They were right -- Gnus is better

[Hikaru Ichijyo]

I wanted to start using Emacs to handle my mail.  I had initially
decided to use VM, because while I like newsreaders, it didn't seem like
a rational idea to use a mailreader that tries hard to think it can't
delete anything.

Lots of people on gnu.emacs.help told me, subtly, you can run VM if you
want...but you'll end up using Gnus.  Gnus will get you.  You'll end up
on Gnus after you've been on VM for awhile.

<sigh>

They were right.  I tried VM for a couple of months.  It drove me mad.
I switched to Gnus, and while it took me awhile to get it configured the
way I want, it's perfect.

I'm running the nnmbox backend, because I like keeping compatibility
with Alpine and Mutt.  All of the cautionary warnings about how slow it
is supposed to be seem to date from an era of much slower computers.
nnmbox seems virtually instant doing just about anything.

I still have some questions though...

Firstly, it seems possible to setup posting aliases via
gnus-posting-styles or under gnus-parameters.  They both seem to let you
control where and when the settings get applied.  Is there a difference
or a reason to prefer doing it one way or the other?  I'm currently
using gnus-posting-styles, and it seems to work fine.

Another question I had is regarding server connections.  Currently, I
have mail and news pathways setup to let me have:

     * news via NNTP (primary)
     * personal email from a local spool,
       with a POP source also bringing mail
       into that same spool from another server
     * an IMAP server that I read separately online

It's all working fantastic...but here's the question:  If I launch Gnus
with gnus-no-server, I can read the local spool and avoid connecting to
NNTP/IMAP/POP, which is great, and I use that often.  What if I want to
connect to IMAP only with a gnus-no-server session?  Is there a way to
do that?  If not, it'd be a nice feature in a future version,
especially since while email is a part of daily life, these days,
Usenet really isn't.  It'd be nice to be able to have mail-only
connectability on demand in the menus if that's not possible now,
for those times when you want to see IMAP but would rather leave your
news server out of it.

-- 
He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from
oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent
that will reach to himself.
                                        --Thomas Paine