scoring not working: what to check?

[Gernot Hassenpflug]

Hello all,

I am using GNU/linux Debian unstable with gnus and emacs (Gnus 5.11,
Emacs 22.2.1).

For a "long time" now (about one year) my score files have been not
working: I can change the score up or down when in a group, the score
is indicated and and "x" command clears the marked-down threads OK,
but when I come back to the group again after new news has arrived,
even without quitting gnus in between, the scores for those threads
are back to default and the threads therefore appear without any
"filtering" of any kind (no color indications either).

I have looked at directory and file permissions, comparing the News
directory with that from an Ubuntu machine which does work, and
another Debian machine on which the scoring also works, and have come
up blank as to what could be the problem. I am resigned to the fact
that perhaps it is something in my .emacs or .gnus file.

The reason I am heistant to just delete my .newsrc files and hack
around in my .emacs/.gnus files is because I am also using gnus for
all my mail and I am not too clued about how to recover from some
situations when groups disappear.

If anyone can suggest what to look for that might cause this problem,
I would be very very grateful. With the huge amount of spam news in
many groups in the last few months, it is becoming impossible to enjoy
browsing without severe scoring.

Best regards,
     Gernot
-- 
Gernot Hassenpflug