[[!comment format=mdwn
 username="http://joeyh.name/"
 ip="4.152.108.211"
 subject="comment 1"
 date="2013-01-06T17:00:40Z"
 content="""
There should be an error message on either the terminal where you started git-annex, or in ~/.xsession-errors if you started it from a GUI menu. 

Without the error message, this seems most likely to be another case of git commit failing due to not being able to determine the user's full name. For example, if I delete my full name out of /etc/passwd, 

<pre>
describe . ok
(Recording state in git...)

*** Please tell me who you are.

Run

  git config --global user.email \"you@example.com\"
  git config --global user.name \"Your Name\"

to set your account's default identity.
Omit --global to set the identity only in this repository.

fatal: empty ident  joey@gnu.kitenet.net
  not allowed

git-annex: user error (git [\"--git-dir=/home/joey/tmp/r/.git\",\"--work-tree=/home/joey/tmp/r\",\"commit-tree\",\"5316749be9efffeee538051b576166291c516472\",\"-p\",\"refs/heads/git-annex\"] exited 128)
failed
</pre>

I'm perfectly comfortable with command-line git-annex not working if the system is so misconfigured; after all git tells the user one way to fix it. Perhaps though it's worth the assistant holding the user's hand here and detecting this problem.
"""]]