diff --git a/doc/bugs/upgrade_to_V8_fails/comment_5_e6de2eb142feb3f44a9eeda75b5bb109._comment b/doc/bugs/upgrade_to_V8_fails/comment_5_e6de2eb142feb3f44a9eeda75b5bb109._comment
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0bbc51459c
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+++ b/doc/bugs/upgrade_to_V8_fails/comment_5_e6de2eb142feb3f44a9eeda75b5bb109._comment
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+[[!comment format=mdwn
+ username="scinu"
+ avatar="http://cdn.libravatar.org/avatar/c5a190c5c0ce61a5be141609dff37fe1"
+ subject="more specifics"
+ date="2020-03-10T03:49:04Z"
+ content="""
+Thanks a lot!
+
+The double symlinks exist, since I often have collections of files living in several subdirectories. This is useful for my scientific paper collection which is one big pile, but I also copy some git-annex symlink to several topical subdiretories. Since its just a symlink this does not take up space. The big advantage is to be able to get the contents of specific topics I'm working on, and dropping them if I don't need them.
+
+I use the same structure for data files that I only use occasionally. (I know about tags, but this is much more convenient.)
+
+As for the error, it's difficult to debug for me. Possibly its the one you found (symlink to non-existing content). Can I go back to the V7 state of the repository by checking out an older git version? If not, I might try on some harddrives that I haven't synced yet since the version 7->8 upgrade.
+"""]]
diff --git a/doc/forum/Get_annex.dotfiles__61__true_behavior_without_persistent_configuration__63__/comment_12_177db535bf756cfb4c231a41cd02e137._comment b/doc/forum/Get_annex.dotfiles__61__true_behavior_without_persistent_configuration__63__/comment_12_177db535bf756cfb4c231a41cd02e137._comment
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index 0000000000..429ce3b8ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/forum/Get_annex.dotfiles__61__true_behavior_without_persistent_configuration__63__/comment_12_177db535bf756cfb4c231a41cd02e137._comment
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+[[!comment format=mdwn
+ username="Ilya_Shlyakhter"
+ avatar="http://cdn.libravatar.org/avatar/1647044369aa7747829c38b9dcc84df0"
+ subject="comment 12"
+ date="2020-03-10T00:17:46Z"
+ content="""
+Try creating a fresh env with git-annex (conda create -c conda-forge -n datalad-env git-annex) then pip-installing datalad into that.
+"""]]
diff --git a/doc/forum/Get_annex.dotfiles__61__true_behavior_without_persistent_configuration__63__/comment_13_cb4f95866113ac6f689ed9f219a1d8e1._comment b/doc/forum/Get_annex.dotfiles__61__true_behavior_without_persistent_configuration__63__/comment_13_cb4f95866113ac6f689ed9f219a1d8e1._comment
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0122a4b630
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/forum/Get_annex.dotfiles__61__true_behavior_without_persistent_configuration__63__/comment_13_cb4f95866113ac6f689ed9f219a1d8e1._comment
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+[[!comment format=mdwn
+ username="Ilya_Shlyakhter"
+ avatar="http://cdn.libravatar.org/avatar/1647044369aa7747829c38b9dcc84df0"
+ subject="conda"
+ date="2020-03-10T17:16:31Z"
+ content="""
+Did it work?
+I wonder why you got the standalone (nodep) git-annex build in your environment -- this should only happen when package conflicts prevent the normal package from getting installed.
+When you create a fresh env with git-annex, which package version do you get?
+
+\"don't have admin privileges, so I'm using the existing conda (v4.7.5) installation\" -- with [[install/conda]] you don't need admin privileges, you can get the [installer](https://docs.conda.io/en/latest/miniconda.html#linux-installers) and install it in your own dir.
+"""]]
diff --git a/doc/forum/standalone_tarballs_for_specific_versions/comment_7_6ac3fa868ab0dfa6cc26928098abc334._comment b/doc/forum/standalone_tarballs_for_specific_versions/comment_7_6ac3fa868ab0dfa6cc26928098abc334._comment
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..947004d64d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/forum/standalone_tarballs_for_specific_versions/comment_7_6ac3fa868ab0dfa6cc26928098abc334._comment
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+[[!comment format=mdwn
+ username="Ilya_Shlyakhter"
+ avatar="http://cdn.libravatar.org/avatar/1647044369aa7747829c38b9dcc84df0"
+ subject="stable url for standalone build"
+ date="2020-03-10T17:10:33Z"
+ content="""
+Ok -- until this gets automated, could you manually push the 8.20200309 standalone tarball to archive.org?
+(My setup now relies on the standalone conda build, and this would let me get the recent bug fixes.)
+Thanks a lot!
+
+"""]]
diff --git a/doc/forum/which_version_should_I_install__63__.mdwn b/doc/forum/which_version_should_I_install__63__.mdwn
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d75957e938
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+++ b/doc/forum/which_version_should_I_install__63__.mdwn
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+Should I install the version in my apt repo (6), or (7) or (8)?
+
+Also, I'd like to know what the major difference is in the versions, I've googled this and found nothing.
+
+(other than bug fixes and "repo format changes"), I wanted to know if the repo format change is a good reason to try to run the latest v8.
+
+edit: I guess there is no "release notes" link for git annex? I see the content that would exist there in news: https://git-annex.branchable.com/news/
+
diff --git a/doc/forum/which_version_should_I_install__63__/comment_1_147f12392f6f546ab50dc346052ad4b7._comment b/doc/forum/which_version_should_I_install__63__/comment_1_147f12392f6f546ab50dc346052ad4b7._comment
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..262dd17d61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/forum/which_version_should_I_install__63__/comment_1_147f12392f6f546ab50dc346052ad4b7._comment
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+[[!comment format=mdwn
+ username="Ilya_Shlyakhter"
+ avatar="http://cdn.libravatar.org/avatar/1647044369aa7747829c38b9dcc84df0"
+ subject="comment 1"
+ date="2020-03-10T14:09:33Z"
+ content="""
+There is a changelog at [Hackage](https://hackage.haskell.org/package/git-annex-8.20200309/changelog).
+
+v6 is very old.  v8 includes speed improvements; downside is it's new so less tested by users, upside is that bugfixes are more likely to happen for it than for legacy versions, and that you avoid an eventual [[git-annex-upgrade]].  I'd probably install v8.
+
+
+"""]]