My StackOverflow Question: Why do I need SVN to install rgl from github using install_github?

Background: I was getting some unexplained behavior (on rgl again), that seemed contradictory to an answer that I knew was from a very knowledge user of the package - perhaps the most knowledgeable user.

I referenced the original question, and in time we figured out what the reason was. However in the process I seemed to have irritated a very high rep user who has now marked my question as a duplicate and possibly down-voted it.

Question: So how asking why something is behaving oddly at install is a duplicate of a question about how to install something - especially when the latter question turns out to be very out-of-date and received extensive editing as a result of my question.

I think the answer to my question could well be useful to someone in the future who encounters a similar surprise on installation.

If this is the wrong place to post these kinds of questions, let me know. I don't know where else to go.

marked as duplicate by gnat, Community Dec 22 '16 at 22:26


  • uhm... aside from the title of your... "question"... i don't see a question. – Kevin B Dec 22 '16 at 21:28
  • The question is how to I get the duplicate status removed. – Mike Wise Dec 22 '16 at 21:44
  • no, not this question, the one in question. it's almost 50% anti-duplicate rant at this point. – Kevin B Dec 22 '16 at 21:44
  • The question was why was I getting an SVN error when using install_github. It was entirely unexpected. The answer was that there was a configuration line in the DESCRIPTION file that required SVN. A line that should not have been there actually. – Mike Wise Dec 22 '16 at 21:46
  • I think only one sentence could count as a "rant". I suppose I should not have mentioned the downvote. Both the vote itself, and complaining about it is admittedly petty. – Mike Wise Dec 22 '16 at 21:47
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    I don't think it's a duplicate, but the messaging you added to contest it doesn't seem to me to help indicate that it isn't. stating that it isn't directly isn't really that helpful... of course the OP is going to say it isn't a dupe, – Kevin B Dec 22 '16 at 21:49
  • I though I said what needed to be said. How could I make it better? – Mike Wise Dec 22 '16 at 21:52
  • i don't think anything extra really needed to be said. Instead, clarify the question itself. it's all over the place. – Kevin B Dec 22 '16 at 21:52
  • Basically, "When trying to do X, it is requiring me to have Y. Why does it require me to have Y? <insert steps taken to reproduce result and maybe some research>" the rest is noise – Kevin B Dec 22 '16 at 21:53
  • Yeah, well, figuring it out and clearing all that up was a messy process. It did result in better info for rgl though. – Mike Wise Dec 22 '16 at 21:53
  • Ok, did that. How is it? – Mike Wise Dec 22 '16 at 22:09

The one reason I could see it being a duplicate is due to your answer being found in the duplicate, even though the duplicate and your question might not be asking the same thing. Considering that you accepted the answer which links directly to the dupe, the case of it not being a dupe is relatively weak; regardless of when it was updated, it was updated, and your answer can be found there.

If it's the case that this answer didn't help your issue, instead of stating anything about why the other question isn't a duplicate, you should look to clarify why it isn't by demonstrating that you've applied what you've found in that question, and the state that you encountered when it did not work for you.

  • But the duplicate was edited as a result of my question, as the information there was found to be wrong. Anyway, my question was why was install_github requiring SVN? I didn't understand how that was possible. I did not intend to slight SVN. Nor did I need to know how to install it (I figured that out myself). – Mike Wise Dec 22 '16 at 21:32
  • And in fact the answer to my question is not found in the duplicate at all. It is not even addressed. – Mike Wise Dec 22 '16 at 21:33
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    @MikeWise: The fact that the old answer was updated is actually a good thing; it means if anyone sees that older answer, they get newer and more up-to-date information on it. Now, to your specific issue; the main thing that I'm explaining to you is that you should look to clarify why the duplicate hasn't answered your question instead of ranting about it. – Makoto Dec 22 '16 at 21:34
  • I have done that already. I edited my answer to make it clearer. – Mike Wise Dec 22 '16 at 21:35

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