[rt-users] Newbie to RT -- can't get RT to *send* mail

[Lorens Kockum]

Ok, it's past 7 p.m. Friday here in France, it's the first time
I've used mysql, RT or indeed any CGI programs whatsoever, it's
the first time I post to this list, so the odds are really quite
overwhelming that I'm asking a stupid question. Still, here
goes.

I've installed RT, I believe correctly :-) and since I'm using
exim I applied the exim-specific info in contrib.  So far so
good.

The mail I send to the address I've configured gets into the
database all right, as comments or correspondence. That part
seems to account for all the mail-related problems mentioned in
the FAQ or the mailing list archives.

My problem is that when I through the web interface click reply,
the mail doesn't go out. It's listed in the bug history as sent,
but the mail just simply isn't. Nothing is mentioned in the mail
logs, not in exim's logs nor in the old sendmail logs.

I've unchecked all the mail-related boxes on the queue-admin
page, because I don't want to send mail in the cases given --
in short, no automatic mail whatsoever -- but I do want to send
mail when I explicitly click Reply.

config.pm says (havn't changed it any):

    $mailprog = "/usr/lib/sendmail";
    $mail_options = "-oi -t";

which seems OK since exim has taken some pains to understand
sendmail syntax. /usr/lib/sendmail is a symlink to the exim
executable.

When I su to the rt user and execute /usr/lib/sendmail -oi -t
my_address << EOF followed by a standard mail with From:,
Subject: etc, it goes out OK, is logged where I expect it to be,
etc.

No errors are listed in the apache logs.  If I was missing
something so gross as the perl mail module (wassisname for
CPAN anyway?) I figure there should be a terrible error logged
somewhere, or that the cgi's should cry server error... right?

The only reasonable thing I can think of is that I don't have a
real FQDN hostname... just an [:alpha:] name with no dots.  I'm
not on a network with DNS. Exim is smarthosted to send all mail
to an IP address, and I get my mail with fetchmail.  I've told
apache that its ServerName is the IP address, and it seems happy
with that.  I set --force at mysql_install_db, and hand-edited
files afterwards, with no apparent ill effects.  In the RT queue
configuration, the mail alias is fully defined with an @.

Now what? I'd truss something, but I'm not quite sure what.

I'm mainly scared that for something as vital for me as a mail
there are no flashing red blinkenlichten saying there's an error
somewhere.  Am I missing an RT logfile somewhere?

Base system:
Debian Linux 2.2 (potato) with exim 3.12, netscape 4.76,
apache-perl Debian version: 1.3.9-13.1-1.21.20000309-1

Downloaded today:

RT 1.0.7
MySQL 3.23.31
Msql-Mysql-modules-1.2215

HAND everybody.

-- 
#include <std_disclaim.h>                          Lorens Kockum