# Undefined method \`downcase' for nil:NilClass causes 500 Inte

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/undefined-method-downcase-for-nil-nilclass-causes-500-inte/105457>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [May 30, 2007, 5:50am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/undefined-method-downcase-for-nil-nilclass-causes-500-inte/105457 "2007-05-30T05:50:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Dion\_H](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@Dion\_H](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Dion_H)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 5:50am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/undefined-method-downcase-for-nil-nilclass-causes-500-inte/105457/1 "2007-05-30T05:50:18Z")

</div>

Hi all,

I haven’t installed a new app for a while…and this is driving me nuts

I uploaded my app to dreamhost with capistrano and ran the migration  
with no  
problems (after manually putting activeresource in railties)

but when I try to run the dispatcher I get:

DISPATCHER FAILSAFE RESPONSE (has cgi) Tue May 29 20:13:30 -0700 2007  
Status: 500 Internal Server Error  
undefined method `downcase’ for nil:NilClass

/home/.dile/addz76/afp.blogsaic.com/releases/20070529152118/vendor/rails/actionpack/lib/action\_controller/request.rb:22:in  
`method’

/home/.dile/addz76/afp.blogsaic.com/releases/20070529152118/vendor/rails/actionpack/lib/action\_controller/routing.rb:1358:in  
`extract\_re  
quest\_environment’

/home/.dile/addz76/afp.blogsaic.com/releases/20070529152118/vendor/rails/actionpack/lib/action\_controller/routing.rb:1308:in  
`recognize’

/home/.dile/addz76/afp.blogsaic.com/releases/20070529152118/vendor/rails/railties/lib/dispatcher.rb:38:in  
`dispatch’  
dispatch.rb:10

Is this a chmod/chown issue???

cheers

dion