IdeaWazaWiki - User contributions [en]

Lifeboat Foundation

2006-12-10T00:10:01Z

69.107.4.130:

[[Image:Lifeboatfoundation.jpg|thumb|350px|right|The Lifeboat Foundation advocates the creation of space colonies to serve as 'backup drives' for the human race.]]

'''The Lifeboat Foundation''' is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping humanity survive [[existential risk|existential risks]] and possible misuse of increasingly powerful technologies, including [[genetic engineering]], [[nanotechnology]], and [[AI | robotics/AI]], as we move towards a [[technological singularity]].

Lifeboat Foundation is pursuing a variety of options, including helping to accelerate the development of technologies to defend humanity, including new methods to combat viruses (such as RNA interference and new vaccine methods), effective nanotechnological defensive strategies, and even self-sustaining [[space colonies]] in case the other defensive strategies fail.

The Lifeboat Foundation was formed with the ethical premise that decreasing the likelihood of human exinction is the activity with the most positive [[utility]] on the planet today. In recent years, several prominent public figures have stepped forward strongly in favor of mitigating extinction risks. Oxford philosopher [[Nick Bostrom]] writes, “For standard utilitarians, priority number one, two, three and four should consequently be to reduce [[existential risk]]. The utilitarian imperative “Maximize expected aggregate utility!” can be simplified to the maxim “Minimize existential risk!”.

The President and Founder of the Lifeboat Foundation is Eric Klien, its International Evangelist is Philippe van Nedervelde, its Fundraising Director is Michael Anissimov, and its Director of Long-term Strategy is Michael Vassar. The Lifeboat Foundation is [[tax exemption|tax exempt]] under [[501(c)(3)|Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code]].

==Scientific Advisory Board==

The organization has a very large Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), composed of 221 members as of October 2006, which includes philosophers, economists, biologists, nanotechnologists, AI researchers, educators, policy experts, engineers, lawyers, ethicists, futurists, neuroscientists, physicists, and space experts. The SAB includes [[Ray Kurzweil]] and [[Nobel Prize]] winners [[Clive Granger]] and [[Wole Soyinka]].

==Lifeboat Foundation Programs==

The Lifeboat Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board is working on a number of programs to access risks, negate them ("shields"), and survive catastrophic events ("preservers"):

*[http://lifeboat.com/ex/asteroid.shield AsteroidShield]
*[http://lifeboat.com/ex/bio.shield BioShield]
*[http://lifeboat.com/ex/nano.shield NanoShield]
*[http://lifeboat.com/ex/security.preserver Security Preserver]
*[http://lifeboat.com/ex/space.habitats Space Habitats]

Many future programs are in the works, including programs to prevent risks from AI, particle accelerator mishaps, and to maintain communications networks in case of disaster.

==See also==

Related topics:
*[[existential risk]]
*[[molecular nanotechnology]]
*[[utility fog]]
*[[seed AI]]
*[[space colonization]]
*[[biosecurity]]
*[[technological singularity]]

==External Links==

*[http://lifeboat.com/ex/main Lifeboat Foundation]
*[http://www.nickbostrom.com/existential/risks.html Existential Risks: Analyzing Human Extinction Scenarios] by Nick Bostrom
*[http://www.nickbostrom.com/astronomical/waste.html Astronomical Waste: The Opportunity Cost of Delayed Technological Development] by Nick Bostrom
*[http://answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylt=AtjblpXOSMXPaKrJ2N9lui8jzKIX?qid=20060704195516AAnrdOD How can the human race survive the next hundred years?] - question on Yahoo Answers by Stephen Hawking
*[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/joy.html Why the future doesn't need us] by Bill Joy
*[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E6D9163FF93BA25756C0A9659C8B63 It Was Fun While It Lasted] by Martin Rees
*[http://paulboutin.weblogger.com/stories/storyReader$1439 Biowar for Dummies] by Paul Boutin
*[http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael/blog/?cat=21&paged=2 Accelerating Future] - regularly updated blog that discusses existential risks

[[Category:Space colonization]]

Lifeboat Foundation

2006-12-10T00:09:07Z

69.107.4.130: /* External Links */

{{Uncategorized|December 2006}}
[[Image:Lifeboatfoundation.jpg|thumb|350px|right|The Lifeboat Foundation advocates the creation of space colonies to serve as 'backup drives' for the human race.]]

