I have just gotten a new email provider - panix.com .
Sending and receiving via webmail works fine.

When attempting to connect with SeaMonkey's POP3 client I
get messages saying that:
sending of password failed
mail server responded that authentication failed

I am using a brand new install of SeaMonkey 2.53.17 on Debian 10.0 .

How can I have SeaMonkey give me a dump of the configuration I setup?

I wish to accomplish two things:
1. have something I can proofread with out flipping through screens.
2. have something usable to email panix.com's Help-desk.

TIA

Richard Owlett wrote:
> I have just gotten a new email provider - panix.com .
> Sending and receiving via webmail works fine.
>
> When attempting to connect with SeaMonkey's POP3 client I
> get messages saying that:
>   sending of password failed
>   mail server responded that authentication failed
>
> I am using a brand new install of SeaMonkey 2.53.17 on Debian 10.0 .
>
> How can I have SeaMonkey give me a dump of the configuration I setup?
>
> I wish to accomplish two things:
>   1. have something I can proofread with out flipping through screens.
>   2. have something usable to email panix.com's Help-desk.

This is something that is stored in the profile's prefs.js file,
although that's kind of cryptic. It's slightly less cryptic if you view
through about:config, but either way, you're getting all the raw config
settings, and that would be all the preferences for the account, and not
something that's typically useful to give to a helpdesk tech.

On my own configs, my personal mail is on mail.server.server3 and if I
search for that in about:config, there's nearly 30 settings there. The
ones that are relevant for basic connectivity would be
[mail.server.server3].hostname (the name of the server), .type (POP) and
..userName (my email address).

The more effective way to get to what you want is via Edit -> Mail and
Newsgroups Account Settings. Then go to the Accounts pane, find the
account that you want, and look at the content of Server Settings for
that account.

For any mail account, there are 6 settings that need to be done correctly:

- Account type (POP or IMAP). This is the only setting that you can't
change
- Server name
- User name (usually your email address, but not always)
- Connection Security (SSL/TLS is most common for POP and IMAP)
- Authentication method (None is normally used, and nothing else is
needed if Connection Security is enabled)
- Port: (995 for POP, 993 for IMAP, if Connection Security is enabled)
-Password

You need to have all 5 of those settings correct, and the setup docs
from your mail provider should specify what you use.

If you're using Seamonkey's setup wizard, if you've correctly entered
the Username and Password correctly, then the wizard should be able to
auto-detect all the other settings automatically, although some of that
depends on DNS configurations that are done by the provider. There are
times when those configs won't deliver the correct information (normally
the server name), and where you have to review settings manually.

Also, a thing that a lot of providers are now doing is Multi Factor
Authentication using OAuth2. I've seen this with both Gmail and
Microsoft-hosted providers, and some providers may not always get OAuth2
correctly with the wizard. If OAuth2 is required, then you set
Connection Security, changing from "none" to OAuth2. From there, on the
first connection try, you'll get a pop-up from the provider that asks
you to re-enter your password. If the password is correct, then that
becomes an authentication token that satisfies the MFA requirements.

For you, the debugging process with your provider's support basically is
a matter of confirming the settings of the first 5 of the above settings
(you're on your own for your password).

The fact that you're using Seamonkey should be irrelevant. The settings
are identical, and the only differences with Thunderbird is how and
where the information is displayed. I have interacted with providers
that balk with "we don't support Seamonkey", and if you get that, tell
them you're using Thunderbird, it's just that you will need to know how
to find these settings yourself, and not rely on a support tech to tell
you how to navigate.

I will note that the configs for outbound mail (SMTP) are a little
different, and I won't provide the detail here. However, for that, you
have to define an outbound server (with config details, as above), and
then set your account to use that server. Get your inbound connections
working before worrying about outbound.

Smith

I am now able to RECEIVE emails. Panix expected entire email address as
username.

I still cannot SEND email. Error message says its a SMTP problem.
I'll have to recheck some panix.com doc pages.

