4 ms·
One of the many bad things that Github did was to name the button that does the `git clone` action `Fork`. Like, I get why they did it, but (as we can see) it
by simoncion 2y ago
One of the many bad things that Github did was to name the button that does the `git clone` action `Fork`.
Like, I get why they did it, but (as we can see) it resulted in this stupid terminology confusion.
- bastardoperator 2y agoA fork is a linked copy, a clone is just a copy. They are not the same. Deleting your repository or changing its visibility affects that repository's forks.
- sakjur 2y agoForks predate GitHub and have another almost opposing definition that sets up for a confusion here. By that lingo forks go their own way (like a fork in the road) independently of the upstream and clones are copies of an upstream.
- bastardoperator 2y agoI agree it does... fork() creates a new process by duplicating the calling process. Thats similar to what happens on git providers, you create a new repo by duplicating it, and the repo is linked aka child. Many forks do go their own way. You can choose to pull from upstream or completely ignore it.
- simoncion 2y agoDeleting your repository or changing its visibility affects that repository's forks. Sure, but this only matters for 'private' repos. See <https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/what-happens-to-forks-when-a-repository-is-deleted-or-changes-visibility https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-...>. Github does some cute things behind the scenes to save space, but for all 'public' or 'internal' repos, what Github calls a fork is (from a Github user's perspective) identical to what happens when you run 'git clone' on your machine.