1.6 on ubuntu precise gets this right, 1.8 on trusty gets it wrong, the following repro script is from trusty:
$ mkdir svnrmbug $ cd svnrmbug /home/eichin/tmp/svnrmbug $ svnadmin create repo $ U=file://$(pwd)/repo $ svn mkdir --parents -m 'base' $U/{trunk,branches,tags,branches/me,tags/me} Committed revision 1. $ svn cp -m 'branch' $U/trunk $U/branches/me/bugbranch Committed revision 2. $ EDITOR=false VISUAL=false svn rm $U/branches/me/bugbranch svn: E200012: system('false svn-commit.tmp') returned 256 svn: E200012: Your commit message was left in a temporary file: svn: E200012: 'svn-commit.tmp' $ cat svn-commit.tmp --This line, and those below, will be ignored-- D file:///home/eichin/tmp/svnrmbug/repo/bugbranch Note specifically the URI to be deleted. (Ironically, I think it really *does* get ignored, a coworker pointed it out just recently and noone else had seen it before...) In a few experiments, it looks like the deletion line is consistently (svnroot)/(basename branchpath) and that it doesn't happen with svn mkdir. Some quality time with trunk/CHANGES turned up only issue #1199 as being even vaguely related (which mostly confirmed that it wasn't an intentional change...) -- _Mark_ <eic...@thok.org> <eic...@gmail.com>