Re: Apparently .forward isn't doing its job

On Friday 28 Sep 2012 17:56:10 you wrote:
> > Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:30:18 +0100
> > From: Anne Wilson <[email protected]>
> > Subject: Apparently .forward isn't doing its job
> > 
> > 
> > On a new server I have ascertained that fetchmail is working.  
Dovecot
> > is also working.  Procmail isn't.
> 
> what happens to inbound mail? is it disappearing, or ending up in the
> system default inbox?
> 
They end up in the system default mailbox, /var/spool/mail/anne

> 
> first things first, try using:
>    |tee -a /home/anne/newmail |/usr/bin/procmail
> 
Can you explain that, please.  http://linux.101hacks.com/unix/tee-
command-examples/ talks about it sending to standard out, which 
doesn't seem to be what I need.

>  make *sure* there is a [NL] character at the end of the text.
>  the 'ls' above indicates it is missing from the .forward shown.

Yes, that was missing.  I've fixed it.

>  (I don't -know- that this is a problem, but eliminate the 'unusual'.)
> 
> if you don't get anything in 'newmail' then you have to figurre out
> why your mail delivery agent is not honoring .forward
> 
> > ls -al ~/.procmailrc
> > - -rw-r--r-- 1 anne anne 1099 Sep 28 16:05 /home/anne/.procmailrc
> > 
> > cat ~/.procmailrc
> 
> your .procmailrc is *FULL* of errors.
> 
> > PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/sbin:/sbin
> > 
> > #Set user variable
> > USER=`anne`
> 
> accent grave (aka backtick) causes the enclosed string to be 
executed
> as a command.  what does the executable named "anne" return?
> 
> lose the backticks.
> 
While that sounds sense, it doesn't explain why this has worked since 
2004.

> > #Set user Inbox directory
> > MAILDIR=/home/anne/Maildir/
> > DEFAULT=$MAILDIR/
> 
> $DEFAULT expads to /home/anne/Maildir//   *not* what you 
want/mean.
> 
> lose at least one of the trailing slashes.
> 
> > #Set logfile
> > LOGFILE=/home/anne/pm.log
> > 
> > VERBOSE=YES
> > LOGABSTRACT=YES
> 
> If you're not getting anyting in $LOGFILE, it -could- be
> becase of the faulty USER setting, or because .forward is
> ot being processed.
> 
> > # LOG=" "
> > 
> > :0 * ^From:.*magnatune
> > 
> > $MAILDIR.INBOX.Magnatune/
> 
> 1) RTFM for the PROPER syntax of procmail recipies.
> 
> 2) make sure the specified *DIRECTORY* exists.
>    (I strongly suspect the file name, "as written" is
>     *NOT* what you really want.)
> 
Again, I stress that I have been successfully using this format (a much 
longer file than I actually quoted) since 2004.
> > ....
> > 
> > * ^List-ID:.*procmail
> > ${MAILDIR}.INBOX.MailSystems.Procmail/
> 
> Repeating:
>   1) RTFM...
>   2) make sure..
> 
and it was written after *much* reading of examples.

> > The logfile ~/pm.log is not being written to.
> > 
> > Where do I look next?
> 
> The screwed-up USER line _could_ be responsible for that.
> For debgging, it is useful to make:
>   LOGFILE={path}
>   VERBOSE=yes
> the _first_two_ lines in the .procmailrc.

Anne
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