
My GitHub Wishlist: Consolidate Request - wkoszek
http://www.koszek.com/blog/2015/11/23/my-github-wishlist-consolidate-request/#.Vlx-pUaYZxA.hackernews
======
btrask
GitHub's fork management is lacking, but as it is now, forks are a symbol of
popularity, so authors have no incentive to prune them. Plus it would be like
saying "you're not a real contributor" to fans (which, while probably true, is
still rude and not worth being a jerk about).

A simple first step would be to hide forks publicly that don't have any
commits since they were forked. But I think some people fork things because
they think it's like adding them to their resume (I can't understand it) and
they wouldn't be happy.

The entire concept of "forked from X" is broken.

~~~
wkoszek
I sometimes wonder why people fork my repos but don't make any modifications.
My feeling is similar to yours, since I sometimes asked the job candidates
during interview to show me some of their open source, and they showed cloned
repos, but I would not find their commits there.

I'd only add changes for ... legitimate users: if I forked but forgot about
it, just simplify my life and remove this repo automatically, if I requested
so.

Plus if I want, I'd like to track changes in forks too.

~~~
Nadya
Depending on the repo it is - mirroring. When I feel _the owner_ might be
_pressured_ into removing their repo.

I have a thicker spine and can hide behind a veil of public anonymity. For
example, if someone tells me to pull my forked repo because it offends them,
they'll get a bird and told to sod off.

There's been quite a few _actually useful projects_ that have been pressured
into shutting down - leaving only the forks to remain.

