smail error on setup- FQDN does not match

[cxpx <cxpx@telus.net>]

I get the following error after 'apt-get install linuxconf' (which in turn
wants smail or exim- both get the same error).

Setting up smail (3.2.0.111-1) ...
Error: system's FQDN hostname (the_kernel) doesn't match
RFC1035 syntax; cannot configure the mail system.
Can't execute smailconfig.
/usr/doc/smail/New-Config-Features.gz: No such file or directory
dpkg: error processing smail (--configure):
 subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 1

Why does it say the system's FQDN doesn't match?  Doesn't match what?

cxpx