---
layout: post
title: "HFOSS: Fear of Forking"
description: "Literature review on the Fear of Forking essay."
tags:
 - hfoss
---

_Note: The following is a literature review for the HFOSS course I wrote about
previously._

[Fear of Forking](http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Licensing_and_Law/forking.html) is
an essay by Rick Moen originally written in November of 1999 for colleagues of
a prior employer of his. It gained widespread appeal after it was published by
the firm as a featured article and later picked up by Slashdot for circulation
in industry circles.

# Gist

In the past, forking was a mechanism that led to a myriad of incompatible
software distributions. The shining example was the story of how Unix
developed. The original AT&T Unix branched off into many incompatible,
commercial products. Examples of which are AIX, IRIX, HP/UX, Xenix, and so on.

The author argues that the ability to fork is inherently a good thing in the
Free software community, not one to be feared. Because the GNU GPL guarantees
that any derivative works must also be GPL, it guarantees that further
improvements cannot be hidden behind proprietary doors. Thus, any fork must
perform a tremendous amount of work to differentiate itself from the original
project while receiving little to no benefit in return: any improvements made
will likely be reabsorbed back _upstream_.

For example, forks of Linux are made all the time, but these forks are treated
as development branches rather than full on project forks. Additionally, forks
have the ability to keep the project maintainers honest. If the community
decides the project is heading in a direction other than what is desired, the
community can present a vote of no confidence in the form of a fork.

# Reactions

The essay defends the idea of forking admirably. Forking is an inherent value
of the Free software culture and movement. Without it, a fundamental tool of
keeping people honest would not exist.

That said, the author opened with a counter example of his point: that forking
poses no threat to the health of the Free software ecosystem. The history of
Unix is messy and full of pitfalls. Nobody wants to see that history repeated
for Linux or any other significant Free software endeavor.

Regardless, the author was successful in establishing his point in the
importance of respecting the fork and using it when necessary.

# Closing Thoughts

The essay is a piece that any Free software enthusiast should read. Even if one
is already fully invested in the concept of the fork, it gives additional
context on the background of the problem and why others may be more hesitant.

Add fear of forking literature review
Add fear of forking literature review
