Patrick Kirk wrote at 2004-2-29 16:09 +0000:

... Now the requirement to issue a "httpd -l" command ("apache -l" on Debian) should be right up there as first requirement in the zope.org documentation. It isn't.

There is no requirement to issue "httpd -l". In fact, I did not even know that there is something like this (but I have set up numerous virtual hosts). I probably did not need this command, because I worked with the documentation. I knew that "RewriteRule" comes from "mod_rewrite" and that it is not bad to read its documentation before using it. The "mod_rewrite" documentation states that "[P]" effectively uses "mod_proxy". It is clear (without need for any documentation) that a used module must be available. Therefore, I ensured that the corresponding "AddModule" and "LoadModule" were available. That said, I am almost sure, that you have not yet found the reason for the problems: Apache would have complained in a much more expressive way when these necessary modules had not been available. I expect (almost sure), that Apache would not have started, when it would see a "RewriteRule" without "mod_rewrite". It might be possible that a missing "mod_proxy" would only be detected when the corresponding "RewriteRule" were executed, but you would get a prominent entry in the Apache log file. I analyse problems with "RewriteRules" by activating the "RewriteLog" feature (temporarily). The rewrite logfile provides valuable insight.

How do I get this suggestion to someone in zope.org?

Just tried "httpd -l". It is worthless (at least without additional arguments). It did not report the myriads of modules loaded by my default Apache configuration. -- Dieter