'''The Lifeboat Foundation''' is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping humanity survive [[existential risk|existential risks]] and possible misuse of increasingly powerful technologies, including [[genetic engineering]], [[nanotechnology]], and [[AI | robotics/AI]], as we move towards a [[technological singularity]].

Lifeboat Foundation is pursuing a variety of options, including helping to accelerate the development of technologies to defend humanity, including new methods to combat viruses (such as RNA interference and new vaccine methods), effective nanotechnological defensive strategies, and even self-sustaining [[space colonies]] in case the other defensive strategies fail.

The Lifeboat Foundation was formed with the ethical premise that decreasing the likelihood of human exinction is the activity with the most positive [[utility]] on the planet today. In recent years, several prominent public figures have stepped forward strongly in favor of mitigating extinction risks. Oxford philosopher [[Nick Bostrom]] writes, “For standard utilitarians, priority number one, two, three and four should consequently be to reduce [[existential risk]]. The utilitarian imperative “Maximize expected aggregate utility!” can be simplified to the maxim “Minimize existential risk!”.

The President and Founder of the Lifeboat Foundation is Eric Klien, its International Evangelist is Philippe van Nedervelde, its Fundraising Director is Michael Anissimov, and its Director of Long-term Strategy is Michael Vassar. The Lifeboat Foundation is [[tax exemption|tax exempt]] under [[501(c)(3)|Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code]].

==Scientific Advisory Board==

The organization has a very large Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), composed of 221 members as of October 2006, which includes philosophers, economists, biologists, nanotechnologists, AI researchers, educators, policy experts, engineers, lawyers, ethicists, futurists, neuroscientists, physicists, and space experts. The SAB includes [[Ray Kurzweil]] and [[Nobel Prize]] winners [[Clive Granger]] and [[Wole Soyinka]].

==Lifeboat Foundation Programs==

The Lifeboat Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board is working on a number of programs to access risks, negate them ("shields"), and survive catastrophic events ("preservers"):

*[http://lifeboat.com/ex/asteroid.shield AsteroidShield]
*[http://lifeboat.com/ex/bio.shield BioShield]
*[http://lifeboat.com/ex/nano.shield NanoShield]
*[http://lifeboat.com/ex/security.preserver Security Preserver]
*[http://lifeboat.com/ex/space.habitats Space Habitats]

Many future programs are in the works, including programs to prevent risks from AI, particle accelerator mishaps, and to maintain communications networks in case of disaster.

==See also==

Related topics:
*[[existential risk]]
*[[molecular nanotechnology]]
*[[utility fog]]
*[[seed AI]]
*[[space colonization]]
*[[biosecurity]]
*[[technological singularity]]

==External Links==

*[http://lifeboat.com/ex/main Lifeboat Foundation]
*[http://www.nickbostrom.com/existential/risks.html Existential Risks: Analyzing Human Extinction Scenarios] by Nick Bostrom
*[http://www.nickbostrom.com/astronomical/waste.html Astronomical Waste: The Opportunity Cost of Delayed Technological Development] by Nick Bostrom
*[http://answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylt=AtjblpXOSMXPaKrJ2N9lui8jzKIX?qid=20060704195516AAnrdOD How can the human race survive the next hundred years?] - question on Yahoo Answers by Stephen Hawking
*[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/joy.html Why the future doesn't need us] by Bill Joy
*[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E6D9163FF93BA25756C0A9659C8B63 It Was Fun While It Lasted] by Martin Rees
*[http://paulboutin.weblogger.com/stories/storyReader$1439 Biowar for Dummies] by Paul Boutin
*[http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael/blog/?cat=21&paged=2 Accelerating Future] - regularly updated blog that discusses existential risks

[[Category:Space colonization]]

Archive:Project fork

2006-11-14T19:50:43Z

69.107.82.159: /* Proprietary software */

{{otheruses|fork (disambiguation)}}

In [[software engineering]], a '''project fork''' happens when a developer (or a group of them) takes a copy of [[source code]] from one [[software package]] and starts to independently develop a new package. The term is also used more loosely to represent a similar branching of any work (for example, there are several forks of the English-language [[Wikipedia]]), particularly with [[free software|free]] or [[open source]] software.

