Finding the News
================

   The `gnus-select-method' variable says where Gnus should look for
news.  This variable should be a list where the first element says
"how" and the second element says "where".  This method is your native
method.  All groups that are not fetched with this method are foreign
groups.

   For instance, if the `news.somewhere.edu' NNTP server is where you
want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:

     (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))

   If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:

     (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))

   If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
certainly be much faster.

   If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
`NNTPSERVER' environment variable.  If that variable isn't set, Gnus
will see whether `gnus-nntpserver-file' (`/etc/nntpserver' by default)
has any opinions on the matter.  If that fails as well, Gnus will will
try to use the machine that is running Emacs as an NNTP server.  That's
a long-shot, though.

   If `gnus-nntp-server' is set, this variable will override
`gnus-select-method'.  You should therefore set `gnus-nntp-server' to
`nil', which is what it is by default.

   You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
NNTP server.  If you give a non-numerical prefix to `gnus' (i.e., `C-u
M-x gnus'), Gnus will let you choose between the servers in the
`gnus-secondary-servers' list (if any).  You can also just type in the
name of any server you feel like visiting.

   However, if you use one NNTP server regularly and are just
interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
better served by using the `B' command in the group buffer.  It will
let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
to any of the groups you want to.  This also makes `.newsrc'
maintenance much tidier.  See Foreign Groups.

   A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
`gnus-secondary-select-methods' variable.  The select methods listed in
this variable are in many ways just as native as the
`gnus-select-method' server.  They will also be queried for active
files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
groups are.

   For instance, if you use the `nnmbox' backend to read your mail, you
would typically set this variable to

     (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))