Fork: Difference between revisions

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The term '''{{tag|fork}}''' is also used in the '[[wikisphere]]'.  For instance, the above text was forked from the [[English Wikipedia]] wiki site!  Most [[:Category:Open content|free content]] [[:Category:Wiki License|licenses]] allow [[:Category:Wiki People|people]] to copy material in part or whole; to create their own separate versions of that content: be it a [[:Category:Culture|cultural]] work, a piece of [[:Category:Media|media]], software, or some intellectual pursuit.

Sometimes, forking results in [[fragmentation]], whereby two separate [[Wiki community|wiki communities]] have overlapping but divergent goals.  There are strengths and weaknesses to this.  On the one hand, different communities can meet different needs, and problem-solve in new ways.  This also keeps one cultural work from being dominated or controlled by a [[God king|single individual]] or small subset of [[User|people]].  On the other hand, fragmentation can create redundancy, and confusion amongst people.

[[Wiki]] forking typically starts as [[mirror]]ing, which is a similar concept; where one wiki site hosts <u>identical</u> content to another wiki site.

A [[mirror]] wiki site ''could'', or may also be described as an [[:Category:Archives|archive]].  It duplicates or re-uses content originated elsewhere (hopefully, with proper [[attribution]], and respecting its original [[:Category:Wiki License|license(s)]]), but a wiki mirror normally, is <u>not</u> an originator of <u>new content</u>.

A wiki fork creates an entirely new second project (sometimes, though not always, with an identical wiki site name); the wiki fork uses a common set of [[:Category:Wiki Topic|content]] as a starting point.  As the new wiki fork project matures, it builds a (new) [[community]], and creates its own new, unique content, and ultimately its own new identity.

In the global '[[wikisphere]]', the most significant fork was the creation of [[:Category:Wikivoyage|Wikivoyage]].  Wikivoyage started as a wholly independent fork of the earlier [[:Category:Wikitravel|Wikitravel]].  The Wikivoyage fork was seeded, and gained significant traction, after the original (private) [[owner]]s of Wikitravel latterly sold it to [[:Category:Internet Brands|Internet Brands, Inc.]] (a highly commercial, 'for profit' company), which then had the result of alienating the original Wikitravel community (whom like most open content wiki [[editor]]s, were all unpaid volunteers).

Conversely, the many various sites which merely provide an 'archived' copy of [[English Wikipedia]] content online (such as the [[NationMaster Encyclopedia]]) without originating new content are mirrors.

[[File:Spoon.jpg|thumb|300px|A '[[:Category:Spoon|spoon]]' is the term used to describe an original wiki site that was left, often [[:Category:GoalAbandoned|abandoned]], following a {{tag|fork}}.|alt=]]

==On [[wiki farm]]s==

Forking is common on [[:Category:Wikia|Wikia]] (now known as Fandom), usually because of its forced [[:Category:Wikia skin|skin]] changes, poor community support, [[global blocking]], enforced social features, and a bombarding plethora of objectional on-screen [[:Category:Advertising|advertising]] (including video adverts); and also because independent hosting is more versatile, and more controllable.  Where [[:Category:Ex-Wikia|forking occurs]], the [[:Category:GoalAbandoned|abandoned]] Wikia version of the site; invariably left [[:Category:OpenEdit|open]] and frequently [[:Category:Dormant|dormant]], is commonly referred to as the '[[:Category:Spoon|spoon]]'.

From the founding outset of [[WikiIndex]], the long-term goal has been to have an article entry page; and therefore an [[Template:Wiki|infobox]]; for <u>ALL</u> wiki sites, even [[:Category:Dead|dead]] and / or [[:Category:Dormant|dormant]] wiki sites.  Forked wiki sites are to be treated with exactly the same ethos; therefore, WikiIndex has a specific method of dealing with forked wiki.  Fundamentally, a forked wiki site [[article]] (and also any [[:Category:Wiki Engine|wiki engine]] forks) ''should'' each have their own <u>separate</u> article page, with their own infobox and [[Template:Size|size template]].<!--Separate articles are preferred due to different page counts, wikiFactor values, edit modes, even differing wiki engines, etc--> The two separate wiki site article pages should be annotated at the top of their respective pages with a standard 'hatnote', specifically using [[template:For]]; this will give the reader of the article here on WikiIndex salient information, along with the required [[wikilink]], to either the original (spoon) wiki site, or its subsequent forked wiki site.

[[Mirror]]ed wiki sites ''may'' be treated different to forked wiki sites, in that both wiki sites (if both remain [[:Category:Active|active]]) will eventually contain differing content, and may ultimately form differing identities.  In these instances, we would have two (or more, for multiple mirrors) separate page articles here on WikiIndex.  Again, just like the forked examples, a 'hatnote' template should be used on all article pages relevant to any mirrors, and the originating wiki site article.