A fork that is standard practice in many projects are ''stable'' or ''release'' versions which are modified only for bug fixes, while a ''development'' tree develops new features. This is common practice in the [[Linux kernel]], for instance, but has been misrepresented occasionally in the trade press as the more problematic sort of fork described above.[http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20041121124609671] Such forks are often referred to instead as "branches" both to avoid the negative connotations of a fork and because it is closer in intent and function to the common software engineering meaning of [[branching (software)|branching]].

==Free software==

In free software, forks often result from a [[schism (religion)|schism]] over different goals or personality clashes. In a fork, both parties assume nearly identical code bases but typically only the larger group, or that containing the original [[software architecture|architect]], will retain the full original name and its associated user community. Thus there is a reputation penalty associated with forking. The relationship between the different teams can be cordial (''e.g.'' [[Ubuntu Linux|Ubuntu]] and [[Debian]]), very bitter ([[XOrg Server]] and [[XFree86]]) or none to speak of (most branching [[Linux distribution]]s).

Forks are considered an expression of the freedom made available by free software, but a weakness since they duplicate development efforts and can confuse users over which forked package to use. Developers have the option to collaborate and pool resources with free software, but it is not ensured by [[free software licenses]], only by a commitment to cooperation. That said, many developers will make the effort to put changes into all relevant forks, ''e.g.'' amongst the [[BSD]]s.

''[[The Cathedral and the Bazaar]]'' stated in 1997 [http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/homesteading/ar01s03.html] that ''"The most important characteristic of a fork is that it spawns competing projects that cannot later exchange code, splitting the potential developer community."'' However, this is not common present usage.

In some cases, a fork can merge back into the original project or replace it. The [[EGCS|Experimental/Enhanced GNU Compiler System]] was a fork from [[GNU Compiler Collection|GCC]] which proved more vital than the original project and was eventually "blessed" as the official GCC project. Some have attempted to invoke this effect deliberately, ''e.g.'' [[Mozilla Firefox]] was an unofficial project within [[Mozilla]] that soon replaced the [[Mozilla Suite]] as the focus of development.

On the matter of forking, the [[Jargon File]] says:
:"Forking is considered a [[Bad Thing]] — not merely because it implies a lot of wasted effort in the future, but because forks tend to be accompanied by a great deal of strife and acrimony between the successor groups over issues of legitimacy, succession, and design direction. There is serious social pressure against forking. As a result, major forks (such as the [[GNU Emacs|Gnu-Emacs]]/[[XEmacs]] split, the fissionings of the [[386BSD]] group into three daughter projects, and the short-lived GCC/EGCS split) are rare enough that they are remembered individually in hacker folklore."

It is easy to declare a fork, but can require considerable effort to continue independent development and support. As such, forks without adequate resources can soon become inactive, ''e.g.'' [[GoneME]], a fork of [[GNOME]] by a former developer, which was soon discontinued despite attracting some publicity. Some well-known forks have enjoyed great success, however, such as the [[X.Org Server|X.Org]] [[X Window System|X11]] server, a fork from [[XFree86]] which gained widespread support and notably sped up X development.

==Proprietary software==

In [[proprietary software]], the copyright is usually held by the employing entity, not by the individual software developers. Proprietary code is thus more commonly forked when the owner needs to develop two or more versions, such as a [[Window (computing)|windowed]] version and a [[command line interface|command line]] version, or versions for differing operating systems, such as a [[wordprocessor]] for [[IBM PC]] compatible machines and [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]] computers. Generally, such internal forks will concentrate on having the same look, feel, data format, and behavior between platforms so that a user familiar with one can also be productive or share documents generated on the other. This is almost always an economic decision to generate a greater [[market share]] and thus pay back the associated extra development costs created by the fork.

A notable proprietary fork not of this kind is the many varieties of proprietary [[Unix]] — all derived from AT&T Unix and all called "Unix", but increasingly mutually incompatible. ''See'' [[UNIX wars]].

The BSD license permits (and some say encourages) forks of F/OSS software to become proprietary software. Examples include
[http://www.enterprisedb.com EnterpriseDB] (a version of postgresql with Oracle compatability features), [http://www.fastware.com.au/docs/FujitsuSupportedPostreSQLWhitePaperV1_02.pdf Fujitsu Supported PostgresSQL]
with their proprietary ESM storage system, and [http://www.netezza.com/media/2004/Weblog.htm Netezza]'s propriatary highly scalable derivative of postgresql. Some of these vendors contribute back changes to the community project; while some keep their changes as their own competitive advantages.

