Repro:

/tmp% darcs -v
2.3.0 (release)

/tmp% mkdir repo1
/tmp% cd repo1
/tmp/repo1% darcs init
/tmp/repo1% mkdir d   
/tmp/repo1% touch d/f
/tmp/repo1% darcs add d/f
/tmp/repo1% mv d d.bak
/tmp/repo1% touch d
/tmp/repo1% darcs w
darcs: do_stat: inappropriate type (Not a directory)

This error output from whatsnew is pretty dense; it should at minimum
say which file is the surprise. Ideally, it would handle this case fine
and treat it as if I removed a whole tree of files and dirs and added a
new file.

Hi Drew, may I delegate back to you the job of checking to see how darcs
2.4.1 behaves with this case?