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> This project is a fork of the official QEMU repository Why isn't it _actually_ a fork though? I don't like when projects do this and don't actually make it a

> This project is a fork of the official QEMU repository Why isn't it _actually_ a fork though? I don't like when projects do this and don't actually make it a fork.

colejohnson66 5y ago
What do you mean?
- Wingy 5y ago
  It wasn’t created as a GitHub fork
- sebular 5y ago
  I'm assuming they mean it wasn't forked by clicking the "fork" button in GitHub, which creates a link at the top of the new forked repository page connecting it to the parent repository. It is a true fork though, both projects have the same commit history.
arghwhat 5y ago
This is _actually_ a fork. A fork is a separate repository sharing history with another. The GitHub UI's concept of a "fork" is unrelated to Git. GitHub doesn't detect you made a proper fork if you don't use its API or UI to do so, and requires contacting customer support to change it. Not worth the hazzle as it provides no benefit.
- detaro 5y ago
  Also, QEMU upstream isn't on Github, so the notion is even more pointless.
  - seoaeu 5y ago
    QEMU does have an official mirror on github (https://github.com/qemu/qemu https://github.com/qemu/qemu) so I don't think it is that unreasonable
blendergeek 5y ago
> Why isn't it _actually_ a fork though? I don't like when projects do this and don't actually make it a fork. From Wikipedia: In software development, a project fork happens when developers take a copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct and separate piece of software. This seems exactly what happened here. Are you asking why they didn't use Github's "fork" mechanism? Github's "fork" mechanism creates a relationship between the two repositories that the developers of this software may not want. For example if the "upstream" ever becomes unavailable, all Github "forks" are auto-deleted. This is surprising to some people and definitely not what an independent separate development would want.
- OJFord 5y ago
  At first glance that sounds awful, but presumably if it was remaining active, it would simply exist again (just not as a labelled 'fork') on next push? Bit weird/worrying as a user or whatever looking for the repo on Github between deletion and push, but probably not a big deal in the grand scheme of things?
saghm 5y ago
I read a blog post a few years back discussing some issues with Github's fork feature (as opposed to just creating a new repo that isn't explicitly linked to the original within Github's UI). From a quick search, I believe this[1] was it, and I remember finding it fairly compelling. [1]: https://zbowling.github.io/blog/2011/11/25/github/ https://zbowling.github.io/blog/2011/11/25/github/
- hnfong 5y ago
  I recently found this article, which probably repeats the same points, but with a very concrete example (Linux kernel development): https://blog.ffwll.ch/2017/08/github-why-cant-host-the-kernel.html https://blog.ffwll.ch/2017/08/github-why-cant-host-the-kerne... It was an interesting read because Linus has repeatedly dismissed github for kernel development, and he never explains why in detail (as a consequence most news reporting his soundbites are not very informative either)

> This project is a fork of the official QEMU repository Why isn't it _actually_ a fork though? I don't like when projects do this and don't actually make it a fork.

colejohnson66 5y ago

What do you mean?

Wingy 5y ago
It wasn’t created as a GitHub fork
sebular 5y ago
I'm assuming they mean it wasn't forked by clicking the "fork" button in GitHub, which creates a link at the top of the new forked repository page connecting it to the parent repository. It is a true fork though, both projects have the same commit history.

arghwhat 5y ago

This is _actually_ a fork. A fork is a separate repository sharing history with another. The GitHub UI's concept of a "fork" is unrelated to Git. GitHub doesn't detect you made a proper fork if you don't use its API or UI to do so, and requires contacting customer support to change it. Not worth the hazzle as it provides no benefit.

detaro 5y ago
Also, QEMU upstream isn't on Github, so the notion is even more pointless.
- seoaeu 5y ago
  QEMU does have an official mirror on github (https://github.com/qemu/qemu https://github.com/qemu/qemu) so I don't think it is that unreasonable

blendergeek 5y ago

> Why isn't it _actually_ a fork though? I don't like when projects do this and don't actually make it a fork. From Wikipedia: In software development, a project fork happens when developers take a copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct and separate piece of software. This seems exactly what happened here. Are you asking why they didn't use Github's "fork" mechanism? Github's "fork" mechanism creates a relationship between the two repositories that the developers of this software may not want. For example if the "upstream" ever becomes unavailable, all Github "forks" are auto-deleted. This is surprising to some people and definitely not what an independent separate development would want.

OJFord 5y ago
At first glance that sounds awful, but presumably if it was remaining active, it would simply exist again (just not as a labelled 'fork') on next push? Bit weird/worrying as a user or whatever looking for the repo on Github between deletion and push, but probably not a big deal in the grand scheme of things?

saghm 5y ago

I read a blog post a few years back discussing some issues with Github's fork feature (as opposed to just creating a new repo that isn't explicitly linked to the original within Github's UI). From a quick search, I believe this[1] was it, and I remember finding it fairly compelling. [1]: https://zbowling.github.io/blog/2011/11/25/github/ https://zbowling.github.io/blog/2011/11/25/github/

hnfong 5y ago
I recently found this article, which probably repeats the same points, but with a very concrete example (Linux kernel development): https://blog.ffwll.ch/2017/08/github-why-cant-host-the-kernel.html https://blog.ffwll.ch/2017/08/github-why-cant-host-the-kerne... It was an interesting read because Linus has repeatedly dismissed github for kernel development, and he never explains why in detail (as a consequence most news reporting his soundbites are not very informative either)