Fork: Difference between revisions

In software engineering, 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 piece of software.

For instance, the above text was forked from the [[English Wikipedia]]! [[Free content]] licenses allow people to copy material in part or whole to create their own versions of that content: be it a cultural work, a piece of media, software, or some intellectual pursuit.

Sometimes, forking results in [[fragmentation]], whereby two separate communities have overlapping 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 single individual or small subset of people. On the other hand, fragmentation can create redundancy and confusion amongst people.

Forking is common on [[Wikia]], usually because of its constant skin changes, poor community support, [[global blocking]], social features, and/or independent servers being more versatile. The Wikia version of the site, invariably left open, is commonly referred to as the "spoon".