Failed to authenticate on SMTP when mention a user

csf

I've been seeing a drop in activity on our boards (not that they were busy), and I've been suspecting something has been wrong with email notifications, though I did have them working at one point.

Today I made a test by @-mentioning myself at another user account. I get a 500 error, the following being the top part of it...

"code": 500,
      "title": "Internal server error",
      "detail": "Swift_TransportException: Failed to authenticate on SMTP server with username \"admin@discussion.csf.community\" using 3 possible authenticators in /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/swiftmailer/swiftmailer/lib/classes/Swift/Transport/Esmtp/AuthHandler.php:181\nStack trace:\n#0 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/swiftmailer/swiftmailer/lib/classes/Swift/Transport/EsmtpTransport.php(334):

If I remove the @-mention to the user, the post saves and publishes with no problem. If I try to edit the post with the mentioned added back, I get the error again.

This is my email settings in admin..

Driver: smtp
Host: smtp.webfaction.com
Port: 587
Encryption: tls
Username: admin @ domain
Password: **************** ?
Sender: (same as 'Username' field)

The email account (what's in the 'Username' and 'Sender' fields) is created and the host side.

Again, this was all working at one time, so I'm not sure what's happened.

Any ideas about what to check or do?

csf

No thoughts at all?

Also, in relation to the email settings in administration.. I see other threads where people recommend using "no-reply" (e.g. no-reply@ domain.tld). Is that intended for use the 'Username' and 'Sender' fields? Or just one or the other? Likewise, is that an email account I need to setup on the host, or is that just a standard protocol that mail servers recognize? What is recommended in the case with Flarum?

csf

I tried testing an @-mention again, and sadly no go.

Then it occurred to me that maybe this was a problem with the Mentions or Notifications extensions. So I opened admin and turned those two extensions off and on again (hey, you never know). Nada.

Then it occurred to me that maybe I needed to update the Flarum install, because maybe those extensions have been updated or something. So I updated the Flarum install with composer update, and I got this problem afterward, so I reverted with the stated fix...composer require zendframework/zend-stratigility 1.2.1

When I refreshed the front-end discussion where I had the draft test post with the @-mention in it, I found the post had actually published, twice, which somehow happened during the install and reversion actions above.

I did not get an email notification from either of the odd posts, though, and I have not been able to make an @-mention post since, consistent with the original problem I'm having.

Here is the entire error message I get if I try to make a post with a mention in it...

