If you're not a dotProject user or couldn't care less about dotProject, skip over this one and come back tomorrow. A larger set of Frequently Asked Questions is available in the dotProject Manual.
Over on the dotProject forums, we get a number of repeat questions that come up day in and day out and the answers have changed minimally over time. In fact, these questions come up so often that certain members have added the answers to their forums signature. Regardless, this is another attempt to quell these questions once and for all.
First, let's get this out of the way… mysql 5 and PHP 5 are not fully supported in 2.0.4. These are acknowledged weaknesses which we are resolving. The mysql 5 compliance is complete in both the stable_2 branch (what 2.0.4 came from) and the Head development (what 3.0 will come from), but you'll have to manually update from CVS for those. I suggest you go with stable_2 unless you're a dotProject developer or have one available. 😉
Next, whenever you create a new User, you must give them a Role for them to be able to log in. In newer releases, we've gone as far as saying this in the success message, but no one seems to see it. dotProject's security model is based on the concept of “least permissions” which is basically “unless I'm told you can do X, I won't let you”. The alternative is quite scary… at my last company, I worked on a system which by default created everyone as an Admin until another Admin lowered their permissions. When this sort of thing happens as a bug, it's called “priviledge escalation”, when it happens by design, it's something else entirely.
Next, no, your Company/Project/Task is not missing. In the upper right of all the various list screens, you'll see a set of filters which can be applied. If your Company/Project/Task has disappeared, tweak your filters. The system will remember how you set them, so you shouldn't need to do it very often.
Finally, you've created your first Company, created your first Project, created your first Task, assigned yourself and never got an email from the system. Stop and take a deep breath, there isn't necessarily a problem. dotProject does not send email notifications when you assign something to yourself. Why not? Well, it assumes that you don't need to be notified of what you just did…
This is just a sampling of the most common questions and issues that people come up against. As you can see, none of them alone are tough, but sometimes they're just enough to throw people off and make life difficult. Just wait until 2.1.0 comes out…