bug#21105: batch article move/copy to groups pompts user too much

[Brent Busby]

Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org> writes:

> Sorry for the late response; due to a misunderstanding the Gnus bug
> reports went to a part of the bug tracker I wasn't checking.
>
> Brent Busby <brent@jfi.uchicago.edu> writes:
>
>> However, if you're copying/moving articles to actual _groups_ (rather
>> than raw files), gnus-prompt-before-saving has no effect.  You can use
>> gnus-move-split-methods to teach Gnus how to suggest moved/copied
>> articles should be moved (described in section 3.26), but you can't use
>> gnus-prompt-before-saving to avoid excessive prompting while doing so,
>> nor is there any other variable analogous to gnus-prompt-before-saving
>> that can affect article move/copy to groups.
>
> I'm not sure I understand.  If you `#' a bunch of articles, and then
> move them with `B m', you should only be prompted once as to where to
> move the articles.  Are you prompted for every article instead?

Indeed, a quick test shows that's exactly what happens: It moves/copies
all the articles silently just as it's told to.  I made that bug report
so long ago that I'm afraid now I don't even remember what I was having
problems with.

The only complaint I can think of now with Gnus' move/copy behavior is
that usually it seems like there will be a partial string already typed
for me *after* the prompt when I want to save or move something, and it
will often not be the default choice that gnus-move-split-methods is
trying to give me.

Example:  When I type 'B c' to copy this article to a different mail
group, I get:

Copy this article to (default nnfolder:uchicago): nnimap+jfimail.uchicago.edu:
                                                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The highlighted part is *after* the prompt, but I didn't type it.  It's
also not the same as the default being suggested my
gnus-move-split-methods in my configuration, which is being suggested in
parenthesis in the prompt.  It's offering me a default, and then typing
for me something completely different that I can now hit enter on
(defeating my default!).

I don't know if my explanation is very clear, but basically, the
inconvenience here is that if I wanted to actually make use of that
default that gnus-move-split-methods is trying to offer me, I'd first
have to clear the line back to the prompt.  It's not that much of a
hassle really, and I've been living with it without any major problems,
but isn't the whole idea of a default choice supposed to be that you can
just hit enter without having to type anything?  Gnus seems to be
offering me a default, and then making me backspace over material that
it already typed for me to actually use it.  (Ok, actually you can clear
back to the beginning of a line with just C-S-backspace, but still...
The user should be able to just hit enter and get the offered default.)

That may not be what I was originally talking about in this bug report
(don't remember since it's been awhile), but that's the only "excessive
prompting" I'm having any issue with in Gnus at this time.

-- 
+ Brent A. Busby         + "We've all heard that a million monkeys
+ Sr. UNIX Systems Admin +  banging on a million typewriters will
+ University of Chicago  +  eventually reproduce the entire works of
+ James Franck Institute +  Shakespeare.  Now, thanks to the Internet,
+ Materials Research Ctr +  we know this is not true." -Robert Wilensky