Startup file is a file recording information on articles you
have already read. GNUS uses `.newsrc' for the startup file as in
the Bnews system. If you think you will talk to exactly one NNTP
server, you can use it without any problems. Otherwise, if you want to
talk to several NNTP servers, you'd better use server specific startup
files since startup files are not portable between servers. The server
specific startup file for an NNTP server on a machine server is a
file named `.newsrc-server'. For example,
`.newsrc-photon' is for an NNTP server on a machine named
`photon'. The primary name of the startup file, `.newsrc', is
specified by the variable gnus-startup-file
(see section Common Variables).
GNUS automatically adds newly created newsgroups to a startup file
when getting started. To prevent adding the newsgroups under some
newsgroup hierarchies, you can use the options line in the startup file
or the variable gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method provided for
subscription method customization. See section Common Variables, for more
information on the variable customization.
Option -n of the options line in the startup file is recognized
properly the same as for the Bnews system. For example, if the options
line is `options -n !talk talk.rumors', newsgroups under the
`talk' hierarchy except for `talk.rumors' are ignored while
checking new newsgroups. These ignored newsgroups can be added manually
using the command U (gnus-Group-unsubscribe-group) in the
Newsgroup buffer. Use the command C-k
(gnus-Group-kill-group) to kill newsgroups from the startup file
per a newsgroup basis. See section Maintaining Newsgroups, for more information.
Once a startup file is updated by GNUS, the quick startup file
of which the file name is generated by appending `.el' to that of
the raw startup file is also created. The quick startup file can be
read by Emacs faster than the raw startup file since all information in
the file is in lisp form. If there is a quick startup file and it is
newer than the raw startup file, the quick startup file is loaded
instead of the raw startup file. If the raw startup file is newer, it
is normally read after loading the quick startup file. You should not
remove the quick startup file because it contains additional
information. Instead, make the raw startup file newer than that by
touching it or force GNUS to read it by using the command R
(gnus-Group-restart) in the Newsgroup buffer if you want to
reflect the changes of the raw startup file to GNUS.