lucy24 - 11:09 am on Jan 11, 2013 (gmt 0)

am I missing something

:: quick detour to MAMP site ::

Yup, I'm blocked from my own htaccess. (In case anyone wondered: I use htaccess in MAMP, rather than working directly with the config file, because I want to replicate my real site as closely as possible.) I already know I can't get to htaccess in the live site; the host blocks it by default. You get your ordinary 403 page.

:: further detour to MAMP config file ::

<FilesMatch "^\.ht">
Order allow,deny
Deny from all
Satisfy All
</FilesMatch>

That's a direct cut-and-paste. There's got to be something wonky in your system. Did it formerly work and then stop? Do other Allow and Deny directives work as intended?

That opening line "ever since 2.2" implies that you've just recently upgraded. (Ahem.) So this is when you'd expect to find issues. There may be others. You've now got a pretty powerful incentive for fine-tooth-combing ;)