500 Internal Server Error
POST https://discussion.csf.community/api/posts
{
  "errors": [
    {
      "code": 500,
      "title": "Internal server error",
      "detail": "Swift_TransportException: Failed to authenticate on SMTP server with username \"0000000000@discussion.csf.community\" using 3 possible authenticators in /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/swiftmailer/swiftmailer/lib/classes/Swift/Transport/Esmtp/AuthHandler.php:181\nStack trace:\n#0 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/swiftmailer/swiftmailer/lib/classes/Swift/Transport/EsmtpTransport.php(332): Swift_Transport_Esmtp_AuthHandler->afterEhlo(Object(Swift_SmtpTransport))\n#1 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/swiftmailer/swiftmailer/lib/classes/Swift/Transport/AbstractSmtpTransport.php(118): Swift_Transport_EsmtpTransport->_doHeloCommand()\n#2 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/swiftmailer/swiftmailer/lib/classes/Swift/Mailer.php(79): Swift_Transport_AbstractSmtpTransport->start()\n#3 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/illuminate/mail/Mailer.php(394): Swift_Mailer->send(Object(Swift_Message), Array)\n#4 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/illuminate/mail/Mailer.php(179): Illuminate\\Mail\\Mailer->sendSwiftMessage(Object(Swift_Message))\n#5 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Core/Notification/NotificationMailer.php(44): Illuminate\\Mail\\Mailer->send(NULL, Array, Object(Closure))\n#6 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Core/Notification/NotificationSyncer.php(202): Flarum\\Core\\Notification\\NotificationMailer->send(Object(Flarum\\Mentions\\Notification\\UserMentionedBlueprint), Object(Flarum\\Core\\User))\n#7 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Core/Notification/NotificationSyncer.php(188): Flarum\\Core\\Notification\\NotificationSyncer->mailNotifications(Object(Flarum\\Mentions\\Notification\\UserMentionedBlueprint), Array)\n#8 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Core/Notification/NotificationSyncer.php(120): Flarum\\Core\\Notification\\NotificationSyncer->sendNotifications(Object(Flarum\\Mentions\\Notification\\UserMentionedBlueprint), Array)\n#9 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/flarum-ext-mentions/src/Listener/UpdateUserMentionsMetadata.php(137): Flarum\\Core\\Notification\\NotificationSyncer->sync(Object(Flarum\\Mentions\\Notification\\UserMentionedBlueprint), Array)\n#10 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/flarum-ext-mentions/src/Listener/UpdateUserMentionsMetadata.php(111): Flarum\\Mentions\\Listener\\UpdateUserMentionsMetadata->sync(Object(Flarum\\Core\\Post\\CommentPost), Array)\n#11 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/flarum-ext-mentions/src/Listener/UpdateUserMentionsMetadata.php(69): Flarum\\Mentions\\Listener\\UpdateUserMentionsMetadata->postBecameVisible(Object(Flarum\\Core\\Post\\CommentPost))\n#12 [internal function]: Flarum\\Mentions\\Listener\\UpdateUserMentionsMetadata->whenPostWasPosted(Object(Flarum\\Event\\PostWasPosted))\n#13 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/illuminate/events/Dispatcher.php(221): call_user_func_array(Array, Array)\n#14 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Core/Support/DispatchEventsTrait.php(34): Illuminate\\Events\\Dispatcher->fire('Flarum\\\\Event\\\\Po...')\n#15 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Core/Command/PostReplyHandler.php(106): Flarum\\Core\\Command\\PostReplyHandler->dispatchEventsFor(Object(Flarum\\Core\\Post\\CommentPost), Object(Flarum\\Core\\User))\n#16 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Core/Notification/NotificationSyncer.php(158): Flarum\\Core\\Command\\PostReplyHandler->Flarum\\Core\\Command\\{closure}()\n#17 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Core/Command/PostReplyHandler.php(107): Flarum\\Core\\Notification\\NotificationSyncer->onePerUser(Object(Closure))\n#18 [internal function]: Flarum\\Core\\Command\\PostReplyHandler->handle(Object(Flarum\\Core\\Command\\PostReply))\n#19 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/illuminate/bus/Dispatcher.php(202): call_user_func(Array, Object(Flarum\\Core\\Command\\PostReply))\n#20 [internal function]: Illuminate\\Bus\\Dispatcher->Illuminate\\Bus\\{closure}(Object(Flarum\\Core\\Command\\PostReply))\n#21 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/illuminate/pipeline/Pipeline.php(139): call_user_func(Object(Closure), Object(Flarum\\Core\\Command\\PostReply))\n#22 [internal function]: Illuminate\\Pipeline\\Pipeline->Illuminate\\Pipeline\\{closure}(Object(Flarum\\Core\\Command\\PostReply))\n#23 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/illuminate/pipeline/Pipeline.php(102): call_user_func(Object(Closure), Object(Flarum\\Core\\Command\\PostReply))\n#24 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/illuminate/bus/Dispatcher.php(204): Illuminate\\Pipeline\\Pipeline->then(Object(Closure))\n#25 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/illuminate/bus/Dispatcher.php(177): Illuminate\\Bus\\Dispatcher->dispatchNow(Object(Flarum\\Core\\Command\\PostReply), NULL)\n#26 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Api/Controller/CreatePostController.php(72): Illuminate\\Bus\\Dispatcher->dispatch(Object(Flarum\\Core\\Command\\PostReply))\n#27 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Api/Controller/AbstractSerializeController.php(96): Flarum\\Api\\Controller\\CreatePostController->data(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Tobscure\\JsonApi\\Document))\n#28 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Api/Controller/AbstractCreateController.php(22): Flarum\\Api\\Controller\\AbstractSerializeController->handle(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request))\n#29 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Http/Handler/ControllerRouteHandler.php(52): Flarum\\Api\\Controller\\AbstractCreateController->handle(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request))\n#30 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Http/Middleware/DispatchRoute.php(71): Flarum\\Http\\Handler\\ControllerRouteHandler->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Array)\n#31 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Dispatch.php(82): Flarum\\Http\\Middleware\\DispatchRoute->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#32 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Next.php(113): Zend\\Stratigility\\Dispatch->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Route), NULL, Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#33 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Http/Middleware/SetLocale.php(50): Zend\\Stratigility\\Next->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response))\n#34 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Dispatch.php(82): Flarum\\Http\\Middleware\\SetLocale->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#35 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Next.php(113): Zend\\Stratigility\\Dispatch->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Route), NULL, Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#36 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Http/Middleware/AuthenticateWithHeader.php(57): Zend\\Stratigility\\Next->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response))\n#37 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Dispatch.php(82): Flarum\\Http\\Middleware\\AuthenticateWithHeader->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#38 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Next.php(113): Zend\\Stratigility\\Dispatch->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Route), NULL, Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#39 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Http/Middleware/AuthenticateWithSession.php(33): Zend\\Stratigility\\Next->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response))\n#40 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Dispatch.php(82): Flarum\\Http\\Middleware\\AuthenticateWithSession->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#41 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Next.php(113): Zend\\Stratigility\\Dispatch->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Route), NULL, Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#42 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Http/Middleware/RememberFromCookie.php(38): Zend\\Stratigility\\Next->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response))\n#43 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Dispatch.php(82): Flarum\\Http\\Middleware\\RememberFromCookie->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#44 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Next.php(113): Zend\\Stratigility\\Dispatch->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Route), NULL, Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#45 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Http/Middleware/StartSession.php(33): Zend\\Stratigility\\Next->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response))\n#46 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Dispatch.php(82): Flarum\\Http\\Middleware\\StartSession->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#47 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Next.php(113): Zend\\Stratigility\\Dispatch->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Route), NULL, Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#48 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Api/Middleware/FakeHttpMethods.php(32): Zend\\Stratigility\\Next->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response))\n#49 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Dispatch.php(82): Flarum\\Api\\Middleware\\FakeHttpMethods->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#50 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Next.php(113): Zend\\Stratigility\\Dispatch->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Route), NULL, Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#51 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Http/Middleware/ParseJsonBody.php(30): Zend\\Stratigility\\Next->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response))\n#52 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Dispatch.php(82): Flarum\\Http\\Middleware\\ParseJsonBody->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#53 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/Next.php(113): Zend\\Stratigility\\Dispatch->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Route), NULL, Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Next))\n#54 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-stratigility/src/MiddlewarePipe.php(75): Zend\\Stratigility\\Next->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response))\n#55 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Http/AbstractServer.php(53): Zend\\Stratigility\\MiddlewarePipe->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Request), Object(Zend\\Stratigility\\Http\\Response), NULL)\n#56 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/zendframework/zend-diactoros/src/Server.php(166): Flarum\\Http\\AbstractServer->__invoke(Object(Zend\\Diactoros\\ServerRequest), Object(Zend\\Diactoros\\Response), NULL)\n#57 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/vendor/flarum/core/src/Http/AbstractServer.php(34): Zend\\Diactoros\\Server->listen()\n#58 /home/constratum/webapps/discussion/api.php(16): Flarum\\Http\\AbstractServer->listen()\n#59 {main}"

