JSPM Proxy Configuration Confusion

I was timing out when installing npm (didn't try github) packages through jspm.

I've been using npm with the https-proxy and proxy already set but I was pretty sure the timeout was still a proxy issue. I found this thread and solution.

# I added these to my .npmrc file.
https-proxy=<my corporate proxy>
proxy=<my corporate proxy>

Adding to the .npmrc file worked. After that, rollingback the change also worked. So, a couple questions.

1. Why didn't the npm config work to begin with?
2. Why does the npm config (alone) work now, after the rollback?

via christo8989