I'd appreciate some simple examples of how to use the hook-kill
processing in Weiner's gnews.  The examples in the document are very
commplex, and do not directly address the simple question I have:

(1) what is the exact equivalent of an "rn" kill file line:

        /stuff/j

Has anyone got pre-written functions that would match the "rn"
functions of the "j" or "k" keys (junk this subject for the
session, and permanently kill it).

thanks,
-dB

That's i-e.  When in doubt, use "Weemba".

I think the following example (buried way down, I admit) is the type
you were looking for.

    headlines\|politics

              ("From" "Right-Wing-...@Bolt.Loose.Mil" article-junk)
              ("From" "Left-Wing-L...@Chicken.Delite" article-junk)
              ("Subject" "\\(\\<\\|hand\\)guns?\\>" article-junk)

         These are the more typical uses of hook-kills.  Note how
         simply I can dispose of articles that I find uninteresting
         across multiple newsgroup boundaries.

The "Subject" hook-kill corresponds to `/boring-subject/j', and the "From"
hook-kill corresponds to `/From: boring-user/j'.

This is pretty easy, but Greg gave you the long answer.

"j" is group-junk, and "k" is group-kill.  ("K" is group-kill-permanent.)
Note that "h" will get you the brief summary of commands and their keys,
"H" will get you the long summary.

In general, just about every `rn' function was preserved in some form or
other.  An rn->Gnews conversion guide comes with the manual.  Inside Info,
look for the "* features:: Gnews rn-analogues" node inside the top Gnews
menu.

This is the more general approach.  One other specialized detail is
the hook-kill-alist variable.  You use this to fold several newsgroups
into one for the sake of editing the group's hook-kills, including the
automatic "K".  Inside your .emacs file, put in something like the
following:

    (setq hook-kill-alist '(("rec.arts.sf.written" . "rec.arts.sf.*")
                            ("rec.arts.sf.misc" . "rec.arts.sf.*")
                            ("rec.arts.sf.announce" . "rec.arts.sf.*")
                            ("comp.unix.wizards" . "comp.unix.*")
                            ("comp.unix.programmer" . "comp.unix.*")
                            ("comp.unix.questions" . "comp.unix.*")
                            ("gnu.emacs.gnews" . "^gnu\\|emacs")
                            ("gnu.misc.discuss" . "^gnu\\|emacs")
                            ("gnu.emacs.help" . "^gnu\\|emacs")
                            ("comp.emacs" . "^gnu\\|emacs")))

Note that the hook-kill processing for _any_ comp.unix.* group is
covered by the "comp.unix.*" hook-kills, regardless of what this
variable is.  But only within the above mentioned groups does K and
ESC-K edit the "comp.unix.*" hook-kills, and thus permit immediate
cross-group killing.

What's the possible difference you ask?  For example, I normally avoid
signatures beyond the minimum, but I have a special GNU signature (see
below).  The following is in my "^gnu\|emacs" hook-kill list:

(pre nil gnews-set 'reply-signature-default-major "/users/weemba/.apple")

This is done in every gnu/emacs newsgroup.  But "K"illing is dependent
on the h-k-alist variable.  So "K"illing within gnu.emacs shows up in
every gnu/emacs newsgroup.  But "K"illing in gnu.gcc has no effect outside
gnu.gcc.  (No, this is not an exciting difference.)
--
-Matthew P Wiener (wee...@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu)    If Apple owned
 NBC, they would sue Nike for comedy-interface copyright violation.

Note: followups redirected to gnu.emacs.gnews. It's certainly
appropriate, and need not be crossposted.

In article <1992Sep29.223513.23...@pony.Ingres.COM>, daveb@Ingres (Dave Brower, DBMS hack, [510] 748-3418) writes:

Yes -- Gnews does! Say, for example, that you want to permanently kill
the subject of the article you're reading. First hit ESC K.

You get two windows, the top one being the regular Gnews window and
the bottom one in which you can edit the hook-kills for that
newsgroup..

Now type C-C C-L.  This tells Gnews you want to enter an
"article-junk-local" hook, and it will then proffer "Subject" as the
header you're interested in. Since in this case that's what you want,
just hit RET, and then C-C C-C which saves the hook-kill, and gives
you back the one-window Gnews buffer. A few more keystrokes than "K"
in rn when you want to kill a subject, but a lot more flexible. If you
want  to kill by poster name  or crossposted newsgroup, just delete
"Subject" when it's proffered, and replace it with the appropriate
header tag. NOTE: You do NOT have to type in the contents of the
header line! Gnews does that for you. Before you save with C-C C-C,
you get to see the new hook-kill; after you've done a few of these, I
bet you'll get the idea and start coming up with your own techniques.

The hook-kill buffer is editable, so you can always edit it to
un-kill a subject or name.

For advanced users: at the group selection level, , ESC K first allows
you to do regexp matching on group names ( "." matches all groups), so
you can do hook-kills for a class of newsgroups, for example, killing
all posts from a certain user in the "sci" groups, but leaving his
posts to rec.arts.star-trek alone.

Good luck, and thanks again, Matthew!

--greg