Form not loading properly in Rails 3 - ruby-on-rails

Question

I am having trouble getting my form to load, not sure why this is happening.
THE PROBLEM: When I try to load the form (/messages/new), I get a blank page, no error messages.
REASON FOR THE PROBLEM: I think the problem is that the link between message and user is not being properly established, that's why the form isn't loading properly, but not sure how to fix it.
BACKGROUND: I currently access the form through POSTS/INDEX file (attached below), but I think this is wrong because there should be a unique link for each user...e.g. if I click on the 'Contact' button for a post created by John, the message should go to John, and so on so forth for other users. I am using the Simple Private Messaging plugin.
Grateful for any feedback!
Thanks,
Faisal
MESSAGES>NEW VIEW
<% form_for #message, :url => messages_path(:user_id => #user) do |f| %>
<p>
To:<br />
<%= f.text_field :to %>
<%= error_message_on #message, :to %>
</p>
<p>
Subject:<br />
<%= f.text_field :subject %>
<%= error_message_on #message, :subject %>
</p>
<p>
Message<br />
<%= f.text_area :body %>
<%= error_message_on #message, :body %>
</p>
<p>
<%= submit_tag "Send" %>
</p>
<% end %>
MESSAGE MODEL
class Message < ActiveRecord::Base
is_private_message
attr_accessor :to
end
ROUTES.RB
Mysalary::Application.routes.draw do
resources :messages do
collection do
post :delete_selected
end
end
resources :users
resources :profiles
resources :pages
resources :posts
get "pages/home"
get "pages/about"
get "pages/legal"
get "pages/feedback"
root :to => 'posts#new'
end
MESSAGES CONTROLLER
class MessagesController < ApplicationController
before_filter :set_user
def index
if params[:mailbox] == "sent"
#messages = #user.sent_messages
else
#messages = #user.received_messages
end
end
def show
#message = Message.read_message(params[:id], current_user)
end
def new
#message = Message.new
if params[:reply_to]
#reply_to = #user.received_messages.find(params[:reply_to])
unless #reply_to.nil?
#message.to = #reply_to.sender.login
#message.subject = "Re: #{#reply_to.subject}"
#message.body = "\n\n*Original message*\n\n #{#reply_to.body}"
end
end
end
def create
#message = Message.new(params[:message])
#message.sender = #user
#message.recipient = User.find_by_login(params[:message][:to])
if #message.save
flash[:notice] = "Message sent"
redirect_to user_messages_path(#user)
else
render :action => :new
end
end
def delete_selected
if request.post?
if params[:delete]
params[:delete].each { |id|
#message = Message.find(:first, :conditions => ["messages.id = ? AND (sender_id = ? OR recipient_id = ?)", id, #user, #user])
#message.mark_deleted(#user) unless #message.nil?
}
flash[:notice] = "Messages deleted"
end
redirect_to :back
end
end
private
def set_user
#user = User.first
end
end
POSTS>INDEX VIEW
<table class="table table-striped">
<tbody>
<% #posts.each do |post| %>
<tr>
<td>I am a <%= post.title %> getting married in <%= post.job %> in <%= post.location %>, and looking for a <%= post.salary %>. My budget is <%= post.salary %>.</td>
<td> <button class="btn" data-toggle="button" onClick="javascript:location.href = '/messages/new';" />Contact</button></td>
<td><%= time_ago_in_words(post.created_at) %> ago.</td>
<!--/.
<td><%= link_to 'Show', post %></td>
<td><%= link_to 'Edit', edit_post_path(post) %></td>
<td><%= link_to 'Destroy', post, :confirm => 'Are you sure?', :method => :delete %></td>
-->
</tr>
<% end %>
</tbody>
</table>

Answer 1

messages/new line 1, try changing the opening ERB tag from a silent to loud tag
s/<%/<%=
sourced from http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActionView/Helpers/FormHelper.html