org/list/87r1vd92eg.fsf@bzg.fr/>


All the best,
simon