==Other notable forks==

*Most [[Linux distribution]]s are descended from other distributions, most being traceable back to [[Red Hat Linux]], [[Debian]] or [[Slackware]]. Since most of the content of a distribution is free software, ideas and software interchange freely as is useful to the individual distribution. Merges (''e.g.'' [[United Linux]] or [[Mandriva]]) are rare.
*[[Pretty Good Privacy]] was forked outside of the United States to free it from the restrictive laws on the [[export of cryptography|exportation of cryptographic software]].
*The game [[NetHack]] has spawned a number of variants using the original code, notably [[Slash'EM]], and was itself a fork of [[Rogue (computer game)|Rogue]].
*[[OpenSSH]] was a fork from [[SSH]], which happened because the license for SSH 2.x was [[non-free]] (even though the source was available), so an older version of SSH 1.x, the last to have been licensed as [[free software]], was forked. Within months, virtually all Linux distributions, BSD versions and even some proprietary Unixes had replaced SSH with OpenSSH.
*[[DragonFly BSD]] was forked from [[FreeBSD]] 4.8 by long-time FreeBSD developer [[Matt Dillon (computer scientist)|Matt Dillon]], due to disagreement over FreeBSD 5's technical direction.
*[[Adempiere]] is a community maintained fork of [[Compiere]] 2.5.3b, due to disagreement with commercial and technical direction of Compiere Inc.
*[[Enciclopedia Libre]], a fork of the [[Spanish Wikipedia|Spanish-language Wikipedia]], was created to evade the possibility of advertising.
*[[X.org]] is a fork of XFree86, an implementation of the [[X Window System ]] after disagreement with the new license for the final release version of XFree86
*Numerous forks of the [[PostgreSQL]] database have gone on to become successful commercial products such as Netezza's data warehouse appliance and Fujitsu's FSP database which uses PostgreSQL's SQL front end over their proprietary back-end storage system.

==References==
* [http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Licensing_and_Law/forking.html Fear of forking] - An essay about forking in [[free software]] projects, by Rick Moen
* [http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_why.html#forking Forking] ([[David A. Wheeler]])
* [http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?RightToFork Right to Fork] at [[Meatball Wiki]].

[[Category:Software engineering]]
[[Category:Software forks| ]]

[[cs:Fork]]
[[de:Fork (Softwareentwicklung)]]
[[es:Bifurcación (desarrollo de software)]]
[[fr:Fork]]
[[it:Fork (sviluppo software)]]
[[pl:Fork]]
[[pt:Fork]]
[[sv:Fork]]

Archive:Project fork

2006-11-14T19:50:04Z

69.107.82.159: /* Proprietary software */

{{otheruses|fork (disambiguation)}}

In [[software engineering]], a '''project fork''' happens when a developer (or a group of them) takes a copy of [[source code]] from one [[software package]] and starts to independently develop a new package. The term is also used more loosely to represent a similar branching of any work (for example, there are several forks of the English-language [[Wikipedia]]), particularly with [[free software|free]] or [[open source]] software.

A fork that is standard practice in many projects are ''stable'' or ''release'' versions which are modified only for bug fixes, while a ''development'' tree develops new features. This is common practice in the [[Linux kernel]], for instance, but has been misrepresented occasionally in the trade press as the more problematic sort of fork described above.[http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20041121124609671] Such forks are often referred to instead as "branches" both to avoid the negative connotations of a fork and because it is closer in intent and function to the common software engineering meaning of [[branching (software)|branching]].

==Free software==

In free software, forks often result from a [[schism (religion)|schism]] over different goals or personality clashes. In a fork, both parties assume nearly identical code bases but typically only the larger group, or that containing the original [[software architecture|architect]], will retain the full original name and its associated user community. Thus there is a reputation penalty associated with forking. The relationship between the different teams can be cordial (''e.g.'' [[Ubuntu Linux|Ubuntu]] and [[Debian]]), very bitter ([[XOrg Server]] and [[XFree86]]) or none to speak of (most branching [[Linux distribution]]s).

