OK, so I guess I'm wrong on a few points here, though it is worth noting that diesel will eat a lot of things that gas won't, most notably rubber. However, I'm going to stand behind rubbing alcohol as a rinse solvent. I mainly use it after detergents like simple green or whatever to flush out the detergent so I can add lube without worrying about detergent still in the parts, but it also works as a soak for old, caked grease, and for removing the last oily film from stuff. It's also worth noting that most bike greases (even the high-quality stuff, like Phil's) are mostly clay and other filler, with only 1/4 at most being actual "grease," i.e. nice long hydrocarbon chains. When you deal with old grease, you're dealing mostly with the stuff that is left behind when the hydrocarbons are gone, which is another good time to reach for the rubbing alcohol.

Whether to use diesel (again, preferably biodiesel) as your solvent depends largely on the conditions. Got time to leave the chain in the sun all day? Go for it. Otherwise stick to mineral spirits.