Add troubleshooting docs

docs/contributing.rst

@@ -16,10 +16,7 @@ Bugs
 You can report problems or request features in
 `Djrill's github issue tracker <https://github.com/brack3t/Djrill/issues>`_.
 
-(If you're seeing a :exc:`djrill.MandrillAPIError`, chances are good you're asking
-Djrill to tell Mandrill to do something it doesn't want to. Mandrill keeps a
-really-helpful `API error log <https://mandrillapp.com/settings/api>`_ which will
-often help you figure out what went wrong.)
+We also have some :ref:`troubleshooting` information that may be helpful.
 
 
 Pull Requests

docs/index.rst

@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ Documentation
    usage/templates
    usage/multiple_backends
    usage/webhooks
+   troubleshooting
    contributing
    history
 

docs/troubleshooting.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+Troubleshooting
+===============
+
+Djrill throwing errors? Not sending what you want? Here are some tips...
+
+
+Figuring Out What's Wrong
+-------------------------
+
+* **Check the error message:** Look for a Mandrill error message in your
+  web browser or console (running Django in dev mode) or in your server
+  error logs. As of v1.4, Djrill reports the detailed Mandrill error when
+  something goes wrong. And when the error is something like "invalid API key"
+  or "invalid email address", that's probably 90% of what you'll need to know
+  to solve the problem.
+
+* **Check the Mandrill API logs:** The Mandrill dashboard includes an
+  *incredibly-helpful* list of your `recent API calls`_ -- and you can click
+  into each one to see the full request and response. Check to see if the
+  data you thought you were sending actually made it into the request, and
+  if Mandrill has any complaints in the response.
+
+* **Double-check common issues:**
+
+  * Did you set your :setting:`MANDRILL_API_KEY` in settings.py?
+  * Did you add ``'djrill'`` to the list of :setting:`INSTALLED_APPS` in settings.py?
+  * Are you using a valid from address? Django's default is "webmaster@localhost",
+    which won't cut it. Either specify the ``from_email`` explicitly on every message
+    you send through Djrill, or add :setting:`DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL` to your settings.py.
+
+* **Try it without Djrill:** Try switching your :setting:`EMAIL_BACKEND`
+  setting to Django's `File backend`_ and then running your email-sending
+  code again. If that causes errors, you'll know the issue is somewhere
+  other than Djrill. And you can look through the :setting:`EMAIL_FILE_PATH`
+  file contents afterward to see if you're generating the email you want.
+
+
+.. _recent API calls: https://mandrillapp.com/settings/api
+.. _File backend: https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/stable/topics/email/#file-backend
+
+
+Getting Help
+------------
+
+If you've gone through the suggestions above and still aren't sure what's wrong,
+the Djrill community is happy to help. Djrill is supported and maintained by the
+people who use it -- like you! (We're not Mandrill employees.)
+
+You can ask in either of these places (but please pick only one per question!):
+
+Ask on `StackOverflow`_
+  Tag your question with **both** ``Django`` and ``Mandrill`` to get our attention.
+  Bonus: a lot of questions about Djrill are actually questions about Django
+  itself, so by asking on StackOverflow you'll also get the benefit of the
+  thousands of Django experts there.
+
+Open a `GitHub issue`_
+  We do our best to answer questions in GitHub issues. And if you've found
+  a Djrill bug, that's definitely the place to report it. (Or even fix it --
+  see :ref:`contributing`.)
+
+Wherever you ask, it's always helpful to include the relevant portions of your
+code, the text of any error messages, and any exception stack traces in your
+question.
+
+
+.. _StackOverflow: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/django+mandrill
+.. _GitHub issue: https://github.com/brack3t/Djrill/issues