Forks are considered an expression of the freedom made available by free software, but a weakness since they duplicate development efforts and can confuse users over which forked package to use. Developers have the option to collaborate and pool resources with free software, but it is not ensured by [[free software licenses]], only by a commitment to cooperation. That said, many developers will make the effort to put changes into all relevant forks, ''e.g.'' amongst the [[BSD]]s.

''[[The Cathedral and the Bazaar]]'' stated in 1997 [http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/homesteading/ar01s03.html] that ''"The most important characteristic of a fork is that it spawns competing projects that cannot later exchange code, splitting the potential developer community."'' However, this is not common present usage.

In some cases, a fork can merge back into the original project or replace it. The [[EGCS|Experimental/Enhanced GNU Compiler System]] was a fork from [[GNU Compiler Collection|GCC]] which proved more vital than the original project and was eventually "blessed" as the official GCC project. Some have attempted to invoke this effect deliberately, ''e.g.'' [[Mozilla Firefox]] was an unofficial project within [[Mozilla]] that soon replaced the [[Mozilla Suite]] as the focus of development.

On the matter of forking, the [[Jargon File]] says:
:"Forking is considered a [[Bad Thing]] — not merely because it implies a lot of wasted effort in the future, but because forks tend to be accompanied by a great deal of strife and acrimony between the successor groups over issues of legitimacy, succession, and design direction. There is serious social pressure against forking. As a result, major forks (such as the [[GNU Emacs|Gnu-Emacs]]/[[XEmacs]] split, the fissionings of the [[386BSD]] group into three daughter projects, and the short-lived GCC/EGCS split) are rare enough that they are remembered individually in hacker folklore."

It is easy to declare a fork, but can require considerable effort to continue independent development and support. As such, forks without adequate resources can soon become inactive, ''e.g.'' [[GoneME]], a fork of [[GNOME]] by a former developer, which was soon discontinued despite attracting some publicity. Some well-known forks have enjoyed great success, however, such as the [[X.Org Server|X.Org]] [[X Window System|X11]] server, a fork from [[XFree86]] which gained widespread support and notably sped up X development.

==Proprietary software==

In [[proprietary software]], the copyright is usually held by the employing entity, not by the individual software developers. Proprietary code is thus more commonly forked when the owner needs to develop two or more versions, such as a [[Window (computing)|windowed]] version and a [[command line interface|command line]] version, or versions for differing operating systems, such as a [[wordprocessor]] for [[IBM PC]] compatible machines and [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]] computers. Generally, such internal forks will concentrate on having the same look, feel, data format, and behavior between platforms so that a user familiar with one can also be productive or share documents generated on the other. This is almost always an economic decision to generate a greater [[market share]] and thus pay back the associated extra development costs created by the fork.

A notable proprietary fork not of this kind is the many varieties of proprietary [[Unix]] — all derived from AT&T Unix and all called "Unix", but increasingly mutually incompatible. ''See'' [[UNIX wars]].

The BSD license permits (and some say encourages) forks of F/OSS software to become proprietary software. Examples include [http://www.enterprisedb.com EnterpriseDB],
[http://www.enterprisedb.com EnterpriseDB], [http://www.fastware.com.au/docs/FujitsuSupportedPostreSQLWhitePaperV1_02.pdf Fujitsu Supported PostgresSQL]
with their proprietary ESM storage system, and [http://www.netezza.com/media/2004/Weblog.htm Netezza]'s propriatary highly scalable derivative of postgresql. Some of these vendors contribute back changes to the community project; while some keep their changes as their own competitive advantages.

