brandon_rhodes

Good call, @mstegink! I had a hidden “.svn” directory, because I use Subversion version control on my custom theme, that was not set world-readable, so my www-data user couldn’t see it! I’ve changed the directory’s permissions and WordPress is now quite happy. Thanks! ??

@coolgate’s solution, unfortunately, did not work for me, but made parts of the Dashboard disappear. I solved the problem by looking at the sub-directories of my theme, and noticing that one was unreadable: the “.svn” hidden directory that Subversion, by version-control system, had created. Once I set it world-readable so my “www-data” user could see it, WordPress started working fine again.