Emacs 21.2, smtpmail and vm

[Chris Hall <hall.cj@verizon.net>]

I'm sure this is probably already really old news, but I've spent over
12 hours on this already (though I have learned a lot - mostly good).

I've been using Emacs 20.7 for a years, vm and smtpmail for a couple.
Got 'em, installed 'em, configured 'em and ran 'em.  No problem, maybe
a couple of hours max on the mail-related portions, happy as a clam.

Switched ISP's a while back, requires SMTP AUTH, I had been using
other mail clients, they no problem w/SMTP AUTH.

Decided to switch back to vm, 'cuz whatever its faults, it being in
Emacs means a lot me.

Now the problem: SMTP AUTH not supported.  Upgrade vm.  No luck, check
the web, upgrade sendmail.el, smtpmail.el (from e-mails) and started
getting 'mail-envelope-from' 'Symbol definition void'.  Checked some
more, played w/various nil/non-nil 'use-mail-envelope'-like settings -
no change in behavior, at all. It seems, from what I've found (via
Google mostly) that there _were_ maybe a series of problems along
these lines?

Found some patches, from COMMITs and the like - none of 'em would even
apply on any of the versions of sendmail.el/smtpmail.el that I had on
my box.  I was especially interested in the couple that actually
*defined* a function 'mail-envelope-from'.

Read the sources for sendmail.el/smtpmail.el, manual for vm: it's got
to be in my .emacs, at this point I figuring, right?  Well, I sure
can't seem to find it.

BTW, I don't what I am doing wrong, but I have had less luck trying to
find a free-standing version of sendmail.el/smtpmail.el, current or
otherwise than any other file I have searched for in the last six
years.  Though there should be 29-49 versions, depending on which patch
I was looking at.

One sure way though, right?  Though not what anybody would exactly
call 'freestanding': last night, I grabbed the Emacs 21.2 sources from
gnu.org, built me the latest and greatest (stable - I think stable is
great in my 'hammer'.) (I thought I liked Emacs *before*!)  and sure
enough : new copies of sendmail.el/smtpmail.el!

With either the same exact 'bug'/behavior, or one displaying exactly
the same symptoms, i.e., error message.  And, vm won't initialize the
first time: some frickin silly back-trace at this point, (and I have
left out various twiddles in .emacs, C-h v's, 'set-variables', so on)
I'm losing steam.  Vm initalizes on the second try in the same Emacs
session, but the purty toolbar icons are gone, now just mere
rectangular outlines. But vm reads any mail sitting on my ISPs box,
and everything else seems normal enough, I can at least read my mail,
which is OK - mice are more distraction than truly useful, don't much
care about the icons, in my view.  Though those icons sure are purty.

Losin enthusiam, too - Sylpheed is looking like it wasn't so bad 
after all.

I would much appreciate any suggestions as to which tree I should be 
barking up.


+Chris Hall

-- 
"No nation can preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare."
-- James Madison, Secretary of State to Mr. Jefferson, and 4th President
"My confidence is that there will for a long time be virtue and good 
sense enough in our countrymen to correct abuses." 
--Thomas Jefferson to Edward Rutledge, 1788. ME 7:81