==Other notable forks==

*Most [[Linux distribution]]s are descended from other distributions, most being traceable back to [[Red Hat Linux]], [[Debian]] or [[Slackware]]. Since most of the content of a distribution is free software, ideas and software interchange freely as is useful to the individual distribution. Merges (''e.g.'' [[United Linux]] or [[Mandriva]]) are rare.
*[[Pretty Good Privacy]] was forked outside of the United States to free it from the restrictive laws on the [[export of cryptography|exportation of cryptographic software]].
*The game [[NetHack]] has spawned a number of variants using the original code, notably [[Slash'EM]], and was itself a fork of [[Rogue (computer game)|Rogue]].
*[[OpenSSH]] was a fork from [[SSH]], which happened because the license for SSH 2.x was [[non-free]] (even though the source was available), so an older version of SSH 1.x, the last to have been licensed as [[free software]], was forked. Within months, virtually all Linux distributions, BSD versions and even some proprietary Unixes had replaced SSH with OpenSSH.
*[[DragonFly BSD]] was forked from [[FreeBSD]] 4.8 by long-time FreeBSD developer [[Matt Dillon (computer scientist)|Matt Dillon]], due to disagreement over FreeBSD 5's technical direction.
*[[Adempiere]] is a community maintained fork of [[Compiere]] 2.5.3b, due to disagreement with commercial and technical direction of Compiere Inc.
*[[Enciclopedia Libre]], a fork of the [[Spanish Wikipedia|Spanish-language Wikipedia]], was created to evade the possibility of advertising.
*[[X.org]] is a fork of XFree86, an implementation of the [[X Window System ]] after disagreement with the new license for the final release version of XFree86
*Numerous forks of the [[PostgreSQL]] database have gone on to become successful commercial products such as Netezza's data warehouse appliance and Fujitsu's FSP database which uses PostgreSQL's SQL front end over their proprietary back-end storage system.

==References==
* [http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Licensing_and_Law/forking.html Fear of forking] - An essay about forking in [[free software]] projects, by Rick Moen
* [http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_why.html#forking Forking] ([[David A. Wheeler]])
* [http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?RightToFork Right to Fork] at [[Meatball Wiki]].

[[Category:Software engineering]]
[[Category:Software forks| ]]

[[cs:Fork]]
[[de:Fork (Softwareentwicklung)]]
[[es:Bifurcación (desarrollo de software)]]
[[fr:Fork]]
[[it:Fork (sviluppo software)]]
[[pl:Fork]]
[[pt:Fork]]
[[sv:Fork]]

Archive:Project fork

2006-11-14T19:42:41Z

69.107.82.159: Added examples because it's interesting that forks of F/OSS software sometimes become successful commercial products.

{{otheruses|fork (disambiguation)}}

In [[software engineering]], a '''project fork''' happens when a developer (or a group of them) takes a copy of [[source code]] from one [[software package]] and starts to independently develop a new package. The term is also used more loosely to represent a similar branching of any work (for example, there are several forks of the English-language [[Wikipedia]]), particularly with [[free software|free]] or [[open source]] software.

A fork that is standard practice in many projects are ''stable'' or ''release'' versions which are modified only for bug fixes, while a ''development'' tree develops new features. This is common practice in the [[Linux kernel]], for instance, but has been misrepresented occasionally in the trade press as the more problematic sort of fork described above.[http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20041121124609671] Such forks are often referred to instead as "branches" both to avoid the negative connotations of a fork and because it is closer in intent and function to the common software engineering meaning of [[branching (software)|branching]].

==Free software==

In free software, forks often result from a [[schism (religion)|schism]] over different goals or personality clashes. In a fork, both parties assume nearly identical code bases but typically only the larger group, or that containing the original [[software architecture|architect]], will retain the full original name and its associated user community. Thus there is a reputation penalty associated with forking. The relationship between the different teams can be cordial (''e.g.'' [[Ubuntu Linux|Ubuntu]] and [[Debian]]), very bitter ([[XOrg Server]] and [[XFree86]]) or none to speak of (most branching [[Linux distribution]]s).

Forks are considered an expression of the freedom made available by free software, but a weakness since they duplicate development efforts and can confuse users over which forked package to use. Developers have the option to collaborate and pool resources with free software, but it is not ensured by [[free software licenses]], only by a commitment to cooperation. That said, many developers will make the effort to put changes into all relevant forks, ''e.g.'' amongst the [[BSD]]s.

''[[The Cathedral and the Bazaar]]'' stated in 1997 [http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/homesteading/ar01s03.html] that ''"The most important characteristic of a fork is that it spawns competing projects that cannot later exchange code, splitting the potential developer community."'' However, this is not common present usage.

In some cases, a fork can merge back into the original project or replace it. The [[EGCS|Experimental/Enhanced GNU Compiler System]] was a fork from [[GNU Compiler Collection|GCC]] which proved more vital than the original project and was eventually "blessed" as the official GCC project. Some have attempted to invoke this effect deliberately, ''e.g.'' [[Mozilla Firefox]] was an unofficial project within [[Mozilla]] that soon replaced the [[Mozilla Suite]] as the focus of development.