On 09/12/2023 05:05 PM, NFN Smith wrote:
> Richard Owlett wrote:
>> I have just gotten a new email provider - panix.com .
>> Sending and receiving via webmail works fine.
>>
>> When attempting to connect with SeaMonkey's POP3 client I
>> get messages saying that:
>>    sending of password failed
>>    mail server responded that authentication failed
>>
>> I am using a brand new install of SeaMonkey 2.53.17 on Debian 10.0 .
>>
>> How can I have SeaMonkey give me a dump of the configuration I setup?
>>
>> I wish to accomplish two things:
>>    1. have something I can proofread with out flipping through screens.
>>    2. have something usable to email panix.com's Help-desk.
>
> This is something that is stored in the profile's prefs.js file,
> although that's kind of cryptic.  It's slightly less cryptic if you view
> through about:config, but either way, you're getting all the raw config
> settings, and that would be all the preferences for the account, and not
> something that's typically useful to give to a helpdesk tech.
>
> On my own configs, my personal mail is on mail.server.server3 and if I
> search for that in about:config, there's nearly 30 settings there. The
> ones that are relevant for basic connectivity would be
> [mail.server.server3].hostname (the name of the server), .type (POP) and
> ..userName (my email address).
>
> The more effective way to get to what you want is via Edit -> Mail and
> Newsgroups Account Settings.  Then go to the Accounts pane, find the
> account that you want, and look at the content of Server Settings for
> that account.
>
> For any mail account, there are 6 settings that need to be done correctly:
>
> - Account type (POP or IMAP).  This is the only setting that you can't
> change
> - Server name
> - User name (usually your email address, but not always)
> - Connection Security (SSL/TLS is most common for POP and IMAP)
> - Authentication method (None is normally used, and nothing else is
> needed if Connection Security is enabled)
> - Port: (995 for POP, 993 for IMAP, if Connection Security is enabled)
> -Password
>
> You need to have all 5 of those settings correct, and the setup docs
> from your mail provider should specify what you use.
>
> If you're using Seamonkey's setup wizard, if you've correctly entered
> the Username and Password correctly, then the wizard should be able to
> auto-detect all the other settings automatically, although some of that
> depends on DNS configurations that are done by the provider.  There are
> times when those configs won't deliver the correct information (normally
> the server name), and where you have to review settings manually.
>
> Also, a thing that a lot of providers are now doing is Multi Factor
> Authentication using OAuth2.  I've seen this with both Gmail and
> Microsoft-hosted providers, and some providers may not always get OAuth2
> correctly with the wizard.  If OAuth2 is required, then you set
> Connection Security, changing from "none" to OAuth2.  From there, on the
> first connection try, you'll get a pop-up from the provider that asks
> you to re-enter your password.  If the password is correct, then that
> becomes an authentication token that satisfies the MFA requirements.
>
> For you, the debugging process with your provider's support basically is
> a matter of confirming the settings of the first 5 of the above settings
> (you're on your own for your password).
>
> The fact that you're using Seamonkey should be irrelevant.  The settings
> are identical, and the only differences with Thunderbird is how and
> where the information is displayed.  I have interacted with providers
> that balk with "we don't support Seamonkey", and if you get that, tell
> them you're using Thunderbird, it's just that you will need to know how
> to find these settings yourself, and not rely on a support tech to tell
> you how to navigate.
>
> I will note that the configs for outbound mail (SMTP) are a little
> different, and I won't provide the detail here.  However, for that, you
> have to define an outbound server (with config details, as above), and
> then set your account to use that server.  Get your inbound connections
> working before worrying about outbound.
>
> Smith

Richard Owlett wrote:
> I am now able to RECEIVE emails. Panix expected entire email address as
> username.
>
> I still cannot SEND email. Error message says its a SMTP problem.
> I'll have to recheck some panix.com doc pages.

You're half way there.

For SMTP, the server settings are in the Account Manager -- scroll all
the way to the bottom of the Accounts pane, and take a look at Outgoing
Server (SMTP).

I'm guessing that there is an account created there, so you just need to
make sure that the config settings are correct:

- Server name: may or may not be the same name as you use for POP
- Port: 465 if your Connection Security is SSL/TLS, 587 if you're using
STARTTLS.
- Connection security: SSL/TLS or STARTTLS as specified by your provider.
- Authentication method: Normal, unless your server uses OAuth2
- User Name: your email address or the user ID assigned by your provider.
- Password: up to you

From there, go back to the server settings, and in the first config
window, check Outgoing Server (SMTP). Use the drop-down menu to select
the SMTP server config.

One minor quirk in the SMTP settings... for the most part, you can
ignore the port setting (unless you're doing something unusual). When
you choose which Connection Security method you want, the port number
will be set to the appropriate number.

This is one place where settings may vary, depending on provider. Some
providers use SSL/TLS on 465 others use STARTTLS on 587, and a few may
support both, where you can choose which one you want. I don't remember
the detail, but I believe that STARTTLS and 587 are more frequently used
for server-to-server SMTP and SSL/TLS and 465 for end-user connections.
However, a check of my own configs shows server configs with both (I
have several different accounts).

Check your provider's docs, and you should be on your way.

Smith

On 09/13/2023 11:05 AM, NFN Smith wrote:
> Richard Owlett wrote:
>> I am now able to RECEIVE emails. Panix expected entire email address
>> as username.
>>
>> I still cannot SEND email. Error message says its a SMTP problem.
>> I'll have to recheck some panix.com doc pages.
>
> You're half way there.

ROFL
The outgoing server also expected entire email address as username ;/
Getting correct configuration took some cross checking as one page was
obsolete and another had confusing phraseology.
Thank you.

Richard Owlett wrote:
> On 09/13/2023 11:05 AM, NFN Smith wrote:
>> Richard Owlett wrote:
>>> I am now able to RECEIVE emails. Panix expected entire email address
>>> as username.
>>>
>>> I still cannot SEND email. Error message says its a SMTP problem.
>>> I'll have to recheck some panix.com doc pages.
>>
>> You're half way there.
>
> ROFL
> The outgoing server also expected entire email address as username ;/
> Getting correct configuration took some cross checking as one page was
> obsolete and another had confusing phraseology.
> Thank you.
>

That's common, but not universal. Many servers will use an email
address as a user ID, and that's convenient, as a way of minimizing
possible conflict. However, some servers have user ID and email address
separate (especially servers that do other things besides email).
Sometimes, the user name is the user portion of the email address, but
some servers may permit an entirely different name.

And some servers may allow either one. I think I've seen this with
gmail accounts, where they'll accept a gmail address, with "@gmail." com
accepted, but optional.

Glad to see it's working for you.

Smith