thanks for the fast response and the helpful advice. I was able to successfully delete my old repository and used the Fork button to create a new one. Learned two useful things about the Fork button today.
1. the Fork button does not exist if you are not signed in, which I mostly was not, so that is why I could not seem to find it.
2. if you already have an existing Fork, then the Fork button simply takes you to your own fork, which is obsolete, so that is not very helpful. The gitlab gui could use some love here. However, if you delete your fork, then you are allowed to create a new one, so that is what I did. That took about 5-10 minutes but since I am doing this only every 6 months, I don't care.
so I think I am up and running with a brand new clone, thanks for all your help.
Alvin
-- Sent from: http://inkscape.13.x6.nabble.com/Inkscape-Dev-f2781808.html