On the matter of forking, the [[Jargon File]] says:
:"Forking is considered a [[Bad Thing]] — not merely because it implies a lot of wasted effort in the future, but because forks tend to be accompanied by a great deal of strife and acrimony between the successor groups over issues of legitimacy, succession, and design direction. There is serious social pressure against forking. As a result, major forks (such as the [[GNU Emacs|Gnu-Emacs]]/[[XEmacs]] split, the fissionings of the [[386BSD]] group into three daughter projects, and the short-lived GCC/EGCS split) are rare enough that they are remembered individually in hacker folklore."

It is easy to declare a fork, but can require considerable effort to continue independent development and support. As such, forks without adequate resources can soon become inactive, ''e.g.'' [[GoneME]], a fork of [[GNOME]] by a former developer, which was soon discontinued despite attracting some publicity. Some well-known forks have enjoyed great success, however, such as the [[X.Org Server|X.Org]] [[X Window System|X11]] server, a fork from [[XFree86]] which gained widespread support and notably sped up X development.

==Proprietary software==

In [[proprietary software]], the copyright is usually held by the employing entity, not by the individual software developers. Proprietary code is thus more commonly forked when the owner needs to develop two or more versions, such as a [[Window (computing)|windowed]] version and a [[command line interface|command line]] version, or versions for differing operating systems, such as a [[wordprocessor]] for [[IBM PC]] compatible machines and [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]] computers. Generally, such internal forks will concentrate on having the same look, feel, data format, and behavior between platforms so that a user familiar with one can also be productive or share documents generated on the other. This is almost always an economic decision to generate a greater [[market share]] and thus pay back the associated extra development costs created by the fork.

A notable proprietary fork not of this kind is the many varieties of proprietary [[Unix]] — all derived from AT&T Unix and all called "Unix", but increasingly mutually incompatible. ''See'' [[UNIX wars]].

==Other notable forks==

*Most [[Linux distribution]]s are descended from other distributions, most being traceable back to [[Red Hat Linux]], [[Debian]] or [[Slackware]]. Since most of the content of a distribution is free software, ideas and software interchange freely as is useful to the individual distribution. Merges (''e.g.'' [[United Linux]] or [[Mandriva]]) are rare.
*[[Pretty Good Privacy]] was forked outside of the United States to free it from the restrictive laws on the [[export of cryptography|exportation of cryptographic software]].
*The game [[NetHack]] has spawned a number of variants using the original code, notably [[Slash'EM]], and was itself a fork of [[Rogue (computer game)|Rogue]].
*[[OpenSSH]] was a fork from [[SSH]], which happened because the license for SSH 2.x was [[non-free]] (even though the source was available), so an older version of SSH 1.x, the last to have been licensed as [[free software]], was forked. Within months, virtually all Linux distributions, BSD versions and even some proprietary Unixes had replaced SSH with OpenSSH.
*[[DragonFly BSD]] was forked from [[FreeBSD]] 4.8 by long-time FreeBSD developer [[Matt Dillon (computer scientist)|Matt Dillon]], due to disagreement over FreeBSD 5's technical direction.
*[[Adempiere]] is a community maintained fork of [[Compiere]] 2.5.3b, due to disagreement with commercial and technical direction of Compiere Inc.
*[[Enciclopedia Libre]], a fork of the [[Spanish Wikipedia|Spanish-language Wikipedia]], was created to evade the possibility of advertising.
*[[X.org]] is a fork of XFree86, an implementation of the [[X Window System ]] after disagreement with the new license for the final release version of XFree86
*Numerous forks of the [[PostgreSQL]] database have gone on to become successful commercial products such as Netezza's data warehouse appliance and Fujitsu's FSP database which uses PostgreSQL's SQL front end over their proprietary back-end storage system.

==References==
* [http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Licensing_and_Law/forking.html Fear of forking] - An essay about forking in [[free software]] projects, by Rick Moen
* [http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_why.html#forking Forking] ([[David A. Wheeler]])
* [http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?RightToFork Right to Fork] at [[Meatball Wiki]].

[[Category:Software engineering]]
[[Category:Software forks| ]]

[[cs:Fork]]
[[de:Fork (Softwareentwicklung)]]
[[es:Bifurcación (desarrollo de software)]]
[[fr:Fork]]
[[it:Fork (sviluppo software)]]
[[pl:Fork]]
[[pt:Fork]]
[[sv:Fork]]