Any thoughts?

csf

Got this working with help from WebFaction (web host). The "Username" field is supposed to be their mailbox name for which the email address applies, not the email address itself. I must have changed that accidentally and didn't realize it. Probably when I was playing around with trying to get "no-reply" working but gave up on it.

Email notifications for quotes, mentions, and replies to followed threads all work now. Whew!

csf

But I notice a couple discrepancies...

First, in profile settings for the three email notification settings, the last two are clear enough, but the first one is not: Someone replies to one of my posts. I can think of two scenarios that might be suggesting: replying without quoting and replying by quoting. Maybe each should have it's own clearly labeled notification setting instead of lumping them together in a vague way. So you have 4 settings in total with clear distinctions:

Someone replies to me
Someone quotes me
Someone mentions me
Someone posts in a discussion I'm following

Second, when I did a mentions test, the notification email I got read like this ({arbitrary values} added here):

[New Post] {discussion title}
To CSF

Hey CSF!

{Member} made a post in a discussion you're following: {discussion title}

To view the new activity, check out the following link:
{url}

Testing to @csf

You won't receive any more notifications about this discussion until you're up-to-date.

But [New Post] doesn't seem clear in this situation. Shouldn't it be [New Mention], or just [Mention], in the subject line?

And instead of reading as {Member} made a post in a discussion you're following: {discussion title}, which sounds like it's for a different notification setting, I'd expect it to read something more like this for a mention notice: {Member} mentioned you in: {discussion title}.