Select Methods

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Select Methods
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   A "foreign group" is a group that is not read by the usual (or
default) means.  It could be, for instance, a group from a different
NNTP server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
personal mail group.

   A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a "name" and
a "select method".  To take the latter first, a select method is a list
where the first element says what backend to use (eg. `nntp',
`nnspool', `nnml') and the second element is the "server name".  There
may be additional elements in the select method, where the value may
have special meaning for the backend in question.

   One could say that a select method defines a "virtual server"--so we
do just that (see The Server Buffer.).

   The "name" of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
group as.

   For instance, the group `soc.motss' on the NNTP server
`some.where.edu' will have the name `soc.motss' and select method
`(nntp "some.where.edu")'.  Gnus will call this group, in all
circumstances, `nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss', even though the `nntp'
backend just knows this group as `soc.motss'.

   The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
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