diff -uNr a/yrc/manifest b/yrc/manifest
--- a/yrc/manifest 64d2bd58b09455123fde186b32e47cf766a82f342735b2adf940b491eb84dbe6aa41edc0a932596dde85384a6c112dfa06a2d323d3748110b4ab29d5b45d9150
+++ b/yrc/manifest a10d83b0b6067ad83769cf2d79de1e06d71c2931655c1fcb9e524e75b7b3a7b74bd9fd2040fcc10e44bdd13367cc68dda5593d9f6125943d6eedb2b8a20e4ae0
@@ -13,3 +13,4 @@
 769938 yrc_net_level_commands jfw Implement /close-net and /reconnect commands, and straighten out which commands can take a part/quit message. A reliable QUIT message *could* be implemented for /disconnect and /close-net (unlike for /quit), so make space to add it there by dropping the optional network name argument from /disconnect, which I found to be more confusing than helpful anyway.
 769940 yrc_connect_join_streamlining jfw Switch to network window on connect and channel window on join. Remove self-generated join/part info messages which route distractingly to the network window (the more useful server confirmations still show in the channel's own window and log). Send a new USER command when changing nick in the connected-unregistered state, since I found it necessary for multiple server implementations when nick is in use.
 769941 yrc_95K_rc1 Release candidate: catch up on codemap.txt updates, syncing up with the manual; lower temperature (ie bump version numbers) and update NEWS; import my old script for creating deterministic release tarballs, now updated to run on Gales.
+769941 yrc_distutils_install_workaround jfw "setup.py install" fails quietly when a pre-existing target .py file has newer timestamp than the source. This was brought to light by the timestamp zeroing of "tar --sterilize" but could arise from other causes too.
diff -uNr a/yrc/setup.py b/yrc/setup.py
--- a/yrc/setup.py 0ad7c4aa3f3f51accfed2e821f6365fe02bb9afad26b5be2f7cb142d5f8be9cf5b68424f409b46727698315915597c1e1f1fc2cdc1c0a508ca605ae6692cd0a5
+++ b/yrc/setup.py 1433ccbb34b83f850b93c59d292987a4b8c4d72891eda193d74d571ab5c4c26e5b99a99e6ba8336a57049bd540b3cf719fcf78572277f5ce4ff1c774e5bc5f99
@@ -6,4 +6,5 @@
 	description='A Unix IRC client',
 	py_modules=['yrc', 'yterm'],
 	scripts=['yrc', 'yrc2local'],
+	options={'install_lib': {'force': 1}}, # as in "setup.py install -f": force it to always install modules, AS IT WAS TOLD TO, even if target file happens to have newer timestamp than source.
 )